Is my pincushion dead?

[stewy14]

 

[Brit’s Fish]

Will probably need more info… from the photos, he doesn’t look dead. What makes you think he is?
Is he stuck on the glass still? Does he still have the clear-ish tube feet coming out to hold onto the glass? If he’s not sticking to the glass anymore, it’s not a great sign. The most obvious sign that an urchin is dead is if their spines all fall off, but they can still be alive even then. If you give it the smell test, you’ll know for sure if it’s dead.

 

[stewy14]

Will probably need more info… from the photos, he doesn’t look dead. What makes you think he is?
Is he stuck on the glass still? Does he still have the clear-ish tube feet coming out to hold onto the glass? If he’s not sticking to the glass anymore, it’s not a great sign. The most obvious sign that an urchin is dead is if their spines all fall off, but they can still be alive even then. If you give it the smell test, you’ll know for sure if it’s dead.

Just put him there, no tubes, he’s dropping spines…

 

[Brit’s Fish]

Just put him there, no tubes, he’s dropping spines…

Sounds gross but does it smell dead? Otherwise, you can give it a day and see if it’s moved. Your clean up crew will also come for it if it’s dead.

 

[tbrown]

Is it sloughing flesh with the spines? That almost looks like it's "shell"

 

[stewy14]

Sounds gross but does it smell dead? Otherwise, you can give it a day and see if it’s moved. Your clean up crew will also come for it if it’s dead.

Smells like the fresh fish aisle at wholefoods
First example I could come up with.
BUT
My mom loves urchin shells
But still sad

 

[stewy14]

Is it sloughing flesh with the spines? That almost looks like it's "shell"

Sloughing?

 

[WalkerLoves_TheOcean]

I agree with everything stated above. You just put him in? Seems pretty weird that it dropped most of its spines in just a few hours.

 

[tbrown]

Does it look like his skin is falling off or is he just dropping spines?

 

[stewy14]

I agree with everything stated above. You just put him in? Seems pretty weird that it dropped most of its spines in just a few hours.

Course of 3 days

 

[stewy14]

Does it look like his skin is falling off or is he just dropping spines?

Both

 

[tbrown]

Both

If the skin is falling off it's likely gone.

 

[VintageReefer]

Do you mean you just put him in the tank or just put him in that spot for the photo

 

[stewy14]

Do you mean you just put him in the tank or just put him in that spot for the photo

Spot for photo and inspection

 

[vetteguy53081]

Its dropping needles and often a sign of stress and often a product of low salinity especially if there was a sudden drop in salt level), low PH , high Phos or starvation.
Also see if you can see a build up of mucus on the spines which would indicate slowly dying

 

[WalkerLoves_TheOcean]

Yeah, sorry. It's likely on its way out. If I recall your tank is fairly new and small?

 

[stewy14]

Yeah, sorry. It's likely on its way out. If I recall your tank is fairly new and small?

Yep

 

[WalkerLoves_TheOcean]

Yep

Urchins are like cows, they need lots of algae. In new tanks, that is likely not the case. Unless you are in the ugly stage. Usually in small tanks their diet needs to be supplemented.

 

[stewy14]

Urchins are like cows, they need lots of algae. In new tanks, that is likely not the case. Unless you are I'm the ugly stage. Usually in small tanks their diet needs to be supplemented.

Just passed the ugly stage cuz of this little guy rip

 

[tbrown]

On the plus side, Pincushions have super cool skeletons/shells/whatever they're called and if your mom likes them, that's a bonus! Mother's day is coming up.