FishProfiles.com Message Forums |
| faq | etiquette | register | my account | search | mailbox |
 | Shells |
leachim Hobbyist Posts: 50 Kudos: 23 Votes: 2 Registered: 08-Nov-2006   | hello all i have recieved some beautiful shells from a friend who was vacationing in cuba.not sure if this is the right place to post this but since i want to put the shells in with my cichlids i thought i would ask for your advice here. so far i have rinced them in hot water and scrubed them with a toothbrush.will they be safe to put in my tanks or is there more i should do to them first? i have not used any soaps or chems on them. any advice would be great thanks |
 Posted 03-Apr-2007 06:00 |     |
ACIDRAIN      Moderator Posts: 3162 Kudos: 1381 Votes: 416 Registered: 14-Jan-2002   | If they came from the wild, I would boil them for several minutes. Using just hot water for a few minutes will not always get rid of some parasites. Many parasites live for years in a dried out and hot conditions in an encasing called a cyst. These cysts can stand up to extreme harsh conditions. There is always a bigger fish... |
| Posted 06-Apr-2007 17:21 |  |
inkodinkomalinko   Fish Guru Posts: 2441 Kudos: 833 Registered: 18-Jan-2003 | Another slight precaution would be the increase it may cause in your pH. If they are african cichlids, they probably won't mind. Shells would slowly release calcium into the water and will increase the pH. Usually the affects are slight in larger aquariums due to the larger body of water, but greater in smaller tanks. Cichlids which like high pH won't mind, but most CA SA and other cichlids would. Just a note in case you didn't know  |
| Posted 06-Apr-2007 21:40 | |
 Posted 06-Apr-2007 21:48 | This post has been deleted |
| leachim Hobbyist Posts: 50 Kudos: 23 Votes: 2 Registered: 08-Nov-2006 | thanks for the advice i have boiled them,and put them in the tanks they look good. i have african cichlids mostly so it should be good thanks again leachim |
| Posted 09-Apr-2007 17:43 | |
  | |
| Jump to: |
The views expressed on this page are the implied opinions of their respective authors.
Under no circumstances do the comments on this page represent the opinions of the staff of FishProfiles.com.
FishProfiles.com Forums, version 11.0
Mazeguy Smilies