What is crushed coral? Can it be used in freshwater aquariums?

Question

I have a female midas cichlid. But since she's not from south Africa I guess I couldn't use it for her could I?

Answer 1

Both first two posts are WRONG WRONG WRONG....  Listen to them and your are doomed to fail.

Crushed coral is just that.  However, it cannot be used in ALL freshwater aquariums as it buffs the pH level to 8.0 in freshwater which is higher than required for nearly all freshwater fish except south african cichlids.  They live in Lake Malawi and are used to a high pH.  If you are not keeping cichlids in your aquarium, DO NOT use crushed coral as it will kill your fish.  Most fish require a pH of 7.0.    

Using gravel for freshwater aquariums is the best choice unless you are using it for cichlids and ONLY cichlids as anything else will certainly die due to high pH or that the cichlids will kill them as they are extremely aggressive towards everything else.

Answer 2

Crushed Coral is a gravel made from crushed coral skeletons, hence its name.  It can be used in freshwater aquariums, but it jacks up the ph.  In freshwater, it's primarily used in tanks with fish that need high PH, such as rift lake cichlids.

Edit: NO.  A midas cichlid could probably survive the elevated ph, but why put it through that if you don't have to?

Answer 3

Crushed coral is just what is says crush coral skeletons.   I would not recommend it in a freshwater tank unless you are keeping african cichlids as it will significantly raise the pH of your water.  Cichlids are fine with the higher pH (and actually need it)  but most freshwater fish will not do well at all in a tank with a pH level to the point the crushed coral will raise it to  

Answer 4

Crushed coral is just what it says.  Crushed Coral.  I have it in my salt water tank.  I don't think it would hurt anything in fresh water as long as it's rinsed really good.  It's more of a decorative thing I would think.  If I was you I'd call a local salt water store and double check before doing it just to be safe.  Crushed Coral has to be rinsed a TON.  If you don't your water will be cloudy for a long, long time.  

Answer 5

Crushed coral is coral skeletons that have been crushed.

Chemically speaking, it's primarily calcium carbonate (which is the main ingredient of aragonite as well). Corals secrete this substance to build their skeletons and anchor themselves to rocks or substrate.

When the pH of the water drops, calcium carbonate readily dissolves. The calcium combines with hydroxyl ions in the water, thus increasing the preponderance of hydrogen ions. What this means: pH goes down, crushed coral dissolves, so the pH rises back up.

While this way of balancing out the pH is good for a marine tank (which should have a pH around 8.0, the specific number depending on the animals kept in the tank), this is usually a bad choice for a freshwater tank, as the animals survive in a lower pH environment.

Answer 6

yes i use itit is really good

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