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elembee

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Usually the answer to putting seashells in a tropical fresh water tank is NO.

It's nothing to do with diseases getting introduced, more the effect on the water chemistry.

Over time the shells will dissolve, increasing the hardness and pH of the water in the tank - this could cause problems for the fish.

There are a couple of exceptions to this, if the tank has been setup to house African Rift Lake cichlids or the tank has been set up as a brackish tank. In both of these situations the fish actually prefer hard alkaline water.

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yeah, just like what Rob has suggested, it's best simply to avoid it.

:D

not convinced? try dipping some of the shells in vinegar. if they sizzle, esp from the white chalky bits, it indicates that they contain carbonates( i think) n r undesirable in most freshwater aquariums....

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A warm welcome to the forum LMB, great to have you join us.

What sort of fish do you have?

If you let us know perhaps we can suggest a setup that might suit your situation.

The warnings above are valid, and even some ornaments that are added to tanks can break down and cause endless probs, mainly cloudy water.

Regards,

Bill (Pegasus)

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Unlike everyone else, I'm going to say, as long as they're cleaned well, go ahead and put them in. I'm assuming you're not going to be putting massive amounts, just a handful of shells? That wouldn't have a noticable effect on the PH. And anyway, not all fish like acidic water.:)

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Hi Elembee,

Just to clarify the above and avoid confusing you further,

Ira tends to keep fish that live in conditions of high pH eg, above 7.5pH,

but for the general run of fish such as the tetras, guppies, gouramies, angels, swords and such, it would be best to avoid the shells.

Regards,

Bill (Pegasus)

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Actually, Pegasus, none of my fish prefer over 7.5. I'm just saying that unless she puts a huge amount of shells in the tank, a handful of them would likely only raise the PH by .1-.2PH...Which even discus could handle. If she put the same weight of crushed shells, that would be different because of the greater surface area.

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