Sudden urchin death

[Mandi_lou13]

Hi!
I’m having some issues on on my tank with inverts but I’m not sure what could be wrong. I sent out an ICP with moonshiners so I’ll get that soon. Below is my tank info. Just worried it will get worse since inverts are usually the most sensitive.

I have a refugium with chaeto that runs 5 hours during off time. A reactor with carbon and rowaphos that runs 10 hours. I tend to run higher with phosphates. I haven’t changed anything and did a water change on 1/24. On 1/28 both my urchins lose spines and one died the next day the other is just hanging on. My cleaner shrimp is missing antennas and off. Coral and fish look good. Nothing new for a month at least.

Picture is after waterchange

Marine x 110.4 - tank is established maybe 3 years now

AFR 35ml a day
Pellet once a day
Seaweed once a week
RODI used for water 0TDS Dual di resin to prevent leeching
Salt tropic marin pro

ALK 7.7
Nitrate 2.7
Phos 0.11

Stocked
Yellow tang
Blue tang
4 lythre tail anthias (1 male)
Royal gramma
Yellow & purple wrasse
Clownfish
Flamehawk
Cleaner shrimp
Harley Quinn shrimp - usually have an extra star fish so it doesn’t wait and it can hunt

 

[W31Olds]

Mandi, you must have some very hungry fish. Pellets once a day, seaweed once a week and i don't see a lot of Algae in your tank. Maybe one of your fish is snacking on your inverts. Just kidding. One of my urchins dropped dead a couple of weeks ago and all I could figure was maybe old age. They don't live all that long in captivity. Oh, and I would feed more times and vary your fish's diet with Frozen Food.

 

[dedragon]

reactor with carbon and rowaphos that runs 10 hours. I tend to run higher with phosphates.

what testing kits are you using for these? nitrate and phosphate are the tests that are hard to get right wilout something like hanna checkers

 

[dedragon]

inverts can very well be from heavy metals but carbon reactor should protect from most of that. either way check magnets and impellers for rust

 

[Mandi_lou13]

what testing kits are you using for these? nitrate and phosphate are the tests that are hard to get right wilout something like hanna checkers

I use Hanna checkers for testing. I use the IV for ALK 2 times a day with hydros. I fact check it with the Hanna checker.

 

[Mandi_lou13]

inverts can very well be from heavy metals but carbon reactor should protect from most of that. either way check magnets and impellers for rust

Thanks! I’ll take a look at those. If it’s heavy metal hopefully the ICP test will tell me too

 

[Mandi_lou13]

Mandi, you must have some very hungry fish. Pellets once a day, seaweed once a week and i don't see a lot of Algae in your tank. Maybe one of your fish is snacking on your inverts. Just kidding. One of my urchins dropped dead a couple of weeks ago and all I could figure was maybe old age. They don't live all that long in captivity. Oh, and I would feed more times and vary your fish's diet with Frozen Food.

Yeah I was kind of leaning towards old age because I’ve had them in the tank a long time. Just odd that they died at the same time. I try to feed more frozen but I always forget . If it was a fish I’d point to the hawkfish or wrasse but I don’t think they mess with urchins.. maybe the shrimp tho. They are both jerks

 

[dedragon]

urchins can live a really really long time. like 200 years+. not sure about all species but unless it was like 10 years or more i doubt it was old age, esp if other inverts died too