Wild Coral Question

[booginish]

my parents just got back from a cruise and they got me a bunch of coral from the barbados, its got a bit of red coral on it but its white for the most part. i wanna know if its ok to put in my freshwater tank, its a 55 gal, iv got 3 adfs, 10 zebra danios, 1 honeydew gourami, 3 balloon mollies and 2 swordtail platys and 2 albino corys. i was thinking of just soaking all of it in hot water to kill all harmful bacteria and anything else that is harmful to my fish. i just want some advice to whether or not its wise to put the wild coral in my tank? and should i be doin anything else to ensure complete cleanliness when putting them in my tank?

 

[buddha_red]

It could and probably would effect your PH, some use crushed coral in their saltwater tanks to buffer their water. I would not suggest using it in your tank for this reason.

 

[meegosh]

Your cories would most likely cut their fins on it too. Being that cories are quite the little investigators, I imagine it would only be a matter of time before they decided to 'inspect' it.

 

[booginish]

hmmm ok

 

[nanoluvr]

my parents just got back from a cruise and they got me a bunch of coral from the barbados, its got a bit of red coral on it but its white for the most part. i wanna know if its ok to put in my freshwater tank, its a 55 gal, iv got 3 adfs, 10 zebra danios, 1 honeydew gourami, 3 balloon mollies and 2 swordtail platys and 2 albino corys. i was thinking of just soaking all of it in hot water to kill all harmful bacteria and anything else that is harmful to my fish. i just want some advice to whether or not its wise to put the wild coral in my tank? and should i be doin anything else to ensure complete cleanliness when putting them in my tank?

i went on a cruise to the Western Carribean on my honeymoon. We had a FW tank at the time. I spent one day collecting all of the dead coral I could find off the beaches. It is perfectly Ok to put them in the tank just like you would any other decorative rock. Here's what you do: ... get a big pot, boil all of the coral that you want to put in the tank for at least 20 minutes. This will kill any bacteria and yucky stuff that may be on them. Then...place them in your tank! I replaced my wife's ugly rainbow gravel w/all black. the black gravel, with white coral formations was preety spectacular. Know this, algae will grow on the corals, so you must either A) turn the exposed side down into the gravel (other side will be white), about once every 2 weeks, or B) remove a few corals at a time, and place them in the sun for a few days...this will kill the algae.

 

[nanoluvr]

I had no PH problems in my tank, but it wasn't absolutely loaded down, either

 

[booginish]

the pieces of coral i have arent very jagged or sharp, there smooth, and not that big either. i am still skeptical about adding them, but ya i will probly add them soon andway. thnx for the reply guys.

 

[nanoluvr]

If you're concerned about PH problems, I would suggest adding a small amount and monitor your ph for a week or so, and see if any changes occur

 

[booginish]

the biggest piece is like 4" x 2.5", in a 55 gal i cant see how much of a difference it would make.

 

[booginish]

also i heard coral is good for your tanks overall cleanliness, so i think im gonna add piece by piece after all the ich in my tank is gone.