# Non-toxic betta toys/hiding areas?



## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

What are some good ideas for betta fish toys they'd love to play with that are absolutely harmless and non toxic for betta fish?

(I've tried searching this topic before and on youtube, it's a little difficult to find).

It'll be nice to include some ideas that are great for low income people too, not only myself. I plan on buying real plants and drift wood in the future- they're very hard to find locally so for now i'm wondering what I can do in the mean time.

I do prefer using real materials and I have aquarium sealant I can stick things together with. =) I'm an artist too, so anything that is perfectly non toxic will work for me (you can be creative, just check to be sure it's fine).


I have...

*stones outside (I want to know if these are safe, if they are would a 1:9 vinegar wash be acceptable? Should I detoxify them in water if so?)

*fake stones I glued together to form an open dragon's mouth I plan on working on to attach a body it can swim through*

*driftwood outside and beaches- the only problem is I keep doubting that letting it sit in water to detoxify it wont clean it fully or completely. I'm scared to do so.

*around the house stuff.


What chemicals should the items say on it for it to be safe? 
*Is resin good? Any ideas on anything else? thank you, I like any and all ideas on this topic  And your input helps!!


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Driftwood is debatable.. Some people say yay some nay. 
I think baking driftwood at 400F for half an hour-an hour.. And then soaking it. Baking should kill any bacteria on the wood.. Some say boiling to remove tannins faster if you can manage that. Also I'd make sure there is no bark on the driftwood, bark can contain more tannins.. Driftwood is crazy expensive in stores.


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## Mo (Mar 15, 2012)

Driftwood from a beach or any high content marine or other types of harmful salt deposited in any type of object can take a very long period of time to carefully and successfully remove these toxins. When taking into consideration baking and boiling can't remove a range of toxins, while it can affect certain bacterial, fungus, and a small amount of salt. But there are many unknown substances that can be contained within the wood such as decaying animals, pesticides, lots of salt, and many more. Taking into consideration you should ideally spend the extra bucks instead if risking your bettas life and potentially infecting your current tank.

When you are certain that the pice if wood that you have properly selected you should take a number if precautionary steps. One of which could be a process such as Olympia has previously suggested. Baking and boiling, along with hard cleaning can eliminate the common toxins found within decoration prices from a local store or a similar source

The source of the stones should depict if they are or are not safe to the proper aquarium use. When picking and selecting you should look for naturally formed river stones that usually are smoothed detoxified, and dont release a larger range of toxins. But even if you are close to certain that you have selected a safe piece a number if precautions still should be taken such as using a small vinegar treatments to see if it is harmful, you can do this by adding a small amount of vinegar and the rule of thumb is that if it fizzes it isn't safe.
I would recommend using hot water (not boiling though as it can blow up....literally) , soaking in water , and the vinegar test to safely use these certain prices such as river rocks


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## samual989 (Mar 24, 2012)

U could use baby link a do's for a child type dragon body... Just a thought but don't be so scared to try the rocks just be careful with porous types or anything with a sheen.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Oh, unless you want a natural look, lol, a lot of people have had success building things with lego for the tank. You just need to weigh them down really well and seal off a lot of holes. A member on here has an awesome sorority living in a lego alien invasion playset


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Anything that floats generally becomes a toy or a nest anchor. I have styrofoam in all my tanks as well as duck weed. Some times I put lids or bubble wrap in them. Usually a nest pops up within a few days.


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## MadameDesu (Feb 5, 2012)

I've had success with the ZooMed Leaf Hammock. Some people report that the metal stem rusts, but I haven't had that issue. Rosie loves hers!


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

MadameDesu said:


> I've had success with the ZooMed Leaf Hammock. Some people report that the metal stem rusts, but I haven't had that issue. Rosie loves hers!


Oh yes, I do have one


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

MrVampire181 said:


> Anything that floats generally becomes a toy or a nest anchor. I have styrofoam in all my tanks as well as duck weed. Some times I put lids or bubble wrap in them. Usually a nest pops up within a few days.


Styrofoam. Is it completely absolutely safe? How long have people been using it around here : are there any issues?

 that's fantastic and what i'm looking for.... What other ideas would there be? I think I could create some fun things from styrofoam! I do have aquarium sealant as well so I can make fun shapes and weigh them down/glue rocks/stones on it (with my sealant).


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## LugiaChan (Mar 8, 2012)

Olympia said:


> Oh, unless you want a natural look, lol, a lot of people have had success building things with lego for the tank. You just need to weigh them down really well and seal off a lot of holes. A member on here has an awesome sorority living in a lego alien invasion playset


Are you sure they're safe o_o? I heard of these rumors....

Also, why would ya need to seal off the holes on the leggo pieces? XD I dont feel fins could get in between them or inside of the holes..


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Legos are safe, I'd thoroughly wash them though.
You have to be super careful if you get a Lego play set and silicone off any holes once it's built. The member with the alien invasion sorority woke up to a girl inside the space ship. She has no idea how the girl got in there


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

I live where there is a lot of sagebrush. The wood is beautiful and would look great in a tank. Any opinions on it?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bretedge/5135130088/


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## MadameDesu (Feb 5, 2012)

LugiaChan said:


> Styrofoam. Is it completely absolutely safe? How long have people been using it around here : are there any issues?
> 
> that's fantastic and what i'm looking for.... What other ideas would there be? I think I could create some fun things from styrofoam! I do have aquarium sealant as well so I can make fun shapes and weigh them down/glue rocks/stones on it (with my sealant).


I don't have experience using styrofoam, but i think it could cause issues. You, like those little bite-sized pieces falling off in the tank would NOT be good for fish tummies.
If you could find a way to prevent that, it could work, though.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

registereduser said:


> I live where there is a lot of sagebrush. The wood is beautiful and would look great in a tank. Any opinions on it?
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/bretedge/5135130088/


 
I think Mo on page 1 gave good idea about wood..i really would be scared to use it and then regret then i did it...

Also i want to write about stones and plants...

When i had my first betta i always brought white garden stones from outside. The one that people put for decoration outside around flowers. I wash them in very hot water then change the water let them soak for a few hrs …I even want to Home Depot and bought a bag of them . I used them and never had problem. Now I am buying river stones from pet stores. I just wash them in hot water and use them. But maybe I was just lucky so better be safe than sorry ….
So I guess if you want to disinfect then like Mo described disinfects stones in the vinegar. But how much of the vinegar ? I know from someone on this forum she does half of hot water and half of the vinegar. Then wash it very well especially if it has ridges and soak in the water and then air dry it… 

If you buy hardy plants I would quarantine them before you put them in the tank, because they can carry disease. I personally recommend everyone to use spider plant. A lot of people have them , easy to grow,easy to care , stay long, bettas love them lol You can buy them in any floral department, even in Home depot.

But if you buy plants in the pet store I really suggest to quarantine them. One time I saw they sell them from the tank they had fish in. So put them in tap water NO conditioner, now wimpy plants may/will die so be warned! Someone had it with sword, wisteria and jave fern…wisteria died..the others lived. If you quarantine for2-3 or more weeks, the disease will die off. The thing ich,velvet,etc is it needs a host..no host,it eventually dies.


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

MadameDesu said:


> I don't have experience using styrofoam, but i think it could cause issues. You, like those little bite-sized pieces falling off in the tank would NOT be good for fish tummies.
> If you could find a way to prevent that, it could work, though.


 
+1


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

tank pic:








those are river stones i have in every tank...It not my tank though...


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## Sheldon31 (Mar 21, 2012)

I've got some polished decorative stones in my tank. I use them to weigh down my plants and arrange them so they look decorative aswell as being practical. I baught them from a charity shop, the lady who sold them me said she used them as decorative items on her window cill. I still have the ceramic dish they were in which will probably go back to the shop. I have a very large carved rock in the middle of my tank that came with it. My tetras love to swim through it and a couple of them rest in there. I love your ideas! I plan on switching my gravel out for a softer substrate soon for the sake of realism and my corydoras when I get them. Plant wise, I will never go back to fake or plastic plants again. Real are just perfect. For some reason all plastic plants have unrealistic colours on them which just take away from the look.


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## MadameDesu (Feb 5, 2012)

I tried something fun that I had read in another betta entertainment thread.
I wrote and on Rosie's tank with a marker! Not much, just some stars, a boat, lots of bubbles. She seemed very intrigued by it all. Sometimes I'll catch her trying to attack the dot of the "i" where I wrote her name


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

ANHEL123 said:


> I personally recommend everyone to use spider plant. A lot of people have them , easy to grow,easy to care , stay long, bettas love them lol You can buy them in any floral department, even in Home depot.


you mean the house plant spider plant? Won't they rot underwater after awhile?


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## ANHEL123 (Jul 21, 2010)

yes. I am using them for i don't know long long time...may be for 2.5 years. It will rot just as other does. But it stay i think a lot of longer... Well at least the one that I boght before at the pet store died faster. And since i do 50% water changes and 100% water changes i always rinse with water everything in the tank so i always check the plant anyway. Not sure what people do if they don’t do 100% water changes. I don’t cycle my tanks so…but I would think any plant you always check , because it can rotten.

Also like i wrote that many plants from the store can carry disease and can get your fish sick so i think it very safe to use home plant. Also the spider plant shape of the leaves and color varys. And some of them very long ,and when i put it in the tank it stick out of the tank. I really love it. All my bettas loves it...I really recommending.


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