So I was real happy when my fire shrimp started to grow his pincers back after he lost them the molt before last...that is until I just checked my tank and saw my mother f###ing tuxedo urchin eating his @$$!!!!! It is not a molt, my fs molted last thursday and it is def. my shrimp. Anyone heard of this. Just an hour and a half ago my fire shrimp was happy and well. And no; my urchin wasn't using it for cover as I sat there and watched(after determining my fire shrimp was dead) and sure enough the urchin was bringing the tail end towards its mouth and upon freeing whats left of him, my fireshrimp is missing its tail and part of the abdomen.

WTF needless to say I am beyond pissed! Anyone ever hear of something similar happening?

Hummm.... In general Tuxedo urchins are not carnivorous... But I suppose anything is possible. Did you actually see the urchin ingest it or did it drag it close, strip off a layer (like the shell was covered in algae) and leave a part of it behind...?

I was watching my fire shrimp and it started acting funky... within an hour it fell over dead.

fire shrimp was acting usual and not funky. while I couldn't see it actually ingetsing the shrimp it was pulling it closer to its mouth and the tail and abdomen are gone and not being used for cover

Sorry. That sucks. Stuff happens

thanks dude, it def. sucks! my nass. are taking care of the carcass as we speak. I'm getting past the uber pissed off stage and on to the stage. He only cost me $15 which is the plus, but I'm def. gonna miss the guy. He was always so intertaining to watch.

Odds are then that the Urchin was not digesting it. It encountered it, perhaps found something on the shell that it considered as potential food, realized it wasn't, then used it for camouflage. The only carnivorous urchins I am aware of are pencils.

There is no real way to be sure now. You are most likely correct, but I would like to know where the back third of the shrimp went though. As far as tank inhabitants being herbivores, I have a carnage loving starry blenny who is supposed to be an herbivore

Well the nassarius and marginella snails got to eat most of it, no sense letting food go to waste. Still pretty bummed about my fire shrimp kickin' it though

Aye. Sorry for your loss. For what its worth their life expectancy is about 2 years or so.

That sucks man. Hmmm, I guess I'll never get a tux urchin!

my diadema ate a dead green clown goby, bones and all, in less than ten minutes. I've seen mysis get caught in his spines and slowly brought down to his mouth, as well. even herbivorous urchins are scavengers.

Hey friend, sorry for the loss. I have had some experience with urchins... I have had black longspine(diadema), pencil tip, pin cushion, and red pin cushion. The diadema was the WORST, he ate all my coralline algae and my sandsifter starfish. Then I added an anemone and I saw the pencil tip and the pin cushion going for it so I put them all in the sump until I could take them back to the LFS. They and people say they are reef safe but in my experience they get spoiled on good food and tired of their natural habitat food and eventually go evil. IMO they are fowlr creatures, before all that happened I was wanting to get a Tuxedo aswell. Get out while you are ahead.

that stinks fire shrimp are awesome. i would think the shrimp would be too fast for the urchin to catch it wouldn't it? i know nothing about urchins so i don't know how fast they are but i know shrimp can move when they have to lol. could the shrimp of been sick or hurt? just asking like i said i'm no expert on either of them.