Any problem with putting sea shells in my tank ?

In message , Louamb
writes
I've had seashells in my cichlid tank for a few years now. What I do is
boil them for about an hour so all the bacterias are gone.

Thanx, that was what I guessed, but I wanted to check.

Did boiling them spoil them at all ?

"Alan Silver" wrote in message
...
Hello,

We have just come back from holiday and, having done the obligatory days
on the beach, have returned with a small collection of pleasant shells.
These came from the North-East coast of England if it makes any
difference.

Is there any problem with putting these in my cichlid tank ? Obviously I
would wash them first, but do I need to do anything else ?

TIA

--
Alan Silver
PSG Fish Tanks - http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/


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--
Alan Silver
PSG Fish Tanks - http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/
(anything added below this line is nothing to do with me)


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"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.
--
**So long, and thanks for all the fish!**

In message , Happy'Cam'per
writes
"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.

Thanx, that sounds even easier !!

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.

I don't have that many, just a few nice ones picked up on the beach.

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

The substrate in this tank is basically crushed coral and shells. A few
of the smaller shells survived the crushing, but it's mostly bits.

Ta ra and thanx for the reply.

--
Alan Silver
PSG Fish Tanks - http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/
(anything added below this line is nothing to do with me)


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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.

snip
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.
snip
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.

Thanx for the reply. I hadn't thought about the saline tolerance, makes
a lot of sense. Maybe I'll try the very hot water idea and see what
happens.

At the end of the day, if they get spoiled it's not terrible. They're
just some nice shells we picked up on the beach, it's not like I flew to
Indonesia specially to get them !!

Ta ra

--
Alan Silver
PSG Fish Tanks - http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/
(anything added below this line is nothing to do with me)


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