Pink sea urchin, plastic grass, and white shells without messing up the water parameters?
I should probably avoid dried small starfish is that right?
Sorry if we discussed this before I just want to start off with no problems when I set up a new small tank.
Are these decorations safe to use in my shrimp tank?
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- BostonJill
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Are these decorations safe to use in my shrimp tank?
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- Senior Shrimp Master
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Re: Are these decorations safe to use in my shrimp tank?
I see no problem with any of them. As long as they are clean and natural they should be fine. You could soak them in brackish water for a week or so just to make sure there is no hidden ammonia causing debris. I have even let algae grow on some hardscape and then introduced it into the tank. It attracts a lot of attention from both snails and shrimp.
- BostonJill
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Re: Are these decorations safe to use in my shrimp tank?
Thanks Ken! Do you think boiling the urchins will kill everything that needs to be killed?COTIGIRL wrote:I see no problem with any of them. As long as they are clean and natural they should be fine. You could soak them in brackish water for a week or so just to make sure there is no hidden ammonia causing debris. I have even let algae grow on some hardscape and then introduced it into the tank. It attracts a lot of attention from both snails and shrimp.
I can scrape any dried material out after the boiling.
Also if I boiled small dried starfish do you think that would still chance the water parameters?
I guess what I'm saying will boiling kill anything that can cause a problem with urchins and starfish?
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- Senior Shrimp Master
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Re: Are these decorations safe to use in my shrimp tank?
I never boiled anything. Some people have added hardscape and had ammonia spikes. That is why I put it in a separate container. A few days a week maybe two later I do an ammonia check. Still zero I feel it is safe. Maybe boiling is a good idea. Maybe this is over kill but it makes me/you fell better. I would be careful with the grass. i do not know how the plastic will hold up to heat.
Ken
Ken
- BostonJill
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Re: Are these decorations safe to use in my shrimp tank?
I think the plastic grass should be fine. I meant I would just boil anything that was alive at one time.COTIGIRL wrote:I never boiled anything. Some people have added hardscape and had ammonia spikes. That is why I put it in a separate container. A few days a week maybe two later I do an ammonia check. Still zero I feel it is safe. Maybe boiling is a good idea. Maybe this is over kill but it makes me/you fell better. I would be careful with the grass. i do not know how the plastic will hold up to heat.
Ken
Do you think if I boiled a dry starfish it would be safe? I like the idea of testing it in a separate container.
Re: Are these decorations safe to use in my shrimp tank?
I’m just guessing here but wouldn’t putting the dried starfish in the water or boiling it rehydrate it and turn it into a mess.
Re: Are these decorations safe to use in my shrimp tank?
That's exactly what would happen...even without boiling it. Honestly, until I read this thread and performed a search, I had no idea dried starfish even existed...amazing. It's one thing to collect shells of dead animals, but another to go kill a bunch of starfish and dry them. At least that's how, I assume, they are harvested and processed.nick11380 wrote:I’m just guessing here but wouldn’t putting the dried starfish in the water or boiling it rehydrate it and turn it into a mess.