# Are Glass Beads/Marbles Safe?



## LakotaWolf (Mar 20, 2010)

Hi guys,

My betta has recently become very lethargic, and he now spends his days freaking me out by convincing me that he's dead.

I have live plants in his 7.5gal tank, so it's not really easy to rearrange the decor. :/

I've been considering some interesting alternatives to add to his tank to entertain him, such as a floating log, or that betta hammock leaf thing. Someone on another thread mentioned marbles, and I got to thinking.

Has anyone had any experience with adding glass beads/cat's eye beads to an aquarium? Are they safe? :/

I buy cat's eye beads and use them as eyes for the small stuffed animals I sew, and I think they could make an interesting betta toy if I strung a few on fishing line and hung it in the tank.

The site I buy from describes the beads as "Fiber optic cat's eye beads are made from a special glass (the same glass fiber optics are made from) - hence the name and the effect! All of our beads are GRADE A cats eye beads, and made in China."

So, they're made from glass, but I am wary of using them in case the coloration leaches into the water and poisons my betta. 

These are the beads in question, in case anyone wanted to have a look:

http://www.lythastudios.com/123bead/12round.html

So, does anyone have any advice? :} Are cat's eye beads safe to use? What about "regular" glass beads? Should I boil any glass/beads before I put them into the tank?

Thank you!


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## zof (Apr 23, 2010)

Any glass should be pretty safe to have in the aquarium assuming its in one piece and only the actual glass that touches the water. But we are also talking about something from china here, unless its purpose made for an aquarium I would try and steer clear of anything made in china inside of a tank. The corners Chinese companies cut just to save a penny here and there can be quite toxic, so I would use at your own risk.


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## Jadenlea (Sep 5, 2011)

hehe I have been wondering along the same line. I do a lot of jewlery making and i have all kinds of glass beads and swarovski crystal that I thought would look pretty glittering on my substrate in my enchanted forest theme


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## SomeDudeAtHome (Feb 19, 2011)

I imagine that the glass beads would be safe. I think the more important question though is why your beta is acting funny. Do you have a heater in the tank with him? Have you tested your water parameters? Some betas do just hang out and don't do much but if this is odd for your beta then there's something else going on i'd imagine.


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