Spiney has passed on... what happened?

[red_roadster]

Spiney, my tuxedo urchin was found today. He didn't make it. Water conditions are right on, food "seemed" available. He moved around the tank for a few days and then disappeared. I found him this morning.
Are Tuxedos not a very hardy urchin? Should I not have put him in a four month old tank?
Sure liked the little guy! Would like to get another.

Red

 

[ophiura]

Four months old is a bit young.
What are your specific water parameters?
When did you get it and how did you acclimate it?
Did you do recent water changes, buffering, etc?
Inverts can go a long time without food, so this is more likely an osmotic issue.

 

[red_roadster]

Acclimation went on for a few hours while I dripped the bucket it was in. But I did do a 15% water change the same day I put him in. He seemed fine for a few days, but then was gone.
I'm going to guess that I should not introduce new live-stock on the same day I do large water changes???

 

[ophiura]

Definitely don't...especially with any sort of urchins, stars, etc as they are very prone to osmotic shock. When you drip acclimated, did you check to see that the temp of the water the urchin was in was the same as the tank? Temp shock is another potential issue. What is your pH and specific gravity? If too low, this could cause shock. Furthermore, if the LFS did not do a good acclimation, this could have caused stress too. But it is definitely not a starvation situation, which takes months.

 

[dburr]

Also, any chance you took it out of the water? Sometimes they will get air in their body and cannot expell it. This will also kill them.
Dan

 

[ophiura]

Actually, many species of urchins are shipped merely wrapped in wet paper (usually those sold for research or food) and this is considered fine. Other species, such as rock boring urchins commonly found as hitch hikers, will be exposed during low tides. It is extremely unlikely that exposure to air would kill an urchin, unless it completely dried out.