i found some shells at a beach i was visiting and thought they would look great ontop of a bubble disk. If i cleaned them in warm water, would it be ok to add them to the tank? In the tank i have :
4 platys, 1 gourami and 1 plec
cheers :)
2007-08-10 11:49:00 · 11 answers · asked by Fraser :] 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Do not put shells from the beach into a fresh water tank.
I have known of people bleaching the shells with a clorox solution and them boiling them in clean water about 10 times to get the chlorine from the clorox out, but then there's the chance that you may not get it all and goodbye fish. To me it's just not worth it. They make beautiful fake shells to go in fresh water tanks. There are many places to buy them. They also sell some real shells that have been bleached by pros who know exactly how to do that.
Good luck.
2007-08-10 11:58:42 · answer #1 · answered by Bama 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was told the opposite. That you definitely DO NOT want bleached shells in your tank. In fact, shells from the beach are GOOD for your tank and help keep the amonia levels down and also help cycle a tank faster. You DO NOT want shells that you purchased in a store (for example in a little shop in Florida while on vacation). Those will be bleached with god knows what else on them to make them look nice and shiny.
My husband and I put quite a few shells (picked up from the beach) into our tank when we were having trouble cycling it (55 gallon with lots of fish, took a few months! LOL). The shells really seemed to help.
Just wash them off but do not bleach them and you should be fine.
2007-08-10 13:08:31 · answer #2 · answered by DawnMarieB 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You know I did that once about two years ago. I boiled the shells in hot water and then rinsed them off in cool water with a very small amount of bleach, let them cool, then boiled them and rinsed them in non bleach water.
End result was that even after all of that and making sure that no bleach or visible salt was in the tank, half of the tank died within 48 hours. The pet store told me I changed the water and shells have been in the ocean that the salt is part of the shell and generally it is a bad idea.
Hope that helps.
Rebecca
2007-08-10 14:15:25 · answer #3 · answered by rmw1220 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not a matter of germs, there would be no real possibility of harmful germs on the shells. You don;t want to use them though because they can and will change the pH and hardness in your tank. This will lead to problems each tie you clean your tank and do a water change. Far better to leave them out where they will not harm your fish.
MM
2007-08-10 12:32:10 · answer #4 · answered by magicman116 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No. Rule of thumb: anything that has come from the ocean no matter how clean can never be put into a fresh water tank.
Doing so will be toxic to your tank by raising ph and carbonate hardness to your tank.
2007-08-10 13:51:25 · answer #5 · answered by dizzykylie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all don't get just 1 hermit crab they like company. You should get a 10 gallon tank and make sure you have the right humidity and Temperature. Give them lots of food and water, and something to play with like a sponge. Have a great time with your hermit crabs!!!!!
2016-05-19 02:29:29 · answer #6 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is a great idea. I hope you don't mind if I borrow it from you for my aquarium. You do need to boil them for about 5 minutes and then let them cool off completely before adding them to your tank. :)
2007-08-10 13:08:40 · answer #7 · answered by live*laugh*love 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no the will ruin the water, they are from a salt environment and you have a fresh water set up
2007-08-13 11:48:49 · answer #8 · answered by cheri h 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
boil them just to be on the safe side you dont want any harmful germs :[
2007-08-10 11:56:59 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yup. definatly boil them first though
2007-08-10 11:54:21 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋