will my urchin die??? pic and info included

[kilofey]

my urchin got herself stuck halfway out of the water between my egg crate and tank wall. i didnt notice she was there until i went to go rearrange a coral that had fallen. one side of her body looks healthy, tenticles out, moving all over the place. shes also cruising around the cup i put her in. the other side of her has spines falling off and the tenticles arent out and is a darker color.
in the pic, the good half is toward the top of the pic, the bad part is closer to the bottom of the pic, where all the spines are.
i know urchins live in tide pools and the tide goes out, so they are subject to being out of the water at times in the wild, but all those spines on the ground are really worrying me. should i put her back in the tank or wait a while? should i buy a breeder box to keep her in for a few days?
shes one of my favorite critters, the first thing we show off about our tank. we love "martha stuart" cause she redecorates everything for us lol. id hate to lose her

 

[intdes]

I'd suggest keeping her in the main tank, but in a breeder box if possible (separate from the others in the tank). I'd say there's hope if it's lively and moving!

 

[kilofey]

Thank you. Do you suppose she can leave the breeder box after 24 hours? Id hate to keep her in there and have her starve. Right now, she is in the same cup I took the pic in, but I cut some holes and put her in the vicinity of a power head so she can get some good flow to help her recover. Poor girl, I hope she makes it

 

[intdes]

Do you have any agressive mates that might harm her? If she's moving and active with no aggressors I'd probably let her in the main tank. If you're worried about her eating, give her a small piece of krill or shrimp (it's what I fed my urchin).

 

[kilofey]

I have a red stripe squirrel, I've read they can pick on inverts, but he has never touched any invert in my tank. I have a purple dottyback of some sort. She's mean to new fish, but no one else.
My urchin is having a tough time getting around because she only has half of her tentacles to stick to the walls. She's been trying to make her way up the wall of the cup, but can't quite make it.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I thought you had a Dr. Seuss Soapfish for some reason...
In any case, I would keep it in the main tank and carefully observe it.

 

[kilofey]

I've never heard of a Dr Seuss soap fish, but it sounds fun lol. Im going to keep her in the cup with holes poked in it over night to see how she does. It doesn't have a lid and its on the bottom of the tank. I'm hoping she will drop some loose spines in the cup rather than getting them all over the tank. She doesn't seem to be able to get out of the cup since she is missing the spines and tentacles on one side of her body I think I'll let her out tomorrow. By then her loose spines should be off and I'll know weather or not she's going to make it. Then I'll let her cruise on the bottom of the tank until she's recovered.
She's so curious, I don't even know how she wedged herself between the egg crate lid and the tank wall. Its a pretty decent fit.

 

[kilofey]

Oh good lord, I just looked up that Dr Seuss fish. I'm seeing a $6,000 price tag!!!!!! Holy cow I won't spend more than $40 on a fish lol. I'd rather buy a car with that money. And they're good for nanos? At that price it should at least fill a 100 gal lol

 

[kilofey]

I thought I'd post an update. "Martha", my pincushion urchin is still alive. She definitely looks quite rugged with her missing spines and tentacles. Half of her body looks like the urchin skeletons you find on the beach and the other half looks happy and lively. Her little accident sure did a number on her, but I think she will make it. Thanks for the advice everyone

 

[jay0705]

Good to hear