Spawning urchin immediately after acclimation

helwrj28

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I just added a Halloween urchin to my tank, completing a drip acclimation to match water chemistry, 1 1/2 hours altogether.

About 20 mins after adding it started spawning... Is this typical or should I be concerned that it might die? Spines are looking good on the urchin and it seems to be moving without any concerns...
 

E.R.A.

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I honestly didn't control for that..
Pretty cool to see but if the temp was warmer or drastically out of range they could be happy and producing or producing out of terror. Double check your temps. As long as the water is good and spines are good I think youre fine. If your water is high quality and they like the tank they could just be a lot less stressed from where they were.


Sorry just seen you posted on that.
 
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helwrj28

helwrj28

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Ugh hate being a nervous Nelly but it looks like some of the spines might be turning white.. but I also read that Halloween urchins have both orange and white spines so it might be a false alarm. I haven't noticed any spines falling out yet and it has been actively eating algae! I'm thinking these are all good signs and I shouldn't worry right?
 

EricR

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Ugh hate being a nervous Nelly but it looks like some of the spines might be turning white.. but I also read that Halloween urchins have both orange and white spines so it might be a false alarm. I haven't noticed any spines falling out yet and it has been actively eating algae! I'm thinking these are all good signs and I shouldn't worry right?
I say no point in worrying and just monitor.
It seems to me that even minor stress events tend to trigger many inverts to spawn (population survival strategy) and even reasonable acclimation/transport/etc would qualify.
*temperature swing feels most likely here (like stated previously) but that part is over
 
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ISpeakForTheSeas

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Ugh hate being a nervous Nelly but it looks like some of the spines might be turning white.. but I also read that Halloween urchins have both orange and white spines so it might be a false alarm. I haven't noticed any spines falling out yet and it has been actively eating algae! I'm thinking these are all good signs and I shouldn't worry right?
Yeah, spines staying in and active eating are good signs, and, yes, these guys do have some white spines naturally - so, I really wouldn't be concerned.
 
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helwrj28

helwrj28

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Thanks for the input guys! What should I look out for aside from spines falling out (and dumb question but when they fall out do they stay intact that it will be noticable)?
 

ISpeakForTheSeas

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Thanks for the input guys! What should I look out for aside from spines falling out (and dumb question but when they fall out do they stay intact that it will be noticable)?
To my knowledge, the spines stay in tact after they fall out, yes.

Some other things to look for may include holes in the urchin's test (the shell), slower movement/less movement, less or no eating, trouble climbing things/a weaker hold on things, etc. These may not be easy to spot though.

Honestly, the only obvious red flags I know are really spines falling out, holes in the test, and extended periods (like days) without eating/moving.
 

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