I just wanted to clear things up about the urchin in question at AWOF. Blackdog called the store and I spoke with him (i'm dan at AWOF) and I just wanted to share some info on this thread. The urchin is actually of the genus Asthenosoma and is possibly i.d.'ed as Asthenosoma varium. The urchin is venemous and can deliver a painful sting- what has been described as being electrocuted by one of my wholesalers. It IS NOT the deadly flower urchin (Toxopneustes spp.). The information with regards to it being venemous should be posted on the aquarium of the urchin in question. Sometimes the signs get erased and it may be a while until it gets written on the tank again but it is usually sooner than later. The employee that answered with regards to its care may have felt that it being venemous was something "known" or that the customer may have already read this bit of information on the aqaurium. I can not count how many times I have gotten the "you idiot" look when I tell someone a lionfish is venemous so I tend not to discuss this until I know they are really interested in the fish and just to make sure they know. The same probably holds true for the urchin, we get asked about it a lot. You may have just gotten a lazy worker or a worker that does not know salt stuff that well. I think a lot of the confusion arises from the trade name given, which is the electric flower urchin. This is misleading, Dr. Shimek calls it a fire urchin and not a flower urchin (in his book Shimek does not say that this is a deadly urchin which he does say about urchins in the genus Toxopnesustes). A lot of times the "trade name" is created with intent to sell the item, in this case by associating it with the deadly flower urchin (toxopneustes spp.). Really the only way to truly identify an organism is by its latin name and not going by some fly-by-night trade name. I hope this clears up some info about the urchin in question. And by the way I can get the real flower urchins or blue ring octopuses if any one is interested??? Just kidding, I promise not to order these but on a side not they both are available from time to time and would retail for about 79.99 ( and that's at inflated AWOF prices) . What is really messed up is to think that there is someone who collects these deadly creatures for literally pennies. The urchin would not be hard but I would assume the octupus intales a ton of risk when handling. Thanks
Thanks Dan. I think one thing I can identify with you as a business owner is that sometimes you are at the mercy of your employees. You can't run a decent sized business and have all top line employees, it's just the law of averages. I'm sure the majority are really good.
on a side note: OT side note: isn't it illegal in the state of MN to purchase/sell/own a venomous snake without the proper zoological background and paperwork. I remember this from when the guy was bitten by his illegally kept cobra in Duluth a few years back... he walked to the local bar, ordered a drink, then told the bartender to call 911... the snake was killed, and he was medi-vac'd to Chicago, since NOONE in Minnesota carries any anti-venom except for zoos that have the snakes...
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