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Unread 12/15/2017, 05:55 PM   #1
LeJeune981
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What did I do wrong

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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Last edited by LeJeune981; 12/15/2017 at 11:01 PM.
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Unread 12/15/2017, 07:31 PM   #2
top shelf
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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.


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Unread 12/15/2017, 08:38 PM   #3
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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.


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Unread 12/15/2017, 09:13 PM   #4
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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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Unread 12/15/2017, 10:54 PM   #5
LeJeune981
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Quote:
Originally Posted by top shelf View Post
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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Unread 12/15/2017, 10:56 PM   #6
LeJeune981
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SAT View Post
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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Unread 12/15/2017, 10:59 PM   #7
LeJeune981
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TokiHacker View Post
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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Unread 12/15/2017, 11:01 PM   #8
TokiHacker
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LeJeune981 View Post
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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Unread 12/15/2017, 11:04 PM   #9
LeJeune981
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TokiHacker View Post
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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Unread 12/15/2017, 11:05 PM   #10
TokiHacker
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Hmmm... I’m sorry about the loss. Might have just been the urchin


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Unread 12/16/2017, 04:05 AM   #11
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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?


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Unread 12/16/2017, 06:54 AM   #12
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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.


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Unread 12/16/2017, 08:52 AM   #13
LeJeune981
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xxero View Post
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?
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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Unread 12/16/2017, 09:30 AM   #14
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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.


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Unread 12/17/2017, 08:17 PM   #15
LeJeune981
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Timfish View Post
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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Unread 12/18/2017, 01:07 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SAT View Post
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.


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Unread 12/18/2017, 07:01 PM   #17
LeJeune981
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TokiHacker View Post
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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Unread 12/18/2017, 07:22 PM   #18
JUNBUG361
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Damn, those are LFS prices. I thought California gas prices are outrageous especially head towards Las Vegas


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Unread 12/18/2017, 07:23 PM   #19
LeJeune981
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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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Unread 12/18/2017, 07:38 PM   #20
LeJeune981
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Originally Posted by JUNBUG361 View Post
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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Unread 12/18/2017, 11:08 PM   #21
LeJeune981
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So... Lil dude is not well... but alive..lost some spines... but is now attached to the rock..and has moved a little bit around the rock..

I'm pretty stoked right now.. still confused why he was like that for 4 days

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Unread 12/20/2017, 10:21 AM   #22
Uncle99
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Keep in mind when you drip acclimatize, the temp starts falling unless you are heating in some way.....temperature change is the single most common cause of death.
I Check the SG of the water in the bag to ensure its the same, or slightly higher. If so, temperature acclimatize in the bag for 15-20 minutes and pop it in......using this for a year now....never had a problem again....
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