Sea urchin question

[caliAO]

I have 2 sea urchins in my tank and I noticed one was near the top of the tank on the glass in which I didn't mind anything about that til my wife told me that his mouth is sticking out of the water. So first natural reaction was that he is dead. He is still alive but does this mean he is dying? I tried to move him down in the water more but he has a good grip still on the glass of the tank.

[Louis Z]

Good sticking to glass does not mean dead. usually they will drop their spines before they die. some may recover and regrow the spines. but it you pick it up and it oozes or smells then it is dead. their mouth is on the bottom , their anus is on top . many sea urchins can be exposed to air and sometimes found that way on rocks if tide drops . they some how can handle not being in water for awhile. now for how long out of water , i do not know. Mine will sometimes be at surface half in and half out. usually a big change in water chemistry can kill them or deteriorating water conditions will also kill them.

[Bpb]

+1 if it has spines it's still alive


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[ReefsandGeeks]

My Purple spine will often climb up the glass until he is partially out of water, and does the same thing where he will "unlatch" with his top tenticles and start to go upside down at the surface of the water. I'm not sure why he does it, but he's alive and well and has been for several years, all the while doing that.