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The
most important thing to clear first, is this question : "Shells
Enemies"...
-
Sunlight +++++
- Dust & air ++++
- Wood +++
- your fingers ++
Sunlight
Even
if sunlight is the best to observe shells, it causes a lot of
damage to them. Of course, shells have different reaction to sunlight
depending on their families. Cypraeidae, for example, is
one of the most sensitive families. Their color fades fast. You
have to know that all shells taken from their habitat will fade
anyway. The only thing we can do is to slow the process. With
some easy things to do you can consequently reduce the sunlight
damages throughout the years.
The only means is to
hide the shells from sunlight. You can use small containers, any
kind of plastic boxes,… But usually, the best way is to store
them in a cabinet with many drawers, and if possible with different
drawer sizes. (see the picture below).
First of all, this short article reflects my own experience
and i hope it will help the ones who don't know how to store their
lovely shells. It is mainly a beginner guide. If any of you have
comments, send them to me via mail and i'll ad them on this page.
Dust
& air
Dust
can also causes damages throughout the years. Dust particles move
with the air current, and can enter almost anywhere. Dust contains
many aggressive products for human (allergies) and also for the
shells. So, it is much better to store your shells in a hermetically
sealed compartment.
Wood
Wood
can also be a problem when you store shells for a long time in
it. Some Woods are worse than others. In fact all "acid"
ones are dangerous. In fact throughout the years, wood will emit
some very small parts of its acid. If this invisible acid stays
too long on shells, it can damage them. So it is again, more interesting
to store your shells in a hermetically sealed compartment inside
the wooden cabinet. One
day, I saw a huge collection which was stored in Oak (tree) cabinets.
All the shells were like washed, just like if they were found
beached !!
Human
fingers
I know it seems
a bit funny but it is true ! Routhly speaking, our skin
is a mixture of water & oil. That's why when you stick
your hands on a clean glass, it leaves an oily mark. It
is the same with your shells !! This is important for naturally
shiny shells like Cowries. The oil will damage your shells.
So when you touch them, clean them after with a clean piece
of cloth.
Containers/Boxes
After all this,
you should now be afraid in storing seashells… :)
Concerning
now the small containers to prevent your shells from dust-air-wood
contamination. You can use all sort of stuff. You can buy
special individual plastic boxes, they are usually expensive
but are best for presenting your shells. They are used also
to store rocks, fossils, coins,… You can buy some for
your rarest shells, though.
My favourite plastic containers :
You can buy bigger ones that you can find
in hardware stores, usually designed for tools. I use some very
cheap ones in which I can store many shells with compartments
that can be moved. It costs around 2-3 USD (see picture below).
Sometimes
you can obtain boxes with things you never thought of, for example
I use preservatives boxes which fit so well with small species…
But
no low cost boxes, will never display your shells as the expensive
ones would do. The main cause is the transparency of the plastic.
Those are not fully transparent and you have to open the box to
fully observe shells. I do not mind, but maybe you do ! It will
depend of your wallet J
You have
also to be careful when you collect several families. For example
you collect mainly Coneshells & Cowries. You want to show
them to somebody and so touch them. Start by Cowries because your
coneshells should be oily and so, when you pick up a cowrie you
might leave oil on it Many things can be done to prevent your
shells from being damaged !!
You ca nalso
use huge display boxes made of wood and glass. It is very pretty
but you still have the wood problem and you need a lot of room
to keep those. I did it before, it looks like pretty though :
NEVER
DO THAT (below) : You will damage coneshells lips...
