Sea Shells In My Tank?

[Mia S]

Hi,

I was wondering how safe it is to put sea shells collected from the beach into a fresh water tank? I have a few in there already but they were purchases from a LFS.
I also have a cuttle fish I'd like to put in for the calcium, my apple snails shells aren't looking all that fabulous, & I'd rather put in natural stuff than anything from a bottle. Is there any way of 'de-contaminating' the shells &/or cuttle fish?

Any help much appreciated

 

[Truck]

i suggest you boil them for 5 mins in a pan

 

[pippoodle]

did you buy the cuttlefish or find it ?
if you purchased it from a pet store just rinse it well in boiling water as boiling it can disintegrate the bone
I have had cuttle fish in my tanks for a few weeks and have been fine

cheers sarah xx

 

[Mia S]

Thanks guys,

I found the cuttle fish on the beach in front of my house, there are always hundreds of them on the sand. I think the ocean currents bring them over from their breeding grounds in South Australia. I've had the shells soaking in water overnight & all these little bugs have come out, so I think boiling them is a great idea lol. I'll rinse the cuttle fish as per suggestion & see how I go.

I hope this fixes the snails' shells, they been making snail love all day & night, hoping for babies

 

[OldMan47]

Rinse the salt from the cuttle fish before you put it into the tank and it should be fine chemically. Boiling unknowns to kill off pests is also a good idea.

 

[drobbyb]

It should also be noted that the shells will have a slight buffering effect on the water. If you are only using a few, the buffering effect might not be noticeable.