Blue tuxedo urchin

[custom58hd]

we just added our first urchin, a Blue tuxedo urchin, to our tank. The next morning we noticed our Halloween hermit on the urchin "cleaning" it. Well it now appears the hermit was eating, or removing, the urchin's spines. The urchin appears to be bare on 2/3's of his body.
My questions are: Is the urchin doomed or will the spines grow back? Is this common? should I separate the 2? will my other smaller hermits attack the urchin?
Thanks for your answers!

 

[EllieSuz]

This is sort of a mystery to me. I've had a Tuxedo Urchin for years and the Scarlet Legged Hermits ignore it. I don't know why a Halloween Hermit would be any different. I think I'd be tempted to remove the hermit and see if the urchin recovers. Watch it carefully, however. I've heard that they can foul a tank if they die unnoticed.

 

[mandarin_goby]

Maybe the urchin was already stressed and the hermits sensed it? The stress may have already loosened his spines...maybe stick some empty shells on him for protection (they like doing that anyways). Sorry to hear it, hope he recovers! We just got one yesterday and the hermits are nowhere near it.

 

[dthorn]

I lost a blue tuxedo in my 27g without any fouling issues. May be cause I run carbon or the fact that cuc reduced it to an empty shell before the lights came back on.

 

[tatuaje08]

Urchins will lose spines due to stress. They will, in most cases, grow back and the urchin will be fine.

 

[zachfishman]

Urchins will lose spines due to stress. They will, in most cases, grow back and the urchin will be fine.

+1 Be sure to take extra care acclimating inverts.

 

[custom58hd]

I have had the urchin a year and half now and the halloween that was attacking him has been removed from the system. He stripped him half clean twice, both times the urchin recovered and has been doing well since. I separated the hermit after the second time, put him in a holding tank to return him to the LFS