Tips

Tips:Data for each shell,where to look,how to get the shells and the best way to clean them

1 Before you go to your destination anywhere in the world go to Google earth from there you can see what sort of coast line it will be before getting there it will help you not wasting time to find a good place.

You can even scan the aerial view.From Google you can see if the water is not too deep if it is rocky or sandy if it is protected from waves. I wished that I had Google earth 20 years ago,it would have save me a lot of time and money trying to found out about the coast line of the country I was going to visit.

In sandy area like the beach or a cove,estuary and Mangrove flats you can find shells crawling or just buried under.

You can snorkel in sandy areas better done when the tide is low like that you don’t have to go so deep and it is easy to follow the track in the sand one or the other end you will found an Olive a Natica a Conus or a Terebra.I use to put some bait in the sand and with the smell dispersing in the water you will see the Nassarius coming off the sand and Olive too as they are fast crawlers you don’t have to wait too long other wise you can leave over night but make sure you secure the bait so the fishes won’t eat it then in the morning you can search in the sand all around where you put the bait you will find few shell in close vicinity

In rocky areas and reef areas are good places on or under rocks or dead corals but if you over turn rocks or dead coral make sure you turn back in the same place so you don’t kill off every living thing that live on and under the rocks.

You can collect shells from Trawlers if they are willing to take you on board it is very rewarding most poor country will take you as long as you pay them and it is fare.

Some boat don’t dredge or trawl and you need one, you can make a trawling net or buy one to bring along with the fishermen.

You can visit fishing harbour and ask the fishermen to keep the shells for you if they are not allowed to take people on board.

And don’t forget to look in the harbour dump there will be a lot of old nets and other junks that have been in the bottom of the sea for years covered in organic and shells attached and eventually end inside the fishermen nets

2 Data I write the name of the shell if know otherwise I write the maximum details about it so it can be name after,I write the size,where as in Country,City,Town and name of the beach or reef,if in sand or on rocks then the depth,water temperature and the date

I also have plastic sealed bag of difference sizes like that I can write a note just the date a place and leave it with the shell and later at home I will be able to find the right name

3 if you found a live shell if small just put in a plastic container then poor boiling water on it don’t boiled any shells under the heat as it will crack the shells.

Any shinning shell Cypraea,Oliva,Strombus put them in a sealed plastic container and leave it in the sun the animal will fall into sleep and dies I do that with big shell and the animal comes out easily without leaving organic bit inside.

Freezing can work mind you that cracking or blisters can occur on the shells surfaces

4 Tools to clean the shell I use electrical cable it’s easy to coiled so it can go a long way inside the shell and it won’t mark the inside of the shell as the cable insulation is plastic.

I made the mistake of using a wire and it scratched and marked all the inside.

When going in and out of the shell with the cable I do that under running water.

I used all size of cables and I used telephone cable for very small shells.

5 Once the shell is clean empty and you have save the operculum,

you can clean the outside by putting them in pure bleach,it will get rid of some fine encrustation andalgae but for tough encrustation you will have to scrap with different size needles,a knife,scalpel,and a dental baylor scalars.

Once you have done the hard work put the shell in the bleach.

The stronger the better as it will take the flaky,fibrous skin called periostracum in short period of time.

I once put 50/50 water/bleach for 24hrs and it dull the inside shine of a Strombus gigas

There are few shell which it is better to leave the periostracum like Scabricola casta,Conusdoreensis,Hydatina albocincta just to give few example.

Any nacreous shells should not be too long in the bleach and for Haliotis per example Haliotis fulgens as organic marking inside and it is correct to leave it.

To keep the bleach off the marking inside Haliotis you can rub some thick animal fat I use a bar of soap but I keep an eye on it as it will dissolve but not as fast as the cleaning on the outside by the bleach.You can try with oil.

6 Keeping your shells if for some reason you can display your shell you can only put them in boxes I suggest cotton to put the shell and wrap the shell with kitchen paper towels,don’t wrap any shiny shell with paper as it can be damage by the paper absorbing humidity trust me it will damage Cypraeidae,OIividae,Strombidae and Marginellidae.I damage about 10 large Cypraea caputserpentis and other species.

It is good to put some humidity absorbent bag in your sealed boxes

Shells are sensitive to sunlight so no direct contact with the sun it will bleach the colours after a while.