Happy'Cam'per wrote:
"Alan Silver" wrote in message

Did boiling them spoil them at all ?

Hi Alan

Don't bother boiling them, thats just overkill. However, there might be some
remains left in the shells of whatever was inhabiting them at some stage.
Fill a small bucket up halfway, add some salt (alot) and let them sit for a
week, replacing new water every 2 days or so. The shells will be fine in the
tank after this.
If you have enough shells you can crush a few them, put them into an old
nylon stocking and add that to your filter aswell. The more the merrier Imo.

If you ever come across crushed coral at the LFS this can be added too in
liberal ammounts.

I personally would at the very least let them soak in for a long while
then boil or bake for a short period (an hour seems a bit overkill, 20
mins should be sufficient). Since these are sea shells, saline conditions
may not be effective at killing pathogens. Heat denatures proteins
however, so this would work on any sort of critter present, regardless of
its saline tolerance. At the very least, rinse in totally hot tap water by
putting the bucket under the hot tap and letting it run for 5 mins or so
to completely replace the cold water, then let it set until it's cool
enough to handle. This is assuming your hot tap comes out at 120F or
higher.