Coral from Aruba in FW tank?

LyzzaRyzz

My parents just came home from a trip to Aruba, and she took home a bunch of white coral.

I'm currently boiling a few small peices, and was wondering what else I had to do to make them aquarium ready!

Olympia

Nope. :/
Coral is made out of calcium carbonate, which will dissolve into your water making it hard. It's what's used to make those hard water cichlid tanks and marine tanks.
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LyzzaRyzz

I have shrimp and crayfish and a betta. Would hard water be bad for them?

Olympia

Bad for the shrimp and betta. Betta can actually adapt to a consistant hard water, but the coral will cause it to rise and rise (up until a point), which stressed the fish out.

The only way I would put the coral in, you can find an aquarium safe silicon and seal it off 100% in a thin coat. It'll be shiny looking, but the silicon will keep things from leeching.

LyzzaRyzz

Hmm that's actually a great idea! Thank you for the advice!

I think I'll start with stones I find outside, but what's the prosecute with those stones? Am I looking for a specific kind?

I have a lot of smooth round stones Ive collected from the beach, in my pool area and my pathways.