# Limestone fossils in Malawi tank?



## shmenge (Dec 7, 2009)

This past August my daughter & I went on a fossil dig in a private quarry outside of Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming. We collected many fish fossils imbedded in soft limestone. I tried to add a picture here unsuccessfully. When I click the Img icon it looks for a web page & the text vanishes when I try to copy/paste a photo here.
I'd like to add these slabs to the slate/rock habitat in my Malawai-only tank. I have not altered them. We were told that to preserve the limestone spread diluted white glue over it & we were given nylon beads to melt in acetone to seal the fossils. I would guess that the latter is harmful to live fish & that the former isn't necessary.
Can I safely put these in my tank? How do I insert a picture here from my computer?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

The limestone is perfectly safe for your aquarium, but can't say on the sealant. I would think it would take a long time for the rock to dissolve, so not sure I'd bother with sealing.

You can find instructions on posting pics here. You'll need to set up a photobucket account or similar.


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## shmenge (Dec 7, 2009)

Here's what they look like. Thanks for the photo upload help.
Will the limestone affect the pH and/or hardness levels?


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## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

Wow, those are awesome.
I have a couple of limestone rocks with fossils in my tanks, too, they came from the TX hillcountry. I can't figure out if they are scallop shells, fish fins, or a small palm leaf, though. they look really cool.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

PH shifts due to rock are always a frequent question. Folks who sell products will tell you their product may help buffer water. My personal opinion is that it takes water a reallllly long time to dissolve rocks. I figure if nature cannot dissolve the rocks in a couple hundred thousand years, they will last long enough for me not to notice them dissolving in my tank. That is really making is sound simple but rocks are petty simple. I would watch for PH shifts any time something new is added but I never worry about it.


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## annem (Nov 29, 2009)

I am new to the cichlid world but so far I love them! I have a question on how to clean my rocks, this is a 2 hole tannish-orange swirl rock. It is a bugger to scrub, have even tried to boil it. Does anybody have any tips?


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Always a frequent question here. Some say boil them but that has always sounded hard to do with a rock of any large size as well as the possible safety of rocks bursting due to uneven temps. My favorite is soaking in a strong bleach water. I can get any rock that fits my tank into a large plastic of some type. Regular unscented household bleach is used by many community water supplies to kill the bacteria. Given a few hours it will penetrate the hard shelled cysts sometimes found in water so I feel it has a good bet of killing any bad things on a rock. Some worry about the chlorine in the bleach but a rinse and air drying before using will clear any of that. I always add just a bit more water treatment to make sure. Watch for any PH or other strange things that might come up. That should always be done any time things are added or rearranged. The orange color might make me pause on your rock as I know there are a lot of iron deposits near your area. Better not to get too much iron content in the tank. Give that some thought, maybe?


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## annem (Nov 29, 2009)

shmenge said:


> Here's what they look like. Thanks for the photo upload help.
> Will the limestone affect the pH and/or hardness levels?


They are so perfect looking they don't look real. I am sure they are and what better way ro display a souvenier!

If you know something about rocks, are there any that would do harm in the tank? how about slate, I've noticed some pieces start to crumble. How do I know which are the best? Thanks, Anne


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

I should think most slate is okay to use. There are some I might shy away from though. Pretty obvious ones would be things with close to dirt content? Other types "might" have some oily content? I have used lots of rocks over the years and never noticed anything that harmed my fish but that doesn't mean it is totally safe. With that in mind I always treat everything that goes in the tank as if they were poison of some type. Never know when there might be mouse tracks on them. I use a bleach soak to disinfect and it does some good for testing for metal content. A soak in bleach will often make any iron content rust and show up as rust streaks. If it sets overnight in bleach water, it is disinfected, any rust streaks I throw out, and if there is an oily sheen on the water, I also ditch it. Of course if it has turned to mush overnight, I reject that as well! Seems to me the best cheap, quick, way to test and verify.

If you use the bleach soak, just use some caution. Rinse it all and let it dry totally until there is no smell of bleach left.


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## annem (Nov 29, 2009)

yes, I have used bleach before, diluted of course. Then soak, drain and soak again. My husband thinks I'm crazy. I have boiled a lot of things before too, helps to set a timer I have learned.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Good enough! I used bleach a lot in working water treatment and got pretty used to what it can do for or to you. Really useful but you don't want to slop it on your jeans. I suppose most skilled "laundry technicians" could have told me that! In fish keeping the only disappointment from bleach was when I bleached several pieces of really dark wood that came with a used tank. It turned it a grey white that made them look like entrails! It took several months for it to come back to a nice brown color.


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