Hawaii beach coral...can I put in tank?

[noah's ark]

I do not know if this is a stupid question but my sister went to Hawaii and brought back some white coral from the beach. Can I put it in my established tank?
Tonia:thinking:

 

[guineawhop]

i would run it through the dish washer without any soap or put it in a bucket and put a little bleach and fill the rest of the bucket with water. let it sit over night and rinse it very good.

 

[ophiura]

Frankly though, if it is nice coral - like branching coral- I wouldn't do it. It will get covered with algae and stuff, and need repeated cleaning in the bleach solution which could end up breaking it. Some are better appreciated on the shelf, personally.

 

[noah's ark]

Thats all I needed to hear. It will go on a shelf. I was hoarding it all for myself incase I could put it in the tank so now I will share. LOL
Tonia:joy:

 

[jer4916]

I'm from key largo, and i have TONS of sand and live rock from the ocean in my tank and my fish LOVE it....i wouldn't see why you wouldn't want to put it in your tank...as long as you QT it ...and treat it for parasites..then your fine.
personal opinon

 

[ophiura]

Of course, it is illegal in many parts of Florida (all?) to remove LR unless it is aquacultured and you have a license....LS is another issue in places. So I STRONGLY encourage people to obey the law on that note.
We are also talking of somewhat different things. A coral skeleton doesn't provide much to the fish. It is dead, will get covered with algae, and not look so nice in the end. Not much of a souvenir at least. It is nice to have live coral in the tank, and be able to hand a piece of coral skeletong to someone when they say "nice plants" or something.
So you can put it in, but if you want it to remain nice and pretty, you will have to bleach it pretty frequently.

 

[jer4916]

nice thing about living on the beach, is no one knows what you take out of the ocean! ...MWA HAHA!