Tuxedo urchin acclimation/ quarantine help

[firemountain]

Everyone...

Looking to add my first urchin and was wondering if doing the TTM on them would have any benefit? Since they are really not supposed to be out of water, then I am assuming that the constant transfer of tank water from one tank to another would be pointless. I have done TTM on my snails since they have a hard shell, bit not sure how crypto to potentially attach to an urchin.

Anyway....I already have a QT tank setup that will be ready for a new addition, so I could just quarantine him for the recommended 72 days if need be. My QT has enough coralline algae to support him in the short term I believe.

Also..since I can adjust my QT to match the bag water....is a long drip acclimation still necessary, after floating for temp?

 

[Calappidae]

An urchin wouldn't really need to be quarentined. Quarentining would be to make sure you don't introduce ich or similar parasites.. or in corals case, bad flatworms etc.. but an urchin wouldn't carry anything that I know of that needs quarentining. (Unless I'm forgetting something.)

Starfish, eh sometimes you gotta check them for parasitic snails and starflesh eating bacteria, but I've never heard of similar issues with urchins personally.


Regarding acclimation, urchins are one of the very few organisms I recommend doing a drip acclimation, mostly due to the lesser ammount of ammonia build up they release, and the general touchiness echinoderms have. However every week I toss CC stars in with a short 45 minute temp acclimation float, and right in the tank... no issues so it shouldn't be any pressure trying to get him in there. I also expose the starfish to air constantly, urchins don't care as much about exposure anymore than a fish.

 

[rssjsb]

Interesting question. QT the urchin for 72 days in a fishless system should eliminate the risk, since anything that came in on the urchin (statistically unlikely, but still possible) would die without a fish to serve as host during that stage of its life.

TTM might be a shorter term solution, but frankly you would be chasing a different end point - the amount of time it takes for the larvae to hatch - rather than the time it takes for the parasite to fall off of the fish. Not sure how that would affect the exercise.

Agree with Joe about drip acclimation. Just keep an eye on ammonia levels in the bag if the animal was shipped to you, since raising the ph in the bag will make ammonia more toxic.

 

[firemountain]

An urchin wouldn't really need to be quarentined. Quarentining would be to make sure you don't introduce ich or similar parasites.. or in corals case, bad flatworms etc.. but an urchin wouldn't carry anything that I know of that needs quarentining. (Unless I'm forgetting something.)

Starfish, eh sometimes you gotta check them for parasitic snails and starflesh eating bacteria, but I've never heard of similar issues with urchins personally.


Regarding acclimation, urchins are one of the very few organisms I recommend doing a drip acclimation, mostly due to the lesser ammount of ammonia build up they release, and the general touchiness echinoderms have. However every week I toss CC stars in with a short 45 minute temp acclimation float, and right in the tank... no issues so it shouldn't be any pressure trying to get him in there. I also expose the starfish to air constantly, urchins don't care as much about exposure anymore than a fish.

Thanks!! In the past I have normally only drip acclimated clams and sponges, so I guess urchins can now be added to the list. I knew they could be a bit sensitive, but its good to know that I can expose the urchin to air for a brief moment to move him.

The only issue I was worried about, was that if the TTM would be beneficial to perform on an urchin, that for 12 days or so, the urchin would not any access to algae, so I guess I would have to possibly add some kelp to feed him.

Also....do you know if an urchin has any sensitivity to Prazipro? I normally run a 2 round treatment of Prazipro to all new additions in my QT before they hit my display tank.

 

[firemountain]

Interesting question. QT the urchin for 72 days in a fishless system should eliminate the risk, since anything that came in on the urchin (statistically unlikely, but still possible) would die without a fish to serve as host during that stage of its life.

TTM might be a shorter term solution, but frankly you would be chasing a different end point - the amount of time it takes for the larvae to hatch - rather than the time it takes for the parasite to fall off of the fish. Not sure how that would affect the exercise.

Agree with Joe about drip acclimation. Just keep an eye on ammonia levels in the bag if the animal was shipped to you, since raising the ph in the bag will make ammonia more toxic.

I guess I could always add a small amount of Prime measured accordingly to the bag water, to keep the toxic ammonia in check. While I have never had to do this in the past, it could benefit me for this situation.