Some aquarists want to not only get fish, but also make the aquarium as close as possible to the seabed. Seashells will help to add authenticity. Moreover, some beginners believe that you can just put sea shells, they say, they do not harm the inhabitants of the depths, which means you can pick them up on the beach yourself and add them to the water. This statement is only partially true, therefore, we will try to comprehensively consider how such seafood will affect the condition of the inhabitants of an artificial reservoir.
Advantages and disadvantages
So, the main question is whether or not shells can be put into the aquarium, but there is no definite answer to this question. The fact is that in a freshwater aquarium such decorations can be beneficial or harmful - it all depends on what kind of living creature you live. Let's try to figure out what is more in each individual case.
It is customary to start with a good one, therefore we will consider how useful it is to add shells to the aquarium.
- Decorativeness. This is not that a useful factor, just people thinking about whether to add shells from the beach to an artificial pond, usually care primarily about the aesthetic appeal of the aquarium environment. You can’t refuse this, provided that the person also tried to correctly decompose such jewelry.
- Elimination of calcium deficiency. The shell consists of calcium carbonate, that is, the chemical composition is very close to chalk and limestone. Now you understand why the mollusk needs this mineral, but to build the body, it is also actively used by fish, which need it to form bones and scales, and even some plants.
If this substance is not enough in water, there is nothing to expect that the pets will grow healthy, and there is no place to take calcium in soft water. Someone adds chalk, and you can throw some shells - just be prepared that they will dissolve over time.
- Extra shelter. There are such types of fish that like to hide - both in everyday life and for the same spawning. In an aquarium it is often difficult to find a secluded place, but a rather large shell could serve as an ideal refuge for the “modest”.
After the above, many probably decided to add shells, but there are actually many more minuses than pluses. It should be recognized that with a correct understanding of the processes occurring in the aquarium, the addition of such an element can bring only one benefit, but first you need to make sure that you will not do worse.
- Excessive stiffness. By the way, although calcium is useful, not all inhabitants like too hard water - it's no secret that even useful in case of an overdose causes harm. Plants, rather than fish, are usually more sensitive to increased stiffness, but the former can fulfill an important function in the home ecosystem, and among the latter, characins, for example, cease to spawn from such changes.
If the water in your aquarium is basically hard, then the added shells will not do worse, with weakly alkaline water of medium hardness, you can decorate the aquarium only moderately, but soft and slightly acidic water will quickly begin to dissolve calcium, acquiring a hardness potentially hazardous to some species.
If there is a lot of carbon dioxide in the container or you add pH lowering agents, the shells will dissolve even faster.
- Inhabitants of the aquarium may cut themselves and get stuck. A curious little fish likes to approach shells and even hide in them, but here everything happens as with children who sometimes play with things that are not at all intended for this. Try not to place sharp-edged samples in the pond, as the fish may also get injured and it will be problematic to treat it.
Another problem is that a curious pet sometimes swims inside the curl, but can’t return anymore and perishes because of this. This trouble especially often happens with catfish, because experienced aquarists advise putting shells into the aquarium only with the entrance down so that they cannot be penetrated.
- Extra synthetics. Naturally, in decorative terms, not those small shells found on the beach look much prettier, but those large ones that are sold in souvenir shops. You need to understand that the seller wants to earn the maximum amount of money for his product, because his shells are especially attractive due to the additional layer of paint or varnish.
In a sense, the consumer himself would have to benefit from this, since in this form the souvenir will probably last longer, but if you guess to throw such a piece of jewelry in the water, then do not be surprised why the fish surfaced with its belly up.
- Aesthetic incompatibility. The unbridled pursuit of beauty often leads to the fact that the owner of the aquarium is too zealous. Many domestic fish live in fresh water and are not surrounded by the tropical richness of vegetation, but a novice hungry for tropical charm often seeks to shove the most impressive exotic shell inside.
Over time, understanding comes that the mismatch of the surroundings spoils the impression of the jewelry itself, and if it was also valuable to you as a souvenir, you can easily lose it - remember that the shell gradually dissolves.
How to use?
The first thing you should have done after reading the list of shortcomings in the previous paragraph is to think about whether, in general, shells are needed in your home underwater world. You must be sure that this decoration will not get worse, which means you should make sure that your pets are definitely not against hard water, and it doesn’t flow from the tap in the mildest way. Only in this case, it is worth continuing to think about adding such a decoration to the aquarium.
Next, you need to think about exactly how you want to design a new aquarium design, since simply throwing in a few shells will not make the underwater world more beautiful than it was before. In most cases, experienced aquarists sketch out a whole plan on how to design your small pond.
If you think about it, this is not such a bad idea - you will clearly know what kind of shells you need, how many, and whether this will eventually harm the inhabitants of the aquarium.
If you got down to business with real avidness and want your masterpiece to be liked not only by yourself, but also by experienced colleagues, it makes sense to decorate an artificial pond not only with shells, but also with other elements of a typical marine surroundings.
To date specialized pet stores sell many different accessories that can complement the look of the tank and turn it into a corner of an almost real seabed. These include the shells themselves - both small and large, but completely safe for fish, and various imitations of the wreckage of sunken ships, and picturesque “snags”, and much more.
For those who are not ready to invent a bicycle, but definitely want to add a touch of sea to the design of their aquarium, there is a good idea, which, however, suggests that your pets will definitely not be damaged by the abundance of such decorations.
The idea is to evenly cover the bottom with small shells and add brighter and more interesting large specimens in only a few places.
How to process the material?
As you can already understand, the mere fact that you saw an attractive shell does not mean that you can immediately send it to the aquarium - decide on this step and then you will regret the consequences for a very long time.
Remember once and for all that decorative mollusk remains sold in the souvenir markets of any major resort to send into a living ecosystem is extremely risky - you may not see this, and the product will be tinted or varnished. “Preparing” such an accessory is unlikely to succeed - it is simply not intended for such an application and it is not worth experimenting with it.
If you really want to add natural marine aesthetics to the aquarium, it will be most reasonable to contact the nearest pet store. Such outlets sell not only containers, fish and food for them - in the assortment you can usually find various jewelry, among which there are both natural shells and skillful imitations, which, by the way, will not affect the hardness of the water and the health of the ecosystem.
The local products are good because they absolutely do not need to be prepared - even if you choose a sample that was once really a living mollusk, you can expect that it is already completely safe for the underwater world.
If you are a supporter of saving, you can personally get sea shells at the sea and add them to the aquarium, but then the preparation of the selected material rests on your shoulders. First of all, you must be sure that the carapace remains uninhabited for a long period and before you is not a corpse, but a long deserted skeleton.
If the remains of the mollusk that lived there have still been preserved, this may not be beneficial for the fish - you don’t know why the creature died, and if harmful bacteria that could poison the flowering ecosystem of your aquarium have gathered for carrion. Seeing that the carapace is not finally released, it is better not to try to mess with it, but simply throw it away, replacing it with another.
Even if the shell is definitely empty, but you picked it up in nature, this leaves a certain chance that potentially dangerous microorganisms are present on itcapable of upsetting biological balance. To avoid their penetration into the aquarium, you should first carefully walk along the surface with a brush, trying to get as far inside as possible. After this, the shell should be boiled over low heat for three hours to ensure that all extraneous living creatures have died.
Even after boiling, the shells are still not ready to get into the artificial pond - they need to be kept in cool water for about a day and only then can be used as decoration.
The following video will tell about shells for an aquarium.
