I'm setting up a 75 gallon fresh water aquarium at home and I'm thinking that it might be fun to put some of my unpainted toys in there. Has anyone here ever done this? I don't want the sofubi to off gas and hurt my fish and I don't want the submersion to impact the toy. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
I know it sounds like a fun idea, but don't do it. The vinyl will certainly continue to off-gas and that may harm the fish. The vinyl will also be degraded by the combination fish crap and the light from the tank light. At best algae would grow on the toy and at worst the vinyl would be severely degraded. My wife and I have had tanks, both fresh and salt, for over 25 years. We often have to replace the plastic plants which are made for fresh water tanks because they do fade and degrade. Not sure why the plastic plants don't off-gas or if they do, why it doesn't hurt the fish.
One thing I learnt when i kept tropical fish is they are expensive and fragile bastards ... I wouldn't put anything in the tank I wasn't sure about. If you buy it from an aquatic centre, all good. Anything else, I reckon its not worth the risk!
You can always take photos of your toys visiting the fish. Not quite the same, but your toys will appreciate it more. View this post on Instagram
Thanks y'all. I was afraid this may be the case but it sure sounded fun. Good suggestion @blakewest !!! What kind of fish did you guys keep @Mark K @The Moog ? The one I'm setting up is going to be an oscar tank. I've kept smaller tropical fish tanks and I used to have an african cichlid tank. This will be my first go with an oscar.
