How does Red Abalone Shell look and hold up in a fresh water aquarium

[KittenFishMom]

I am rebuilding 2 tanks. I was thinking of putting raw gemstones in as accents. I came across some nice  Red Abalone Shell that looks very nice in the photos taken in air. Has anyone ever used it in a tank. Is it better or worse underwater? Will it dissolve and lose its luster?

Any other gemstones that people have had good or bad luck with?

A day dreaming aquascaper wants to know!

Thanks, KittenFishMom

[KittenFishMom]

Sometimes you just have to grab the shark by the fins !   

I ordered a box of abalone shells. Bulk price, wish me luck !

[Biotope Biologist]

It will likely slowly dissolve but why not give it a shot! 
 

I don’t see any harm in it. Might need to scrub it of algae to keep its luster but then again maybe not? I used to have volcanic glass in my tanks and it didn’t get algae on it as bad as regular glass. Perhaps the surface was too smooth even for algae to attach to

 

anyway best of luck! And keep us posted

[KittenFishMom]

@Biotope Biologist I'm getting it for the hillstream loaches and for the looks. These are raw shell found in N CA. I'll soak them to get the sea salt off.  I'm buying a bulk box big enough to "make an 8 foot dry stream bed" accent for a flower garden. If they dissolve a bit and don't keep their luster,I can swap them out to fresh ones.

 

[KittenFishMom]

@Biotope Biologist The huge box just arrived. It is chalked full. I'll mesmerized looking at the beauty of the shells. Now I have to figure out how much I need to do to clean them for the tanks. They may have ocean salt on or in them.