Sea Shells

[carly]

I was at the pet store over the weekend, picking up another taricha. I brought a carrier tank with me and a seashell in it as a surface breaker. The owner told me that seashells can break down in water and be a source of toxins to the newts (and fish etc.) I've had seashells in my tank at home for about a year or more, and nothing has happened. Does anyone know anything about this?

 

[ethan]

He's actually correct. I've worked in a tropical fish store for several years and many people use crushed coral and shells as a buffer to raise the overal pH and alakalinity of water. This is a bad thing for newts, but a good thing for rift lake and marine fish. Some rocks can also do this, so its important to ask a knowledgable fish person before purchasing it. The reason shells change water chemistry is that they are made up of calcerous materials and can dissolve into the water.

 

[foster]

Carly,
In addition to raising the pH of the water as Ethan pointed out shells (the coiled types anyway), are not a good idea because uneaten food and other debris can become trapped inside. Also (and this is a totally personal opinion), seashells tend to look out of place in an environment with newts.
Chip

 

[jennifer]

I wouldn't say that raising pH and alkalinity is generally bad for newts. When I lived in a soft water region, I added calci-sand to bring up the pH in my established tanks, as it tended to drop over time. Calci-sand has basically the same effect as shells or coral or limestone.

Like fish, newts vary in their preference for hard vs. soft water. Some, such as Neurergus, prefer (and perhaps NEED) hard water. In the case of Taricha, I don't know what their preference is. I suspect that most species of newts are quite flexible in their pH and hardness tolerance.

I have heard of a newt getting trapped inside a shell, so there's another reason to not use them.

(Message edited by jennewt on April 10, 2005)

 

[ethan]

That's a good point--we're talking about a group of animals that vary a lot in water quality preference.

 

[carly]

all of my shells were clam-like shells so there was no risk of the guys getting trapped or debris getting caught in there.
but... there's no point in risking it.