[sarahbeth1976]

Are natural seashells & sand dollars safe for Betta environments? I've some pretty ones, but I don't wanna add anything to Argo's environment unless I know if its 100 percent safe. Thanks.

 

[MorganC2010]

My cousin has some in her tank with her neon tetras and they do fine with them, I don't know about bettas though. I suppose if you rinse them off very well with hot water and make sure there are no sharp edges Argo can get his fins snagged on it should be ok. But I'd wait for a second opinion.

 

[SmokeNLark]

There is a lot of debate on shells. I would say no on the sand dollars (though I have no real knowledge, so that is purely a guess).

Shells need to be cleaned with white vinegar or bleach and warm water first. Some people use them, some don't. It has been known to alter the pH of the water. Bettas are pretty hardy when it comes to pH and as long as it isn't a HUGE fluctuation, it should be ok. Get a test kit (if you don't have one already) and just keep an eye on the levels if you decide to use shells. The general conclusion that people seem to come to are that if it's only a few shells, it's fine and keep an eye on it. If you use so many that it's practically like substrate, that's probably a bad idea.

 

[sarahbeth1976]

My cousin has some in her tank with her neon tetras and they do fine with them, I don't know about bettas though. I suppose if you rinse them off very well with hot water and make sure there are no sharp edges Argo can get his fins snagged on it should be ok. But I'd wait for a second opinion.

Thanks....I'll hold off on the shells for now.

 

[youlovegnats]

You can rinse the shells in hot hot water and then let them sit out for a day or two. You can also use bleach and hot water (only use a little bleach) and have it sit out as well.
You could use all of them, IMO, but just be careful with the sand dollar- as they could easily tear betta fins (and remove scales) if he/she were to rub up on it.