How do you move long spine urchins.

WVNed · Mar 26, 2020

I have 3 and sometimes I want to move them to do something in the tank. Getting jabbed by one even slightly is very painful. The spines are also very brittle.

How do you handle them without hurting them or yourself.

Scotty Buttons · Mar 26, 2020

I used to carefully grab one of there longest spines, but half the time that ended with the spine breaking or me getting stabbed. Maybe some long tweezers?

Sallstrom · Mar 26, 2020

We use long tweezers. I think there’re 30 and 40 cm long. Works fine.

WVNed · Mar 26, 2020

Scotty Buttons said:
I used to carefully grab one of there longest spines, but half the time that ended with the spine breaking or me getting stabbed. Maybe some long tweezers?

I have tried grabbing a spine, which broke and slipping my hand under it which got me stabbed.

WVNed · Mar 26, 2020

Sallstrom said:
We use long tweezers. I think there’re 30 and 40 cm long. Works fine.

I have big tweezers I feed the eels with. Where do you grab hold of it at?

bevo5 · Mar 26, 2020

Carefully.

Sorry.

tripdad · Mar 26, 2020

Use a sharp edge plastic spatula to get under it, slowly and carefully, lift and move.

JayLu · Mar 26, 2020

I used long aquarium tongs. But even with that it lost a lot of spines. Before that, I tried using thick rubber gloves, but the spine still got me.

Sallstrom · Mar 26, 2020

WVNed said:
I have big tweezers I feed the eels with. Where do you grab hold of it at?

Get the two “sides” of the tweezer under it and lift. Don’t use the tweezer as a tweezer in other words. Just use something with two sticks, so you get those two in between the spines on the mouth side, and lift. Don’t pinch.
Search for Martin Moe on YouTube. He has done his own Diadema lifter, but it’s similar to the tweezers we use.