think I made a stupid mistake

[gaya]

I picked up a "terracotta tree stump" to make a home for my clown loaches. I saw that the tag said for reptiles. I asked the girl working who has been keeping fish for years if it would be ok in my aquarium. She said to boil it for 20 minutes. Well I boiled it for an hour and put it in. Then I looked at the tag and upon closer inspection I saw "caution: Not recommended for fish tanks. Rinse well with warm water (no detergent) before using." It doesn't look glazed. It also says contains a special antimicrobia agent. I pulled it out of the aquarium. Am I being paranoid?

 

[Boggle]

You're not being paranoid...

Antimicrobial is a product added during the manufacturing process to inhibit bacteria, mould and mildew. If the manufactuer put a warning on the tag, it's probably because they can't guarantee that the antimicrobial stuff won't leak and kill all the bacteria in your tank, especially if the terracotta isn't sealed.

I think you should either take it back or seal it before you put it back in your tank.

 

[gaya]

When I took it out Idid a 25% water change as well. It was in there for about 10-15 minutes. Do you think a lot of this stuff would have leaked out in that amount of time?

 

[Boggle]

Don't think so, I would just do water testing in a few days... I think if it was that harmful to the tank, the warning would be much more severe, and you only put it in for a very short while. I've done much worse stuff to my tanks by accident & they were fine.

 

[gaya]

thanks boogle. YOu made me feel much better I'm gonna bring it back today.