# Sea Barnacles in a Freshwater tank



## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

I'm almost embarrassed to ask this, but those little dead ocean barnacles 
look so awesome, and have such wonderful natural caves (I just got some
Bumblebee Gobys) that I'm dying to put a small piece of this in my tank.

so assuming I can live with the unnatural contradiction of having a
saltwater item in my freshwater tank, my questions are as follows;

-what will this thing do/contribute to my tank chemistry over time?
I assume it's calcium, so it will raise my pH a bit, but that's OK
since I'd rather my pH was a bit alkaline, then more acidic.

-what other consequences are there? will it crumble and dissolve away?
does the color fade in a short period of time with only white remaining?


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## NewMariner (Sep 30, 2002)

Id say that if your tank is more on the acidic side, that those barnacles will eventually soften and disolve. In saltwater aquaria, reefers use co2 to dissolve calcium to raise their calcium levels, and those shells are nothing but pure calcium...


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## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

I ma pretty sure they use these in shell dweller (dwarf cichlid) tanks all the time. Someone on Aquabid offers them for this purpose. I agree, they look very cool.


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## Kelley (Nov 2, 2006)

It will raise your kH. How much, I cannot say.


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Jun 7, 2007)

I have used them in a malawi tank, unfortunatly i have lost fish due to them getting stuck

even in alkaline water the shells get brittle enough for you to snap with your fingers, and they are quickly grown over by algea, however they are fairly easy to clean.


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