So, I got a Penn Plax Skull Gazer for my divided 10 gallon tank. After a few days I noticed it was surrounded but a white/clear-ish sort of...I don't know, barrier or something that was maybe a centimeter thick. It's the kind of film that covers rotting food or dead fish.
Why did it do that to the skull? I washed it in hot water but what else can I do to remove it? What can I do to make it safe for my fish?
That does sound strange. Do you have a filter in your tank ? I have used Penn Plax decorations and have never had a problem with them. I just really have no idea what could be causing this issue you are having. You could do a vinegar and water soak with it and then rinse it very well with hot water and let in dry and then try putting in back in your tank again and keep a close eye on it.
Maybe some other members will have some ideas for you and keep us updated on this decoration issue .
How much vinegar in how much water? I also don't have normal vinegar, I have this weird apple scented stuff that's 5% acidity...I'll go look it up I guess.
I would use a couple of teaspoons of normal vinegar in a bowl of water and let the skull soak for a hour or so, remove and rinse very well and let it dry. I have heard letting something dry in the sun also helps if you can do that but if not just let it dry somewhere it will stay clean. Good luck I hope this helps.
Ok, thank you. I needed to go to the Dollar Tree anyway so I'll get some white vinegar there. It's been in the 90*F for the last few days so drying in the sun shouldn't be an issue.
I got that in my 2 gallon, which wasn't filtered. It smelled really weird, too. I never got rid of it the whole time I used that tank. Hope the vinegar thing works for you (I never tried it).
I soaked the skull for 2 hours in a vinegar/water bath. It was cloudy today and will stay like that for the next 4 days or so, but I used a "daylight" heat lamp from my little brother's geckos to dry it. Hopefully it's a decent sunlight substitute.
It should be dry now so I'll but the skull back in and keep an eye on it.
My tank is filtered too, so maybe it was just due to stuff left on from the production process.
If it's bacterial, then you could do as another member suggested to me, and that's use Hydrogen Peroxide. It's not good for the fish to be exposed to it, but if you took the skull out and soaked it with 50/50 water and peroxide for an hour, rinsed, and let dry, then that should certainly kill anything still clinging on. Good luck!
The skull has been back in for a day now? Or has it been two? Either way I can already see the fuzz stuff coming back. The vinegar bath didn't work. Maybe I didn't put enough in? I'm not sure.
I'm now tying that hydrogen peroxide suggestion. Please let it work. If it doesn't I spent $8 for a defective skull and I don't think I have the receipt.
I don't have many choices around me for a skull decoration, so I'll give it this last shot. If the 50/50 water/hydrogen peroxide doesn't work then I'll throw it out.
That's sad. That does tell me though that it had to be something leaching out of the ornament, because between the vinegar and the peroxide, you should have killed everything on the surface. :-?
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