sea urchin broken spine

hey guys i was moving some coral about and broke a spine off my urchin just wondering if this will hurt it in the long run?

 

Did you snap a spine, or pull on out? If there is no open wound, than it should not be a problem. If there is an open wound on the urchin, there is a decent chance of bad infection.

 

i just snapped one off so should be ok?

 

I have a urchin that must of gotten wedged in between some rocks and really messed himself up. He had ripped open at least 5 wounds with a bunch of broken spines. We just gave him plenty of food to help himself heal. He is fine now and that happened maybe 9-12 months ago. You just dont want all of his spines being broken and short.

 

thanks guys for all the quick posts

 

Won't hurt it at all. I actually gave urchins "haircuts" from time to time

 

"Stepped on me? Are you kidding? This guy was dancing on me! I mean just look at this, broken, broken, gone, gone, broken, broken, broken... "

 

lol

Their spines are not equivalent to our fingers or toes. They are equivalent to our fingernails and toenails or hair.

 

I know Just a little funny quote from Surf's Up where a penguin steps on a Fire Urchin and breaks off a bunch of its spines. lol