Emergency - pots: glazed or unglazed?

[purple_drazi]

I put a terracotta pot base in my tank today for the corries to eat off of because they find it difficult when the food sinks down through the gravel. It occured to me to check and see if it was safe (<duh>) and now I'm totally confused. Some places say only use glazed terracotta & some say absolutely no glaze. This is a clean, no paint, glazed pot base. Is it going to kill everybody in the tank?


I'm removing it until I get a concensus but the corries really like it so I'd like to put something there. I just wish I knew what!

 

[canarsie11]

I dont know if you can use glazed pot, but I have only seen unglazed ones used.

 

[ddm18]

I've got 3 pieces of completely unglazed terracotta pot in my tank, which have been there for at least 4 months, and I haven't noticed any ill-effects.

I'd be interested to hear if it was a problem though.

I can't really see how a glazed pot would be bad either though - surely the point of glazing a pot it to make it waterproof? No?

 

[Opcn]

unglazed pots will leach some things, but not to badly if they have been soaked first,m however if you have a pot with a non foodsafe glaze your in for big problems.

 

[SirMinion]

Unglazed and unused.

Old pots may contain residues from perticides & fertiliserers used on the plants that they used to house,

Many ceramic glazes still use toxic heavy metals to give them colour (white is lead or cadmium oxide for example) and do do not want lead or cadmium in your tank.

Even new pots should be scrubbed & soaked for a few days in a bucket before adding them to the tank though. Just to be sure.

 

[purple_drazi]

unglazed better. check.
I made a special trip to Walmart and spent $0.66 (tax inc.) on a new, unglazed base.
the things I do for these fish.....

 

[slimecoat]

Many glazed ornaments are sold for fishtanks, so some types of glazing and colouring must be OK.

My personal experience was with unglazed terracotta pots. I had a tank full of Africans, and I bought a heap of 4 inch pots, broke them in halves, and piled them up in the back of the tank. Great hiding places for the fish, and also, I noticed some months later, a few new fish emerging. Obvious they bred in there, and a few young survived long enough to gain some size and venture out.

 

[SirMinion]

Many glazed ornaments are sold for fishtanks, so some types of glazing and colouring must be OK.

Absolutely true, but who can tell the difference? better to be safe than sorry.