I'm heartbroken - I arrived home tonight to see Speedy, my much-loved pincushion urchin, shedding spines. He looks pretty much gone; I knew it was hopless when I saw the nassarius snails starting to move in
I've had Speedy about a year and a half now, and he's grown from 1.5" across to about 2.5" in that time (excluding spine length). Of course I have no way of knowing how old he was before he was captured, but I can't imagine an urchin only lasting a year and a half - he's got loads of coralline to eat, nori if he wants it (always there for the tang), turf and hair algae on the rocks, film algae on the glass and halimeda macroalgae grows all over the place. Nothing living in the tank is remotely interested in eating him, or attacking him, and none of the conditions have changed other than adding 8 drops of Kent Iron supplement (half the recommended daily dose) three days ago for the macroalgae.
Water: pH 8.0, 3.2meq/L KH, Ca 380ppm, Mg 1200ppm, SG 1.025, temp 78-80F, NO3 & PO4 undetectable.
Does anyone know how long urchins typically live in captivity? Was there something I should have been doing or something he needed in his diet I didn't provide? I feel terrible, I was very attached to the little guy.