Ornament warning!

[M4M]

(I'm hoping this would be an appropriate section to post this)

DO NOT BUY THIS ORNAMENT Penn Plax "Tribal Skull".

I bought this a few days ago for one of my bettas, and within a few days, this ornament went toxic and killed her.

When I brought it home, I rinsed it in clean, hot (scalding hot) water before placing this in my son's betta's tank.

a few days later, the whole tank was slimy, and she was pineconed. I didn't know definitely that it was this ornament, because I had bought this in a different color a few years ago without any problems at all. I rinsed everything down (again, scalding water) scrubbed all of the slime off, removed the gravel and the other ornament. Started her on Epsom. 2 days after that, I went to change her water again, and she was dead. I took all of the decor that I had left her, and only this was slimy again... Hmmmm.... I think I've found my culprit.

I called the local store that carries this product, and they've pulled it from the shelves, I will be calling Penn Plax tomorrow.

I will be posting this on every aquatic pet group/forum that I'm on. I don't know if it's all the colors, or just red, or if I just got a bad one, but better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Aquena]

Thank You!

 

[aquandrew]

for future references your suppose to wash with cool water id say the scalding hot water could've released the bad chemicals

 

[AngelFishGirl]

for future references your suppose to wash with cool water id say the scalding hot water could've released the bad chemicals

Really?

 

[walklong]

Scalding hot (in building code terms) is 140°F/60°C or above. Water that warm could very well have softened or eroded a clear sealant, exposing a soluble paint to the tank water. Red pigments contain metal - you might want to test or dump that tank's water.

 

[M4M]

In all of my years keeping tanks, I was told yo rinse new decor (including gravel) in warm to hot water. I was also told to sterilize in hot water, to avoid bleach.

But I have another decor that I soaked in cold water, that smells like wet latex paint.

 

[Scottyhorse]

I have always washed things in cold/warm water. Never had a problem.

 

[Fishingforfish]

Uh huh..I recently bought decor not too long ago and used boiling hot water, never had problems. Some people even boil water and put them in the pot.

Anyway, thanks for this! Skulls are something i would've taken as decor (I'm into that stuff lol), so this really helps.

 

[bettaowner]

I also thought warm water was better than cold water when it comes to washing aquarium ornaments. That being said, I would never add that to my tank, it looks too unnatural.

 

[M4M]

just the other day when I came home from the store, I went to change my giant betta's tank, and realized that his ornament smelled like paint too!

I've posted pictures of them. Someone on another forum had the castle like one for a long time and didn't have my trouble with it, so I'm going to hazard a guess that I got a bad one on that.

Another member had mentioned the same issue with some decor, so he sprayed it with Krylon Fusion clear coat, let it cure twice as long as you normally would, and also soaked it to be sure, and it didn't smell afterwards.

(the roman "ruin" is another Penn Plax ornament that smelled like paint after submersion)

 

[Fishingforfish]

just the other day when I came home from the store, I went to change my giant betta's tank, and realized that his ornament smelled like paint too!

I've posted pictures of them. Someone on another forum had the castle like one for a long time and didn't have my trouble with it, so I'm going to hazard a guess that I got a bad one on that.

Another member had mentioned the same issue with some decor, so he sprayed it with Krylon Fusion clear coat, let it cure twice as long as you normally would, and also soaked it to be sure, and it didn't smell afterwards.

(the roman "ruin" is another Penn Plax ornament that smelled like paint after submersion)

Oh my..I have the 2nd ornament laying around in my drawer right now! I never used it, but I was planning to use it in a QT. Gonna go try submerge it and see what happens.

 

[M4M]

Oh my..I have the 2nd ornament laying around in my drawer right now! I never used it, but I was planning to use it in a QT. Gonna go try submerge it and see what happens.

Let me know what happens with yours, please, I want to see if I'm just unlucky, or if there's a real issue.
Ours only took about an hour, hour and a half to start smelling when I took it out of water. I'd give it a day or two.

 

[Fishingforfish]

Let me know what happens with yours, please, I want to see if I'm just unlucky, or if there's a real issue. Ours only took about an hour, hour and a half to start smelling when I took it out of water. I'd give it a day or two.

It's been about 30 minutes and so far there's no sign of smell or anything..keep in mind that I'm using hot water (I prefer it). I don't know what's going to happen if I kept it in longer but I hope nothing bad happens. I really like this ornament, it provides a hiding spot but isn't too big.

I found a thread where someone's Penn-Plax decor actually killed their fish; here's the link: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=197274 (it's one of the comments)

For now ill just leave it in the water until an hour passes. I hope I don't get paint smell!

 

[shellyx]

I've had the same issue before with a penn plax ornament, bought it for my betta and left it to soak in a bucket for a while. When I went to take it out the water was tainted slightly red and there was a smell of paint. I took it back to the store they said they would remove all of the items, went back a week later and guess what was still on the shelves! Spoke to the manager and well let's just say i didn't go back. Now I only use natural items in all my tanks.

 

[walklong]

In all likelihood, there's no malice or fraud involved. Consider that the manufacturing and supply chain for these things probably covers half the planet and five or so language groups, the chance that the worker applying the paint even knows the skull or whatever is going into an aquarium is less than 100% maybe a LOT less. In the event, so what if a batch doesn't get the usual clear coat or other sealing process - they can't tell the difference for the looking, eh?

 

[M4M]

Nobody mentioned malice or fraud. Just blissful ignorance on their part. They maybe tried a cheaper seal, or thought less could still be effective. It doesn't change that a lot of Penn plax ornaments ate toxic though

 

[walklong]

I erred in not being clear enough. One comment addressed the issue of the LFS not removing/discontinuing the line. I meant to point to the reality that the op's experience might be more of an intersection of coincidences rather than an expression of a corporate philosophy of 'we don't care'. I could be wrong, but perhaps a more effective course would be to check in with Penn Plax about a more detailed and specific plan of preparation for the ornaments. They surely do not gain having their logo tied to toxic decor.

 

[M4M]

I'm the op of this thread

I would like to share that our store has pulled their remaining stock of the skulls!

 

[shellyx]

I'm the op of this thread

I would like to share that our store has pulled their remaining stock of the skulls!

That's great to hear.

 

[walklong]

Good news, indeed. Now to discover a path to remedy the underlying source of the problem.