shells from the ocean

[JDH]

My parents were away for a week and they brought me back 50+ shells for my tanks, and some coral they found on the beach. I boiled it all for about 3-4 hours so far... is that the right thing to do? If not, what can i do to make them safe for my fresh water tanks?

 

[jflowers]

They will not be safe in a FW aquarium, not for the usual community fish anyway, may be ok with hard water fish.

Jon

 

[JDH]

They will not be safe in a FW aquarium, not for the usual community fish anyway, may be ok with hard water fish.

Jon

Not even if they're boiled?

 

[Paul_MTS]

nope as being shells there made out of calcuim and calcuim raises the hardness and in turn raises the PH.

it would be OK if you had a dedicated african cichlid tank but over than that leave them on the outside.

 

[Ed4567]

They are made of calcium carbonate, which dissolves releasing carbonate ions (and obviously calcium ions). The carbonate ions increase the 'hardness' of the water.

The increase in hardness may be acceptable to your fish depending on their natural habitat, what sort of water they have been kept in etc.etc.

edit: Paul is a faster typer than me

 

[freddyk]

A couple of shells for decorative purposes shouldn't have any noticable affect on the water. You've boiled them, taking care of any nasties hitching a ride, so they're safe. I'd suggest adding them in small quantities (numbers depending on size of shells and tank), leaving it for a week, and then taking some tests to see if it's made a difference. If all seems well, you can add a couple more and go through the same routine. In the average aquarium, water changes are more then enough to counter the calcium carbonate from a few shells.

There are a number of variables involved including the size of tank, size and number of shells, and the perameters you're starting with. If you don't want to go through the hassle of testing to see how it works, i'd suggest going with the advice from the previous posts - it's the safest route.

 

[Paul_MTS]

seeing as you have boiled them i would stay right away, you might of killed off any bad bits on there but you have also softened them up so when you do put them in your tank your going to have problems quite quickly.

 

[Zenn]

hehe, i would listen to them, though somehow i have managed to successfully bring in shells from the beach into my Freshwater tank, but i aint sure whether it because of the speices

My fish are as follow:

Swordtails
Black tetra neons
bala shark
common pleco
Angel fish

There are the fish i keep in a tank with a few sea shells, and thy are fine, got water test that show everything is in perfect condition too nd got a pat on the back (Literally) from Rob who is a owner of one of the largest fish store around my area *Chiltern aquatics* for having such levels

Now i also used to keep goldfish with some shells too, and they were fine too, the only reason i am using pass tense is because i gave th goldfish to my brother, to which have now been alive for a good firm 7 years, so i will tell you what i did to these shell's i picked up from the beach.... I soaked them and scrubbed them, that is all, and they ar fine in my water

But i aint saying that ill work fo everyone else, just telling you how i did it and that my fish are just fine, but in all honesty, in my advice is try and stay clear of them, shell werent ment for fresh water fish really

 

[pica_nuttalli]

if you have manymanymany shells, you can't use them all. but you could select just a few of your favorites to put in your aquarium. they will slowly leach into your water and add hardening agents, but if your water supply is a bit soft anyways, it won't be that big of a deal. since the shells will eventually decompose, save the rest of them as replacements for the originals. i would think 1 large or two medium shells per 10 gallons should be managable. (i'd save the coral for a bookend.)

however all bets are off if your water supply is already hard. there's no sense in throwing oil on a fire.

 

[sammydee]

Boiling is not necessary for shells from salt water. Freshwater is to salt water organisms as salt water is to freshwater organisms - they can't survive in the other environment. Anything living on the shells would be killed by the freshwater anyway.

I keep a couple of shells in my freshwater tank to buffer against an extreme pH drop as I use CO2 injection. Doesn't seem to worry the fish in the slightest.

 

[Zenn]

I keep four shells in my 27 gallon (UK) tank, two are fairly large, and two small ones, but they are right the shells with decompose in time, since they were developed from a lining organism, but good tending to water conditions, and regualr checks should help maintain the water levels and keep the fish happy, if you put effort into it, you can put shells into fresh water tank, but some think it is too much hassel for such little things and so avoid it because of risks, so what we are trying to say here, putting shells into your tank is a risky job, but with very careful monitoring and care can be done, but if you feel the effot is worth it, then by all means do what you think will suit you, but do know it is a risky and delicated thing for something as small and fragile as shells