Can shells from the ocean be added to my salt water tank?

We went to Oysterville, Washington, this past weekend and got some fresh oysters...at $7/dozen! Tasty! My wife noticed that a couple of the shells are pretty and wanted to add them to our 30-gallon tank. I told her I would ask the experts here as I want to be very careful I don't introduce any bad stuff to our tank or kill our swimming and crawling creatures (no reef yet, just live rock and sand).

So is it okay? If so, what needs to be done to them (what preparation) so they will be a safe addition?

 

shoulf be fine, if you have a hermit crab he will delight himself in cleaning any meaty part you missed

 

Yes, we have a couple hermit crabs. I scrubbed the shells with a regular kitchen dish brush with tap water (ours comes from a well, not city, and is filtered/softened) to remove some minor algae and they're soaking in a bowl of fresh water to keep smell/decay at bay for the time being.

It's okay to just place the ones she likes directly into the tank? No bleach or vinegar soak/wash?

 

bleaching would be overkill imo, plus you have to deal with rinsing etc. youre taking the right steps to be safe rather than sorry. be fresh water you mean tap or ro? you could just leave it in the sun for a few days and nuke it like that....

 

imo - should be fine. I might pop them in the sun first as well

 

Placed the pieces in the sun for a day, gave 'em a quick rinse, then put them in the tank. The fish and crabs loved the oyster scraps and it even brought out a long, yucky, worm (the kind with fuzzy sides) from the new live rock...which I promptly removed. Everyone is still alive and doing well.

 

That would be a bristle worm. Harmless unless you touch them, they can sting. Good member of the clean up crew imo.

 

Bristle worm, that's it! I didn't realize they were CUC members Thanks for that info.