Chewin’ the Choya » Great shell buy at CVS

Hello, crabbers!

I found a great deal on shells at CVS pharmacy (Caremark). In their dollar buys seasonal section, they have these small wicker baskets that have an assortment of shells. They were $2.00 each, and came with a large assortment of large bivalve/clam shells, at least 2-3 turbo type shells, several D-shaped opening shells (whelk or conch type shells) of various sizes…but caution, they also came with dyed starfish/sea stars. I had to look up the species of starfish, and given the shells say “Product of the Philippines,” I was able to identify them as Protoreaster nodosus, commonly known as the horned sea star or chocolate chip sea star. Unfortunately, as with most starfish, these sea stars would be a very pale color after natural dessication, but the vendor apparently dyed them a brilliant red color. The dye comes off as a powdery byproduct, which could contaminate the other shells. I know most people clean their shells and sanitize them before putting them in the tank, so this shouldn’t be too problematic, but I thought I’d mention it. For $2.00, I was very happy with the quantity and variety of shells. My new hermie is seeking a new shell, and none of my wide assortment has satisfied him so far. Hopefully, these new shells will do the trick!