paint palette dishes

[hprmom]

I ordered a couple of porcelain/ceramic paint palettes from Amazon earlier this month, I thought they'd make fun food dishes with the individual wells (one has 9 sections and one has 7). They're about 5-6" diameter, the same size as the IKEA dishes I'm using now. However, I noticed that the paint palettes are unglazed on the bottom (the IKEA dishes are glazed all over). Most pottery is unglazed on the foot, but is this an issue for a dish that's going to sit constantly on damp sub? I never had trouble with my dollar store ceramic soap dishes, but they were mostly glazed, only exposed around the thin rim that sat on the sub. The paint palettes are unglazed across the entire 5" diameter underside.

I totally forgot I'd ordered these, glad I ran across them after I got back from vacation! They are still returnable for another week so I thought I'd ask the question.

[Crabinski]

It shouldn't be a problem. I have a few small kitten-sized bowls that aren't glazed on the bottom that I've used, on and off, for several years in the crabitat -- there was no apparent damage to either the bowls or the substrate (i.e., no discoloration or leaching of material on the substrate).

[hprmom]

Excellent, @Crabinski, thanks! I just wanted to make sure, since the paint palettes aren't technically made for food. Do you suppose they'd be okay in the dishwasher? I have this vague idea that porous dishes shouldn't get soaked, but maybe dishwasher is okay? If I can put these in the dishwasher, then I'll officially have enough dishes to rotate through and not have to wash by hand, lol.

[Crabinski]

I don't use a dishwasher so can't say "yea or nay" with confidence. Given their intended use, they wouldn't be cleaned in a dishwasher so I'd stick with a good rinse in hot water (I never use soap on anything going into the crabitat).

[hprmom]

Given their intended use, they wouldn't be cleaned in a dishwasher so I'd stick with a good rinse in hot water.

Good point, thanks. I often pour the extra hot water from my tea kettle over rock dishes, I'll stick with that for the paint palettes.

Here's one of the palettes in action. I like that the juicy stuff doesn't run over into the crunchy stuff (who knows if they care, but I don't like soggy, lol). And I think the wells give them something to grab as they haul their heavy shelled butts into the dish, too.


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[Crabinski]

That palette looks as colorful containing crab food as it would with paint daubs! I'm envious of tanks large enough to hold a 5-6" diameter plate (I have only a 29g) but it would go to waste here as only one of the three crabs currently up is showing any interest in food. I think they need King Felix to emerge: he eats all the time!

[KayedeeLove<3]

I looooooove this so much! I have dishes EVERYWHERE! Good job @hprmom.

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[hprmom]

Thanks, guys! I'm glad I nabbed this dish a few weeks ago, I just looked on Amazon and for some unexplained reason it doubled in price!!

Before I saw this dish, I was thinking of making something similar at the local "make your own pottery" shop... maybe using a real sea shell to make depressions in the dish. That would have been fun but probably cost more!

Dishes are a bit of an obsession, LOL. Before we upsized I always had an eye open for something in the 4" range. My fave (still have) was a flat dollar store soap dish with a rim. Most ceramic soap dishes are sloped and after watching Hermie fall over backwards a half dozen times trying get into one, I started looking for flat bottoms! The other day at Home Goods I was tempted to pick up a cute flat soap dish shaped like an elephant! My ikea dishes are also flat with a little rim:


I've repurposed our rock water dishes for dry food (leaves, sticks, flowers, worm poop, etc.) and I like the depth for that, although stuff still winds up strewn around the sub! I just never felt like I was getting the rock dishes clean with "wet" food (especially raw proteins), so I went to ceramic.

That palette looks as colorful containing crab food as it would with paint daubs! I'm envious of tanks large enough to hold a 5-6" diameter plate (I have only a 29g) but it would go to waste here as only one of the three crabs currently up is showing any interest in food. I think they need King Felix to emerge: he eats all the time!

The other night I watched Hermie chow for 45 minutes straight! Junior will similarly sit in the leaf litter dish for an hour at a time, but seems less interested in the fresh food. The others must eat on the run because we rarely see them at the buffet.