Amethyist and other Gems in the Tank

[absolutangel04]

Ok all, I have a quandry for you. Ever since I was little, I have been a fan of collecting rocks/minerals/fossils ect. I have some very cool pieces that I am thinking about adding to my tanks, but the internet has given me mixed ideas about this. In specific, I am looking at amethyst, jade, and malachite. I am not concerned about the jade at all, but the other 2 have yielded mixed opinions from my research. All pieces have been collected by me and washed properly, so I am not concerned about contaminants. They also don't react to the fizz test, but I read that the iron in the amethyst (which gives it color) may not be good and that some of these rocks can have a surplus of Manganese. Ideas? Experience?

 

[Chiroptera]

I've never used the ones you've listed, but I have just thrown gems into a tank if they passed the fizz test. I love tiger's eye gems, they look awesome, but eh. I'd try for a month or so in a test tank, maybe QT tank? With a couple of fish and see. If you're getting 50/50 mixed reviews, you can only try yourself.

 

[absolutangel04]

Yeah, I am thinking I may just leave them in an empty tank and see if it looks like they dissolve. I found info saying the Manganese and iron could be bad, but I don't actually know why it could be bad, so I am still a bit confused. Reviews said the jade would be fine though, and i have some petrified wood I collected, so I am going to go ahead and add those.

 

[butterfly_koi]

Hi Angel! Seems like we haven't seen you in a while
The one thing that I can point out is that large amounts of Iron can build up in the fish' internal organs, eventually killing them, but if it is a small rock I don't foresee it as a problem. Iron in an aquarium can also promote algae growth.
Most aquarium fertilizers can contain Manganese and trace amounts of Iron to promote plant growth.
IMO I would try it, monitor your levels, and let us know how it goes. I personally think rocks such as amethyst would look really cool in an aquascape.

 

[absolutangel04]

Hi Angel! Seems like we haven't seen you in a while
The one thing that I can point out is that large amounts of Iron can build up in the fish' internal organs, eventually killing them, but if it is a small rock I don't foresee it as a problem. Iron in an aquarium can also promote algae growth.
Most aquarium fertilizers can contain Manganese and trace amounts of Iron to promote plant growth.
IMO I would try it, monitor your levels, and let us know how it goes. I personally think rocks such as amethyst would look really cool in an aquascape.

I had forgotten about iron in their organs, I was just thinking about the iron in plant ferts. Thanks. I think I am going to try it, the bulk of amethyst is quartz, so it's not like quartz is prone to breaking down quickly. Also, I will stick to lighter colored stones at first since they have less Fe. I found a couple people on a different site who keep amethyst in their tanks and have never had an issue in years.

 

[FishontheRock]

Go for the amethyst the amount of iron in it is negligible.

I WOULD NOT put the malachite in. Malachite is copper carbonate which will release copper into your water and it can affect the ph.

Jade is a common name for either nephrite, a kind of amphibole or jadeite a type of pyroxene. If its the amphibole you should be okay as they are relatively resistant to chemical weathering. I wouldn't put the pyroxene in though.

 

[absolutangel04]

Go for the amethyst the amount of iron in it is negligible.

I WOULD NOT put the malachite in. Malachite is copper carbonate which will release copper into your water and it can affect the ph.

Jade is a common name for either nephrite, a kind of amphibole or jadeite a type of pyroxene. If its the amphibole you should be okay as they are relatively resistant to chemical weathering. I wouldn't put the pyroxene in though.

Thank you. I did forget to say that I decided not to do the malachite because I figured out the copper part. I was skeptical about that since the beginning anyways because malachite green is used to treat some diseases. Good tip about the jade, I will check into my jade varieties more to see what I have.