There is a type of invertebrate which you can purchase that will remove algae from your sand and it’s known as the Sea Egg. It’s actually a sea urchin and it comes in a variety of colors and it has sharp spines every couple of segments on its body. This Sea Urchin will roam around your saltwater tank searching for algae and food to eat. If you do not have enough algae in your saltwater tank you will want to purchase seaweed which you can place on a veggie clip at the bottom of your tank. This will provide your Sea Egg with enough food to eat and keep itself busy.
It you want to keep the Sea Egg alive you must keep the salinity and temperature at the right level. This means that you have to keep the salinity at around 1.023 to 1.026. You will also need to keep the temperature at 73 to 76 degrees. You will want to purchase a heater or a chiller to keep your tank at the correct temperature. A heater will allow you to raise the temperature. A cooler will enable you to cool down the water if it gets too warm. One way to make sure that you don’t overheat your Sea Egg would be to only keep your light on for around six hours per day while you are home. This way the water doesn’t get heated up past what it should be at.
The Sea Egg comes in a variety of colors and the good thing about it is that it stays very small. This sea urchin is one of the only invertebrates which will stay under four inches. You will not want to place the Sea Egg in a saltwater tank which has aggressive fish. Your fish may chase around the Sea Urchin and stress it out causing it to die. You will want to change at least 30% of your water every two weeks to avoid this sea urchin from shedding all of its sharp spines all over it. Once it loses all of its spines it will quickly begin to die.
You will want to move the Sea Egg from the tank if you are going to medicate any fish in your tank. Invertebrates cannot be kept in an aquarium that is being treated with medication. You must scoop up the Sea Egg in a bowl of water and place it in a different aquarium until all of the medication is out of your saltwater tank. This might take at least two weeks to make sure that the water is completely free of medication. You can place the carbon in your filters which will help to remove the medication from the fish tank.
