Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I began using sculpey a few years ago. I am an aquarium hobbyist and I didn't like the pre-made caves or decorations that are sold. I wanted to do my own so I looked at the options and decided on sculpey after lots of testing. First, it had to be safe for the fish. I made a sculpey model, baked it as suggested then put it in water for a few weeks without any fish. I then tested the water to see if anything had leached into the water. Nothing had. Second, it had to hold up under water without falling apart. I found the important thing here was two steps are required. 1.) you have to bake it to the point just before it turns to a brown color to make sure the pores in the material are completely closed. If you don't then the model will still work okay but it tends to be easier to break over time. 2.) You need to paint the item to make up for any spots you might not have baked long enough. For paint I use a craft paint that is designed for ceramics. Basically apply the paint, let it dry then bake the item in the oven like you do normal sculpey. One thing I have found is that you can actually apply the paint to the unbaked sculpey and it will adhere even better. I tried scraping it off with my nails and it was hard as a rock. The paint I use is the Folk Art Enamel by Plaid. Walmart sells it for $2 a bottle, a bit more here on amazon. You have to use the enamel version, bottles have an E on the top and directions will say for ceramic and glass. I don't know if the things I made will last forever in the water, but some of them are 5+ years old and no sign of damage being submerged, removed and wiped off from algae or dirt and put right back in the tank. Fish have lived inside the things I made and have taken to them so much that one I wanted to update the fish wouldn't go in the new one, had to put the old one back.