How Do I Clean A Fish Decoration Without Using Soap?
by Aquaboy on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 | 5 Comments
I have a ship that has some green discoloration on the cloth part which it seems to be algae. I want to clean it because it may be poisonous to my betta fish and I can’t use soap because it is recommended not to soap inside the tank. It may leak soap residue into to the water and harm the fish.
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Just use a new sponge/wire wool and old tank water, or tap water and let it dry. Algae however is not harmful to fish in any shape or form, it just looks bad.
What you do is soak it in water that is NOT chlorinated (the residue of other water used may hurt or kill the fish) for a few hours, then repeat the process a few more times. It should take a few days for it to get clean, so be patient. Remember NEVER use tap water UNLESS it has been left out for at least 24 hours so the chlorine can evaporate out of the water.
The algae won’t be poisonous to your fish, it’s just an eyesore to us humans so you can quite safely leave it. Ornaments need to be cleaned regularly to avoid algae build up. If it’s on the cloth part it’s very unlikely that it will come off, but you could try gently scrubbing it under the tap with one of those plastic scourers. Definitely *don’t* use soap of any kind whatsoever.
It can be difficult, you can boil it or soak and or scrub it in hot water with non iodized salt or white vinigar. rinse it off really well. tap water is fine, just dont put a whole bunch of tap water in the tank, or you can rinse it in declorinated tap water.
You can use a solution of one part bleach to 10 parts water. soak for no longer than 15 minutes, then rinse it of really really well and let it dry for 24 hours, all traces of chlorine and bleach will be gone, be carefull because it can remove the color of some things.
or you might try to just let the boat dry out for a few days, eventually he algae will die, and when you put it back the current will clean it up
Use some warm water and a clean pipe cleaner or even a new tooth brush and it should come right off!