# Pistachio Shells



## fishyfishy (Apr 21, 2011)

Hello everyone - I was wondering if it would be safe to put pistachio shells into the aquarium to give my shrimp some "wood" to graze on.

I know that shrimp tend to graze on the bio film that grows on driftwood, but I don't have any room in the tank for that and was thinking this may be a decent alternative.

Anybody know if this is safe or if it will foul up the water?

Thanks!


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

fishyfishy said:


> Hello everyone - I was wondering if it would be safe to put pistachio shells into the aquarium to give my shrimp some "wood" to graze on.
> 
> I know that shrimp tend to graze on the bio film that grows on driftwood, but I don't have any room in the tank for that and was thinking this may be a decent alternative.
> 
> ...


It could work, but make sure you rinse the shells very well to get rid of any salt

I think the shells would take a long time to decompose, so they're probably not ideal for the purpose you intend.


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## fishyfishy (Apr 21, 2011)

Yeah I was thinking the same... I think I may throw a few in there after a good rinse to see what happens


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## Boreas (Dec 8, 2015)

Have you looked into cholla wood? If you get one with a large enough hollow centre, it also provides a bit of hiding space.


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## fishyfishy (Apr 21, 2011)

Boreas said:


> Have you looked into cholla wood? If you get one with a large enough hollow centre, it also provides a bit of hiding space.


I have, just no room in the current tank for anything like that. When I get my 150 setup then I'll have lots of room to play.


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## John_C (Dec 17, 2007)

*CHolla CHolla!*

Cholla wood pieces are usually no bigger than 4" - 6" long with a 1" - 2" diameter... I keep them in some of my 5gal shrimp tanks so you should have no problem housing a couple pieces, or even use almond or mulberry leaves... Pistaschio shells wouldn't offer much more than a base for some algae to grow as it takes a awhile to decompose.


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