Tank-safe yarn?

[FireDancer7905]

A totally random question, for the knitters among us:
My friend knits constantly (especially during staff meetings :p:), and I have infected her with the fish bug :Angel:. She would like to knit her own aquarium decor, specifically for her betta. :goldfish: I know, she can just buy decor, or grow live plants (quite the failed experiment that one), but it'd be neat all the same. Does anyone know of a tank-safe yarn or yarn substitute?

This is the site that gave her the idea; it's a knitted recreation of the Great Barrier Reef. http://theiff.org/reef/index.html

Thanks! ~brandy

[DarrylR]

Some people use some type of yarn to form into breeding mops. Unsure of the type of yarn... assuming any type is safe but best to google around.

[Madcrawdad]

A few years back I bought sweaters for all of my gouramis. Unfortunately, they wear them so often, that they're kind of worn out, and I can't read the little tags anymore. :huh:

[justahannah]

Polyester or nylon should both be ok because neither will break down, being essentially plastic. I would stay away from wool, cotton, anything plant or animal based will eventually rot. And maybe wash it (without soap!) first to remove any excess dye.

[FireDancer7905]

A few years back I bought sweaters for all of my gouramis. Unfortunately, they wear them so often, that they're kind of worn out, and I can't read the little tags anymore. :huh:

I wish you'd taken pics! I bet they just loved them! Does it help save on heating costs for the tank?

[Mustang Boy]

if she wants to do this i have an idea that i have heard before that could be tweaked a little to work with this

you said the whole plant experiment didnt work but im betting javamoss would grow in her tank cause anybody can grow javamoss lol. ok the idea i heard was getting some string and braiding it and while braiding it put javamoss into the braids and hang it from the top of the tank down to the bottom, the idea was for fiddler crabs to get out of the water, now im betting this same theory could be used with her knitting idea just put some javamoss randomly but evenly through out the decor piece and aslong as the javamoss stays moist itll be ok till she is done knitting then when she puts it in the tank it would grow in and slowly cover the whole piece of decor

[PuppyFluffer]

I knit.
I think acrylic would be fine. It's very easy to find acrylic yarns.

[mseckmann]

Uh, yeah, it was java moss that failed.
:uhoh::uhoh:

Considering I have the plant chemicals just sitting in the cupboard, I should probably go back to the real thing.

[FireDancer7905]

lol Ms. E. I'll try and bring you something live tomorrow. I've got a bunch of anubia that'll be ok for the weekend sans light.

[Jspigs]

Wouldn't the yarn float? I guess you could weigh it down but...

[pophead]

purple string works great. just attach it to a rock.
but seriously, something plastic. everything else that I know of will fail.

[FireDancer7905]

lol, purple string's the thing!

[7itanium]

TBH I am having a seriously hard time picturing what a knitted fishtank decoration might look like.

im not shutting the idea down, I just really wanna see this and am skepticle as to how well it will work