Shells From The Beach?

[thalie]

My son collected a bunch of shells from a local beach and was asking if it was okay to use them in our tank - we currently have a couple of bottom-feeders (algae eaters), some tetras and platies. Tank is pretty stable at the present time, haven't had any issues in the past few months. Is it generally safe to add shells and stuff like that, assuming they are all completely cleaned out?

Thanks for any tips.

 

[platyfanatic]

I added shells to my fish tank, containing platies and they were fine.
So they should be ok.

 

[nukeonekitty]

I would boil them in water for 15-20 minutes to kill anything on them so you don't contaminate your tank.Keep in mind they are a source of calcium and will affect the water hardness and pH. Try not to put too many in.