Coral in freshwater tank.

[Hootchieman]

I know that coral in a freshwater tank will increase the Ph level of the water, but has anyone had problems with the sharp nature of coral and fish injuries in a freshwater setup. Did you have any special preparations with the coral before introducing it to your tank? I am starting to set up my 135 gallon tank and got a number of nice coral pieces with it when I bought it.

Thanks.

 

[125gJoe]

The look of coral pieces in a freshwater tank does not look that good... (just my opinion..) I prefer to see things in an aquarium that would occur naturally in the wild or close to it.

I'm not sure of any 'special' preps.. You should make sure it's rinsed thoroughly. Skitty fishes like Bala Sharks and Silver Dollars may accidentally ram into the corals. Not good for them..

 

[Dale W.]

Coral also has a tendancy to alter the PH and alk in FW tanks.

 

[VoodooChild]

I wouldn't do it because I as well don't like the look, but alot of them make great fry cover for Africans.

 

[Aderynglas]

I think when most people talk about putting coral in freshwater tanks they are referring to coral gravel or coral sand, which is either added to the substrate or in a bag in the filter. This is done usually to raise the pH and stabilise the water.
I have used this method to stabilise my very soft water in the goldfish aquarium and keep my fish happy and have found it to be the best method.

I would have thought that coral pieces added to a freshwater aquarium would be a magnet for any algae to grow on and would be very difficult to clean? Coral is usually quite rough to the touch and could maybe pose problems for the fish ?.

 

[JamisonBWolsh]

the coral that you add would have to be dead...they do not live in FW. However, there is a FW Sponge that will live fine in a FW tank. I have not been able to fine these sold in any stores and my breeder friends have no clue of what one is. But, if you can it, it would be an interesting addon!

 

[Hootchieman]

Thanks for the input. I use a small bag of crushed coral in my Fluval to balance the PH as well. Maybe I will see if the LFS will trade the coral for some more natural looking wood. Six feet is a lot of tank to fill and the problem is the access through the top isn't very big, so getting a large piece of wood into the tank will be challenging. Its a SeaClear Acrylic tank.