Sea urchin surprise
 

My daughter brought home a new friend for the tank... a cute Lil white sea urchin

Anyways.. I've done a lot of reasurch since she brought him home... though I'm not sure exactly what kind he is...so just general care reasurch..

2 questions... anyone know what kind
And how can I pick him up.. he doesn't seem to wanna let go of the rock..and I don't wanna hurt him... or myself lol

I wanna get him off that rock.. I think he is stuck.. he has been up there since Sunday

And I have some work to do on the tank this weekend

Any help and advice is greatly appreciated

Yall are awesome and lifesavers

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I seriously doubt he's stuck. Give him some time and he'll start moving agains.

Looks like a lighter-colored Tuxedo urchin to me, but I'm far from the expert.

Are you rearranging the rock or just doing a wc? It should follow the water level as it drops if its just a wc. I try to avoid moving my urchins unless I have to but I find if you hold them and very gently rock them from side to side they will eventually let go, you don't want to yank it or it'll damage its tube feet. Just do it very gently almost like a vibration movement and it should let go. I do this bare handed with my tux urchins but as I have no idea what species your is you may want to wear rubber gloves just in case. No expert but that works for me and doesn't seem to do them any harm.

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The urchin isn't stuck but chooses to hold fast. Looks like the Caribbean variegated urchin . They can be different colors of white to purple to green or a combination of the colors . Urchins can usually be exposed to air without problems. They will move down to the new level of water as it drops slowly . If water levels drops rapidly they sometimes let go completely and fall back into water . I wouldn't try to move him. You might injure him .he is just trying to overcome the transition to your tank . Hopefully you dripped acclimated him over a long period .

+1 It's a Caribbean pincushion urchin and will move when it's ready. You might want to try putting a little 1" x 1" piece of nori seaweed (asian aisle of most any grocery store) next to him once a week or so to give him something to chow down on.

If you ever do need to move it by hand for some reason (tank transfer, etc.), with a pair of rubber gloves on, gently cup your fingers around it and very slowly and gently lift up ... a few spines might break but it will drop them and grow new ones back. Better yet, before lifting, you hold your fingers next to it for a few minutes and see if it'll crawl into your and on it's own.

Thanks for all the reply and info.. I have to change my substrate this weekend and that's why I asked how to pick him up.. he has acclimated since then and is roaming all over the tank as we speak..such a fun Lil dude to watch.. and now that I have an idea what kind he is I can further study up on him..
My daughter said they had white/black/and tuxedo urchins at the shop..

I use to have a black urchin years ago who would roam everywhere. Usually once a week I would have to pry him off of the thermometer that he attached himself to, dislodged from the glass and floating around the tank like a plastic bag caught in the wind.

My tuxedo moves a lot but sometimes he finds a nice patch of something to mow down and will stay there for a while. Mine has been out in the air with no problems and no need to drip acclimate. I have also moved it by just grabbing it with my plastic tongs, no problem. Urchins IMO are very hardy little guys that eat just about anything including sponges. Mine also likes to wear a lone mushroom for a hat...enjoy your new addition!