Is mineral oil bad for my fish and live plants?

[wilbur6689]

I have built myself a 40gal fish tank and I wanted to decorate the backside of the the tank with some rocks. my dad has a 16" slab saw that I used to cut the rocks in half so I could glue them to the back of the tank. unfortunately the saw uses mineral oil to help cool down the blade so now all my rocks are covered in the stuff. I've washed out the tank a few times but I'm still getting mineral oil spots.

I have a smaller aquarium (30gal) that has been successful for a few months now full of fish and live plants that I would like to transfer to the new, bigger tank when I'm convinced all my fish wont die.

Should I continue washing it out? any ideas?

somewhere I read that I could just wait for it to rise to the top of the water and then soak it up with paper towels?

how else would I be able to clean up the oil?

 

[Fishanatic]

Its toxic for humans, and is linked to 23 diseases in humans, no doubt it's toxic for fish. Also, it might be a good idea to let it rise, because it's so slippery. Oil is lighter then water so yeah

 

[Coyne]

I know its a little late to mention this, and Im not trying to rub any salt in the wound when I ask this... but did you try removing the oil prior to putting it in the tank?
Maybe people who try this in the future should have them soaking in a bucket for while until no more oil surfaces (and maybe longer after that just to be sure).

Sounds like a cool idea. I hope youre able to resolve the issue. I'd like to see a picture of it.