New plastic plants prep?

[jtd1216]

Bought some new plastic plants for my new 55g African cichlid tank setup, which is currently cycling (no fish). Do I need to do anything to the plants to prep them before they go in beyond a thorough rinse with water? I’ve seen some instances (in reviews) that some brands of plants gave off chemicals and killed their fish, so people would soak them in a bucket of warm water overnight—but I’m not sure if that was accurate.

Thanks in advance!

 

[charliebankston]

We have 18 tanks up and running, all with artificial plants due to the nature of our digging cichlids. I've always just rinsed them under the tap water and installed, never had an issue personally

 

[fishwonder]

Agree with @charliebankston (if the @ really works...) Wash them off and throw them in.

 

[charliebankston]

Yeah, I've read those reviews before about plastic plant smells, etc. I wonder if most of those ppl have ever smelled plastic, lol. I've bought cheap plants from petsmart, Amazon, petco and ebay. They're all inert and safe imo. The only complaint I personally have about the cheap plants, is the glue sometimes quits binding the plant to the base and it'll float. But that could also be my fish doing that, it would amaze you what big cichlids can move, haha!

 

[charliebankston]

Agree with @charliebankston (if the @ really works...) Wash them off and throw them in.

It worked!