Another Toy Idea!

[corw314]

Tonight, I found a giant Lego and decided to see what Ink would do with it! He has been playing with it non stop since I put it in! He seems to like being able to wrap his legs around all the shapes! It is very buoyant, so he really has to work at getting it down to the bottom of the tank. Right now he has worked it all the way to the bottom and is currently hiding behind it! I think he has a thing for smooth plastic! My daughtor is pissed and wants her toy back but I'm afraid she's gonna have to wait til Ink's done with it!

Carol

 

[dbbga]

That is a really cool idea 8) I would have never thought of that,,,,, guess im off to Walmart in the morning LOL :P

 

[Nancy]

Yup, I guess we all have to try giant Lego blocks.

Great pic of Ink and his toy. He's such an ernest little guy!

Nancy

 

[cthulhu77]

Very nice! Now if we can only get Ink to build with them... Great photo, it is cool to see a happy octo!
Greg

 

[corw314]

Hi everyone! Ya never know what's gonna tickle their fancy!!! Ink is still playing with this block! He kind of uses it as this buoyant toy! Likes to make it turn over and over! Plus when he takes a break, he wedges himself between the glass and the lego!

Here's another shot!!
Carol

 

[shannen74]

Too cute! He looks like he's trying really hard to be flourescent green

S

 

[tonmo]

He looks like he's trying really hard to be flourescent green

Ha, good point!

Carol, is Ink still playing with this, or is he done with it?

 

[corw314]

Hey Tony!

Yes he is!!! Sometimes, in the middle of the night I look over at the tank and he is hanging off the block! Seems to really like it!!!

Other things have lost interest for him. Maybe it's the flourescent green!!!

This shot was taken from the top of the tank!

Carol

 

[Colin]

Have you tried different colours Carol?

 

[corw314]

Hey Colin!

Good idea! I will have to attempt my daughtors toy box and see if I can find some other colors!!!! Would really be interesting to see if Blue or Red has the same effect!!!

Carol

 

[tonmo]

Hey Carol, any luck finding a different colored block?

Also... doesn't this fall under the "colored plastic" category? i.e., is this safe for your octo? Certainly doesn't seem to be bothering him...

 

[corw314]

Hi Tony!

Ya know you're right it is colored plastic, but I would think cause it's a kid toy it's non toxic but I'm not possative, so think it's time to take it out!!! He's still playing with it though!!! Maybe a different block would be a good idea, since the green one has been in the tank about a week or more! No luck on another color yet but I also haven't been brave enough to tackle the TOYBOX !!!!

Carol

 

[tonmo]

Yeah, I would figure it's non-toxic if it's a kids' toy. The colored plastic caveat was probably in reference to other forms of plastic.

Wow, Ink is still playing with it 11 days later! Sounds like he really likes it... he might get bummed out if you take it away!

 

[mikeconstable]

Toxicity of materials

It used to be the pigments (white lead, cadmium yellow, etc.) which caused problems in life, but these have been superseded and eliminated. Now the things that cause concern are additives and contaminants. Brittle polymers like PVC require large proportions of plasticisers to make them usefully flexible (particularly as tubing). 30 years ago phthalate plasticisers were causing concern in cling film for human food use, and I don't suppose vinyl chloride monomer (a carcinogen ) levels were monitored as carefully as they are now.
I did try asking Eheim what materials they used but they informed me that they do not disclose this type of information - it might have worked better if I had asked specific questions (eg. if they still use phthalate plasticisers in tubing?). It is likely that producers have moved away from butyl esters (which have caused harm to terrestrial plants in commerce) towards iso-octyl esters as concern increased, but many plastics have characteristic odours which are only chemicals being released to the atmosphere - who knows the effect in the aquatic environment?
There are many other chemicals used - eg. flow modifiers and stabilisers - to help processing, and some of these used to include tin compounds. There is a tin compound [TBT tri-butyl tin (??)] which was used as an anti-fouling agent on boats until it was found to be causing feminisation of molluscs (whelks?) in the sea.
There was a feeling that squid are even more difficult to keep in polyethylene (polythene) containers (for more see - Tank setup and maintenance - fiberglass screen - topic)
All we can do is be careful what we use and learn from what we observe.

 

[corw314]

Wow! After reading about all the hazards of plastics, I thought maybe the lego was a bad idea, so I removed it for about 5 days, but Ink started to get into trouble with disconnecting the powerhead again. So I tackled the toybox, but unfortunately, no more legos. So I gave him back the green one, (which I did check for smells,) and he has succeeded in dragging this lego into every corner and crevice in the tank! Now this is very buoyant so it is not an easy feat!!! Everytime I look at the tank, he has it in a different spot! And no more disconnected powerhead!!!!

Carol