Urchin sick

[Lenett]

6 year old Pincushion urchin sitting on heater for 2 days. Spines down and no movement. When nudged jumped and spewed out top hole. I think dying. What's wrong?

 

[vetteguy53081]

6 year old Pincushion urchin sitting on heater for 2 days. Spines down and no movement. When nudged jumped and spewed out top hole. I think dying. What's wrong?

If the spew is yellow, may be a breeding male releasing sperm
If non yellow- may Be distressed

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Can you post a picture?
Also, if the spines start to actually drop off it is for sure dead or dying. I sometimes will give them the “nose test”, and if it smells, dispose of it.
Jay

 

[Lenett]

Thank you both for responding!

Spew was white like sand, but now has a brown jelly-like coming out.

Its a 6 foot tank and he is behind rock and by fish clutch on wall and isn't where I can take a pic. I think he has dropped his spines from what I have been reading about them. Only little knobs showing. I think he is dying! I raised the temp 1 degree about a week ago because I thought I was fighting ich. Could that have been what is causing it? If that was it, why would he be on the heating rod? I'm so sad, I have had him a long time. Also, would Polly Lab Medic be killing him? My tomato clowns are spawning and corals are happy, but my red-banded shrimp hasn't molted for a while and seems to be staying in the same place. Is Polly Lab bad for inverts? It didn't say when I looked it up. Am doing a water change!

 

[Lenett]

Okay, (late night)
*I removed the urchin. It was very dead. I still don't know what happened. I did add 2 cubes of Sea-Lab no. 28 last week. Way less than rec. for a 175 gal tank.
*Did a 15% water change tonight.
*Stopped the Polly Lab Medic, hoping to save my red-banded shrimp.
I do have 4 peppermint shrimp, a few snails and crabs that seem to be okay.
Just had Hannah prof kit delivered. Will check all, but multiple testing at local stores were great parameters. They didn't test calcium, phosphates or silicates.
I have RODI filter and have done many water changes over at least 3 months due to what I thought was hair algae. All help said nutrients were the problem, but that wasnt correct. It ended up being Bryopsis, which at that point had taken over my tank. It was wiped out with Reef Flux in a week. However I had already tried everything suggested, finally, including Algaefix, which killed all my snails and crabs. I finally found someone to tell me why. They were oxygen deprived by Algaefix. This was all over 2 months ago and tank has been doing well since. Well enough for corals to thrive and Tomato Clowns to spawn 2x in last 3 weeks.
I don't understand what happened to my urchin! I was feeding some nari to be sure wasn't starving. It had even survived my tank breakdown 2 years ago because of a leak.:loudly-crying-face: I hate losing animals!

*Established 175 Oceanic Bow Front, (also have a 13.5 Fluval)
*Reef Breeders 50 V2 Pro LED Light, Grows corals well
*2 overflows
* pre filter and bio-ball sump
*protean skimmer
*Lots of live rock (bought 20 years ago), with coraline algae on rocks and back wall
*Totally cycled tank for over 2 years
*Biological filter is always good
*RODI water
*water parameters are usually very stable and only nitrates and phosphates change slightly
0 ammonia
0 Nitrites
0-5 Nitrates
.25 Phosphates
401 Calcium
?Magnesium
8-8.2 PH
DKH 9.5
214.1 KH
1.023 Salinity
*Temp 80 Heater controller says 80 now, but 81 before this because I raised when thought had Ich. (Tomato Clown has had a cottony spot on her side for over 3 weeks,
but I think its only stress because they are aggressively protecting eggs). temp check by other methods say 78-79
*Have only added a few snails and crabs about 2 months ago. No other new animals
for over 2 years. Just have 2 clowns, a blue asure (devil) damsel and 2 cardnals and inverts for years
*Sand substrate
*Added and fed copapods for diversity and to clean up low amounts of diatoms after algae issues (stated above)
Sorry for delayed reply. The learning curve for new Hanna. No Apex or Trident, so have to do by hand.

 

[Lenett]

Can you post a picture?
Also, if the spines start to actually drop off it is for sure dead or dying. I sometimes will give them the “nose test”, and if it smells, dispose of it.
Jay

What happened to my urchin? Was it the Polly lab or the change in temp?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Polyp Lab Medic is a peroxide salt. Shrimp are more sensitive to peroxide than urchins are, so I would say that isn't the issue. A slight temperature changes is also not the issue.

With invertebrates, it is often difficult to determine cause of death. Look at the starfish die offs in the Pacific, and the urchins dying in Florida in the 1980's, scientists still are not sure what caused those issues.

Jay

 

[Lenett]

Polyp Lab Medic is a peroxide salt. Shrimp are more sensitive to peroxide than urchins are, so I would say that isn't the issue. A slight temperature changes is also not the issue.

With invertebrates, it is often difficult to determine cause of death. Look at the starfish die offs in the Pacific, and the urchins dying in Florida in the 1980's, scientists still are not sure what caused those issues.

Jay

 

[Lenett]

Thanks, Jay!
What about SeaLab 28. Would that have caused it? Also it was by the tomato egg clutch. Could the aggresive clowns have hurt him?

 

[Uncle99]

6 years old in a reef tank maybe old age?
They do 10x better in nature.
Maybe nothing wrong.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks, Jay!
What about SeaLab 28. Would that have caused it? Also it was by the tomato egg clutch. Could the aggresive clowns have hurt him?

I’ve never seen clowns kill an urchin. I’ve never used Sealab 28, but I don’t think it would have caused any sort of toxicity.
Jay

 

[Lenett]

Thanks again!

 

[Lenett]

I’ve never seen clowns kill an urchin. I’ve never used Sealab 28, but I don’t think it would have caused any sort of toxicity.
Jay

Now my coral banded shrimp seems to be sick. Staying out in open, barely moving. Trying to turn upside down. Hasn't molted in several months. After my urchin dying, this seems ominus. He usually hangs out under an arched rock and eats readily. I have to nudge him now to see if he is still alive. Can't figure what is causing these to decline and die. He is 2 years old and in the same tank as urchin. 2 year cycled tank as stated above. Tomato clowns have spawned 3 times now in this same environment. Any help is appreciated

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Now my coral banded shrimp seems to be sick. Staying out in open, barely moving. Trying to turn upside down. Hasn't molted in several months. After my urchin dying, this seems ominus. He usually hangs out under an arched rock and eats readily. I have to nudge him now to see if he is still alive. Can't figure what is causing these to decline and die. He is 2 years old and in the same tank as urchin. 2 year cycled tank as stated above. Tomato clowns have spawned 3 times now in this same environment. Any help is appreciated

Could be coincidental, shrimp reach a final molt and then die of old age some months later.
If it is a water quality issues, water changes never hurt.
Jay

 

[Lenett]

Thanks, everyone for your feedback. Water parameters are still good as above except 0 nitrates. Just strange for urchin and shrimp to die within the same few weeks and both are longtime occupants.