I recently was given a really unique seashell. The person that gave it to me had the intention of me putting it in my fish tank. She brought it back from the ocean last weekend. I am not sure if there is any special way I should clean the shell before placing it with my fish. Thanks.
2007-05-30 15:40:05 · 11 answers · asked by lunardream81 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
I'm sorry to say it's a really bad idea to put seashells in a freshwater aquarium. As so many other well informed posters have said, they can really mess up the water chemistry quickly and badly. Unless you want to fight a constant battle with the pH and hardness it's simply a bad idea. If you have freshwater hopefully you can find a meaningful way to display the shell near your tank and if need be explain to the person that while you love the shell and the thought it would be harmful to your fish.
For a saltwater tank a scrub with a stiff clean toothbrush under hot water should be all that's needed.
Also as others have pointed out, please don't use chemicals and especially not a strong bleach solution. The bleach can penetrate the shell and leach out over time causing all kinds of problems.
MM
2007-05-30 16:17:49 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I've always been a little leery of putting seashells in the tank as I don't keep African cichlids. Sea shells are full of calcium and tend to make the water harder and increase the pH.
Here's a blurb in response to a woman who added a shell to her betta tank and the betta died:
I've read in some aquarium manuals that sea shells shouldn't be used for decorating
freshwater aquariums because the calcium carbonate mineral that they are composed of will
be dissolved by the aquarium water. This will cause the water to become
"harder", & some freshwater fish might been sensitive to high levels of this
mineral. This is not a problem in saltwater tanks because there's already calcium
carbonate in the saltwater at fairly high levels, so the sea shells wouldn't be dissolved
as quickly, & the fish are used to that mineral anyway.
It's a little hard to believe that 1 seashell could have this toxic of an effect on your
fish, but betas might be especially sensitive to hard water.
In any case, I wouldn't recommend using sea shells in your freshwater tank anymore, but
you're probably already taking that precaution,
Jeff Buzby, Ph.D.
CHOC Research Institute
2007-05-30 15:55:41 · answer #2 · answered by Barb R 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Seashells may contain minerals from formation or from just being in the ocean. No matter how much you sterilise it, these minerals might leech back into your fish's water which won't be very good for it. Also, if it has any sharp edges, it might tear your fish's fins, particularly so if your fish has long, flowy fins. To test if the edges are blunt enough, run it through some pantyhose. If the pantyhose shreds, it's too sharp.
If you really must use it though, boil it in water and then sun it for about two days. This will get rid of any bacteria.
2007-05-30 16:05:33 · answer #3 · answered by ninjaaa! 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
First of all do not use any chemicals no soap nothing that will soak into the porous surface of the shell, boil it for awhile and that should do it
However, shells are not inert objects they will leak calcium making the water hard and alkaline so if you have a bunch of fish from the upper Amazon they'll keel over very quickly, if however, you have rift valley cichlids then bobs your uncle.
Check on the water parameters for the fish you have before ever adding any object to the water that is not inert.
AJ
2007-05-30 16:03:47 · answer #4 · answered by andyjh_uk 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
you can put your seashell in a bleach 1/4 cup of bleach to a gallon of water and let it soak over night. Rinse well and place your shell in clean water with some of your Dechlor water conditioner in it and let it soak for about an hour. Rinse and put into your tank.
I will advise you as to Yes it is safe to put the shell into your tank, however it will increase the PH of the water in your tank. Not rapidly but over the next few weeks your ph level will slowly increase.
Boiling is not necessary for sea shells from the beach. Bleach water will kill just about all organisms on the shell and most saltwater parasites cannot or do not live in fresh water.
Just watch your PH
2007-05-30 16:20:55 · answer #5 · answered by danielle Z 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
To clean shells, boil them for a few minutes. then jsut let them cool. There is really no such thing as too few or too many rocks. They are purely decor and serve no real purpose other than to dress up the tank.
2016-03-19 01:42:31 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't use any chemicals because you don't want the chemicals to get into your tank. If the shell is not painted or cured with anything it will be fine for the tank. Just boil it for about 30 minutes to make sure there are no pollutants or parasites on it..
2007-05-30 16:15:27 · answer #7 · answered by usefulidiot230 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
How Do You Clean Seashells
2016-06-25 23:04:38 · answer #8 · answered by iva 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I brought some really cool shells from the ocean too - I gently boiled them for 5-10 minutes then let them cool completely (obviously). Boiling them sterilizes them...
2007-05-30 15:43:45 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Soak it in hot water with soap and let it sit for a couple of miniutes and ur pretty much ready to go!
2007-05-30 15:43:46 · answer #10 · answered by joeyarmendariz 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋