heath

I am hoping to find any information on using real deer antler in a freshwater aquarium. I have found some shed antlers on a friends property and wanted to use it as a mineral suppliment for a cichlid tank. I boiled and dried the pieces to elliminate any bio-waste or parasites (soft bone marrow or microbes). I don't know the possible impact on water chemistry, if any, but I do not want to risk the health of my pets. Setting up a small test tank is an option, but seems cruel to the test subjects without having any idea if it would have a negative impact on their well-being. Not to mention it feels wasteful to sacrifice a tank of fish on a possibly bad idea. If anyone has ever tried an aqua-chew toy like this I would love to hear of the results,good or bad. thanks

MagpieTear

I'm thinking that it would eventually rot and foul the water, even with the boiling first. Not entirely certain, but I was with the understanding that antler was not quite as dense as regular bone. One of my employees does a lot of taxidermy on the side, I'll ask his opinion when I get to work.