What did I do wrong

[LeJeune981]

I got a little urchin yesterday...
I've acclimated one successfully in the past. Following all the recommendations on the forums...
All say drip acclimated for 4 hours or more.. depending on the Salinity change... well I did just that..
Set my drip up... and waited.. about 45 min later... the Lil dude was dead :-(
It was happy.. carrying a shell and eating at the lfs... and was moving around the bag when I set up the drip..

It was a little pincushion... about the size of a dime...

My other urchin is about golf ball size... and I acclimated him EXACTLY the same... he has been in the tank now for 6 or 7 months..

So.. did I kill the little guy... or was it just bad luck (urchins are hard to acclimate)

My parameters are
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Ph 8.2
Nitrate 0
Phos 0
Alk 9
Mag 1400
Cal 420
Salinity 1.025

LFS had the urchin in 1.019 water

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[top shelf]

I had a golf ball sized one in my last tank and I just temp acclimated and put him in and he lived in my tank for several months till he cleaned all the algae out and I traded him back to the lfs. So my personal experience I would say they arent all that difficult but maybe I got lucky. What makes you think he's dead? If it shed it's needles sometimes they will do that.

 

[SAT]

Question... How long had the urchin been in the bag? Optimum handling is much different for an animal that you just picked up from the LFS versus one that had been shipped across the country.

 

[TokiHacker]

Yeah. The thing is is sometimes it just doesn't work out. I don't personally drip acclimate I temp then put them in a holding tank at the same salinity as the LFS (1.019) then slowly raise it over a week or two


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[LeJeune981]

I had a golf ball sized one in my last tank and I just temp acclimated and put him in and he lived in my tank for several months till he cleaned all the algae out and I traded him back to the lfs. So my personal experience I would say they arent all that difficult but maybe I got lucky. What makes you think he's dead? If it shed it's needles sometimes they will do that.

His needles aren't moving at all... even when I touch him.. all of his tube feet are pulled in (not visible)
I sat him in the tank.. In a low flow spot last night.. he was still there this morning... after work.. still there but slide a little down the bump on the rock he was on... he is still not holding on to the rock... still in the tank now..and gonna leave it for a while... just in case

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[LeJeune981]

Question... How long had the urchin been in the bag? Optimum handling is much different for an animal that you just picked up from the LFS versus one that had been shipped across the country.

I got it from the lfs.. about 30 min drive..



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[LeJeune981]

Yeah. The thing is is sometimes it just doesn't work out. I don't personally drip acclimate I temp then put them in a holding tank at the same salinity as the LFS (1.019) then slowly raise it over a week or two


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I think I will do that next time.. if I stumble across and urchin again..

I normally drip my inverts..
And use the cup method for fish..

First loss :-( it sucks

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[TokiHacker]

I think I will do that next time.. if I stumble across and urchin again..

I normally drip my inverts..
And use the cup method for fish..

First loss :-( it sucks

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So sorry to hear it. Do you have any other inverts? Has the tank ever been dosed with copper? That could cause some issues



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[LeJeune981]

So sorry to hear it. Do you have any other inverts? Has the tank ever been dosed with copper? That could cause some issues



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Yeah.. quite a few corals/hermets/emeralds/snails/banded serpent star/ and a shrimp or two.. oh and my other pincushion



I've never used copper

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[TokiHacker]

Hmmm... I'm sorry about the loss. Might have just been the urchin


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[Xxero]

Sometimes with lengthy drip acclimation procedures, unless you're dripping into a heated container, the water temperature can drop quickly. I wonder if this was the case? :hmm2:

 

[SAT]

I'm not sure there is a definitive answer here. I agree with ToriHacker about using a holding tank... Acclimating from 1.019 to 1.025 is more than should be attempted in one day, even for fish. Xxero's point about temperature could also be relevant. An airstone might also have been helpful.

The LFS really shouldn't be keeping inverts at 1.019.

 

[LeJeune981]

Sometimes with lengthy drip acclimation procedures, unless you're dripping into a heated container, the water temperature can drop quickly. I wonder if this was the case? :hmm2:

Wheb I drip... I use the bag they came in.. float the bag in the fuge.. then run my drip from the dt..so temp should be constant

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[Timfish]

You did nothing wrong. Over the years I've seen urchins "appear" to be fine initially and look fine up to the moment they die and that can be hours days or weeks. Having also seen this happen with a single individual out of a group is evidence this will happen when nothing is wrong with it's environment or acclimation.

 

[LeJeune981]

You did nothing wrong. Over the years I've seen urchins "appear" to be fine initially and look fine up to the moment they die and that can be hours days or weeks. Having also seen this happen with a single individual out of a group is evidence this will happen when nothing is wrong with it's environment or acclimation.

Thank you... I still feel pretty shitty though.. Lil guy was cute. And he is my first loss like that . I still have him in the tank.... just in case.. but tomorrow after work.. if it's still there. And not holding on. I will take the Lil fellow out...
He is only the size of a dime.. so any Ammonia will be eaten by the tank pretty fast

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[TokiHacker]

I'm not sure there is a definitive answer here. I agree with ToriHacker about using a holding tank... Acclimating from 1.019 to 1.025 is more than should be attempted in one day, even for fish. Xxero's point about temperature could also be relevant. An airstone might also have been helpful.

The LFS really shouldn't be keeping inverts at 1.019.

Very true... mine only does the fish.

 

[LeJeune981]

Very true... mine only does the fish.

I know..and I've talked to all of the employees and managers.. My response " it's store policy "

I told them.." this is a pet store...correct?
If I were you.. I would break that policy to stop killing pets"


My thought is they do it to hide illness..

Unfortunately for me... this petco is the only local saltwater store for me... next nearest is 1.5 hours away..

Besides one other.. but it's pretty bad..and way over priced because the owner kills more than he sells.. so he ups the price on everything to make up for it..

Example... 3 inch diameter rock.. with one disc. Shroom on it... 70 bucks

3 head torch.. 50 a head...

Needless to say... he doesn't sell much


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[JUNBUG361]

Damn, those are LFS prices. I thought California gas prices are outrageous especially head towards Las Vegas

 

[LeJeune981]

Omg.......I think it's alive

I pulled it out of the tank just now.. and sat it on my hood...and his Lil spines started to move... so I smelled him... smells good... I just sat it back in the tank and now his Lil tube feet are out... some of his spines fell out.. but not all.. so I guess I will continue to observe

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[LeJeune981]

Damn, those are LFS prices. I thought California gas prices are outrageous especially head towards Las Vegas

Yeah.. just the one though...dude kills more than anything..so he Jack's up all his prices...

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