Funny Tuxedo Urchin!

[balto777]

Twice in the last day I have noticed my blue tuxedo urchin upside-down at the waterline at the top of the glass. It looks like he is floating upside-down next to the glass, but he is actually holding himself there. I was a little worried and moved him to a proper place lower in the aquarium. Both times he was firmly attached and he looks fine.

Well, he is up there again. This time I shined a flashlight on him and decided to see what he is doing. It turns out that I have quite a bit of protein and algea floating in my tank (I do not have a surface skimmer). He is eating algea that is floating on the surface.

The new tank I have him in is newer, so there is not a lot of algea at the moment. I guess I better get him some nori!!!

 

[flying_dutchman]

any pictures?

 

[bpatrick]

I have some longspine urchins they don't seem to fond of light and will hang out at the water line on a fairly regular basis. Your urchin might just be trying to find a dark place.

 

[balto777]

Next time I see it, I will try to snap a pic. But he hasn't done it in awhile now.

My new skimmer seems to have been able to remove the skum from the top of the water, so there is nothing left for it to eat. It did look like he was eating the skum while I was watching him.

I do not think it was trying to find a dark spot because there are hiding places, but he is always out during the day. Always very active. Plus, the waterline is the brightest spot in my tank as the T-5's cover the whole surface area. Oh yeah, he was doing this after lights out also.

Anyway, do not think he will be doing this in the future without the surface skum. . .