Urchin Help

[cabinreefer]

So I got a "rainbow urchin" last Tuesday, on Friday I noticed he seemed to be losing his color, it's now Sunday and he's almost completely brown but I have no idea what the problem could be because everything else in my tank(including my corals) seem to be doing fine? Does anyone happen to have any ideas?

 

[Zack K]

Just a few things to help narrow down a problem if their is one:
- Tank Parameters
- Lighting (shouldn't be a problem but may mess with zooxanthellae)
- Food source for urchin

Maybe @melypr1985 or @Humblefish can help or know of someone that can help :)

 

[melypr1985]

We'll have to call the #reefsquad for this one. Good questions posed above by Zack ^^

 

[redfishbluefish]

That tank looks very clean.....are you feeding your urchin?

 

[cabinreefer]

Okay I just took my parameters
ph 8
ammonia 0
nitrate 5-10 but closer to 5
alk 15.4dkh
calcium 450ppm
mag 1200ppm
salinity 34
specific gravity 1.025
74 degrees
I haven't fed him yet because he has seemed to be going around eating all my algae and he has also been eating mysis shrimp when i feed my cardinals daily. Should i maybe put some seaweed on a rock to try to get him to eat it?

 

[Maritimer]

He should be eating micro-algae - and some macro algae as well. Some urchins are herbivores, some are pretty omnivorous, and some can be un-reef-safe carnivores - a friend of mine watched one devour his feather dusters many years ago.

For feeding, I'd be tempted to try a sheet of nori, folded underneath the urchin. (You could add some mysis or other meatier foods between the folds of nori, as well.) I'd guess that you could place that next to / under the urchin, or just set it on the rock and place the urchin on top of it.

The fading of this guy's color concerns me - it just doesn't sound good, and I don't know enough about them to tell you why - or what to do about it.

~Bruce