# Plastic Plants



## sozza (Sep 20, 2006)

I have just bought some plastic plants for my freshwater aquarium, the thing is though, when I opened them they smell really plasticy, would this be an issue putting them in my tank? I have them soaking in just water at the moment... Do I need to do anything else? Or am I just being over cautious? Because I couldn't imagine the plastic would harm the fish... Could it?

Any advice would be appreciated!!!


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

If they are made for an aquarium, they are fine.


----------



## locojay (May 22, 2006)

I have plastic plants in my 20g. I just opened them and put 'em in. No rinsing or soaking and I didn't have any problems.


----------



## Jojo (Apr 11, 2006)

Alot of plastic plants have that smell. What I do is get the water as hot as I can out fo the tap, put the plants in and some soap, let them soak until the water gets cold, and then rinse them FOREVER in warm water to get the soap off of them. I've done that in all of my tanks and no problems at all.


----------



## locojay (May 22, 2006)

Jojo said:


> Alot of plastic plants have that smell. What I do is get the water as hot as I can out fo the tap, put the plants in and some soap, let them soak until the water gets cold, and then rinse them FOREVER in warm water to get the soap off of them. I've done that in all of my tanks and no problems at all.


That sounds like alot of work. Not to mention it seems like a bigger risk than just putting them in there smelling like plastic. If you leave any residue from that soap, isn't it going to be bad for the fish? Have you ever put them straight into the tank without rinsing and had problems?


----------



## Jojo (Apr 11, 2006)

Nope, but I'm not gonna run the chance.


----------



## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

If the smell bothers you, dip them in a water/vinegar mix. 5:1 h2o:vinegar will be fine. The vinegar will kill the smell and any vinegar in the tank wont hurt it a bit.


----------



## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

jojo, why use soap??? soap leaves a residue pretty much no matter how many times you rinse... I use bleach... chlorine dissipates in hot water and evaporates. Basically all you do is a quick dip in the bleach solution (1pt bleach to 10 pt water) and rinse with hot water and then let dry and I like to rinse one more time.


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Regular declorinator also works on bleach.


----------



## locojay (May 22, 2006)

I'm not trying to be argumentative so please nobody take it that way, just trying to learn so if I'm doing something wrong I can change it.

Is it really necessary to get rid of the plastic smell? What's wrong with plastic smelling like plastic? I bet my fish smell like fish. :lol:.

But seriously is that smell bad for my fish? Or is this cleaning just to make sure there's nothing else on the plants that would harm the fish? I have plastic in my 20g and silk in my 10g. Is it better to clean the silk too before putting it in the tank?


----------



## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

No, the smell isn't bad for your fish. I just rinse mine in declor water to remove any dust and such and plop them into the tank. I mostly use silk, but do have some plastic as well and do the same with both.


----------



## Jojo (Apr 11, 2006)

I do it to make sure there's nothing on them that will harm my fish.


----------



## darkfalz (May 7, 2006)

I prefer silk plants myself.


----------



## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

yeah, silk is better, it is easier on long fin fish like guppy, betta and angelfish


----------

