Plastic Great White Shark

A perfect toy or party favor!

Our Plastic Great White Shark

This playful plastic great white shark is made hollow plastic and is 9 inches long. This replica has a detailed face and body with a shark-like smile. It has yellow eyes and a squeaker in its throat and may float and it squirks water. It makes for a nice pet, bath toy, and fits into a shark collection or serves as a great gag and is fun for all kinds of games. It promises not to bite, although because it is hollow, this shark is quite popular for use with grenadine for "Shark Attack" drinks in summer! Check out our other shark toys and gifts.

About Great White Sharks

The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) can be found near the surface in warmer waters of the Pacific, the Caribbean, and along the coast of Africa. Great whites usually about 9 feet in length, but adults may be as much as 16 feet. They weigh around 2,000 pounds. Some sharks follow the migration of sea lions, which they find a most tasty prey. The great white has a large conical-shaped snout, a gray dorsal fin and a mottled white underside. Great white sharks, like many other sharks, have rows of teeth behind the main ones, allowing any that break off to be rapidly replaced. A great white shark's teeth are serrated and when the shark bites it will shake its head side to side and the teeth will act as a saw and tear off large chunks of flesh. Great whites often swallow their own broken off teeth along with chunks of their prey's flesh.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Plastic Great White Shark

Another new addition to TPF! Say 'CHEESE'!

Our Plastic Great White Shark

This engaging, realistic-looking plastic great white shark miniature is made of somewhat flexible plastic with good quality. This replica has a dynamic, realistic pose. This great white shark replica makes for a nice pet, fits into a shoebox diorama, or serves as a great collectible. It is 3 inches long, with realistic grey skin and white underside. Ready to prowl in your toybox or school project! Check out our other shark toys and gifts.

About Great White Sharks

The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) can be found near the surface in warmer waters of the Pacific, the Caribbean, and along the coast of Africa. Great whites usually about 9 feet in length, but adults may be as much as 16 feet. They weigh around 2,000 pounds. Some sharks follow the migration of sea lions, which they find a most tasty prey. The great white has a large conical-shaped snout, a gray dorsal fin and a mottled white underside. Great white sharks, like many other sharks, have rows of teeth behind the main ones, allowing any that break off to be rapidly replaced. A great white shark's teeth are serrated and when the shark bites it will shake its head side to side and the teeth will act as a saw and tear off large chunks of flesh. Great whites often swallow their own broken off teeth along with chunks of their prey's flesh.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Plastic Queen Triggerfish

THIS queen can change its makeup at will!

Our Plastic Queen Triggerfish

This beautiful, realistic-looking queen triggerfish replica is made of solid plastic with flexible fins. The body together with the solid part of the fins is 4 7/8 inches long, but together with the flowing fins, this amazing museum-quality triggerfish miniature is 6 7/8 inches long. Our triggerfish toy has a myriad of colors and can be used as a gift, for a science project, for decorations, or as a collectible. Check out our other tropical fish toys and gifts.

About Queen Triggerfish

The Queen Triggerfish (Balistes vetulae) is a common reef fish found primarily in the Atlantic Ocean. It is a commonly found on coral rubble, tops of reefs and in sea grass. Large triggerfish can reach up to 18 inches, but most are small and can be suitable for aquariums, but not in conjunction with other fish. It is agressive and may feed on smaller species. Normally the triggerfish feeds on small crustaceans and shrimp. It is good at camoflauge since and can change color quickly when frightened.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Plastic Parrotfish

 You don't need a rod and reel to catch this interesting replica!

Our Plastic Parrotfish

This engaging, realistic-looking plastic parrotfish miniature is made of somewhat flexible plastic with a bendable tail. This replica has detailed scales and is painted turquoise blue. This parrotfish makes for a nice pet, fits into a shoebox diorama, or serves as a great collectible. Our plastic parrot fish is for decoration or play only. It does not float, and should NOT be put in your aquarium. Best of all, there is no mess, no feeding, and no tank cleaning. Check out our other fish toys and gifts.

About Parrotfish

The parrotfish is a common tropical fish and its family contains about 90 different species. It is found in shallow water reefs throughout tropical waters mainly in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean. It gets its name from its dental structure. Its numerous teeth are arranged on the external surface of the jaw bones, forming a parrot-like beak which is used to grind off algae from coral and other rock.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Flexible Plastic Spotted Moray Eel

Invite this little guy to your pool party!

Our Plastic Moray Eel

This moray eel is beautifuly detailed, closely matching the real thing in shape. It is made of floppy, flexible (not posable) plastic that always pops back into its original position (shown here). It's hollow and it squeaks when you squeeze it. We're not sure what species it is, because the ones we've seen in photos have either larger or smaller white spots. It may be a whitemouth (or white mouth) moray - the spots on some of the pictures we've seen are not too far off in size (some are much smaller), but you'll have to decide for yourself. Our moray has eely teeth and a pink mouth. See also our other lovely eel toys and gifts.

About Moray Eels

The whitemouth moray eel lives in much of the Indo-Pacific ocean, including the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. We've seen them while snorkeling in Hawaii. What a thrill! The ones we saw were small, and they are quite beautiful sea animals with their high-contrast colors and sleek bodies. Moray eels are among the Order Anguilliformes, which are broken down into fifteen different families.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Plastic Goldfish School?

Last week, while visiting an apartment rented to a Hispanic family in Redmond, Oregon, I spied a bowl of goldfish sitting on a table. In my broken Spanish I asked the residents' 6 year girl about her pets and she proceeded to reply in words that were incomprehensible to me. However her smile told me that she loved watching her fish and clearly took care of them well.  As an owner of two aquariums, one fresh water and one saltwater, I understood her pleasure. Tapir and Friends Animal Store has a large selection of plastic fish, especially plastic goldfish of various sizes. for many uses such as science projects, as collectibles, and as party favors. However, they are not useful for making sushi!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Plastic Translucent Day-Glo Fantail Goldfish

This goldfish makes bath time fun!

This bright orange goldfish is made of hollow, flexible plastic, and measures 7 inches from nose to tail. It will float on its side (sorry it does not look like it's swimming), and you can squeeze it under water to fill up the hollow inside. When you take it out of the water, you can squeeze it again and it will squirt out of its mouth. It makes a realistic and fun bath toy. It can also be used as interesting decor in your home. Because of its bright color and the translucent plastic (the fins are actually transparent), it was hard to photograph. The color is BRIGHT - almost day-glo orange. The eye is painted black and white. Come see our wonderful assortment of plastic fish toys.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Something fishy?

Sorry, none of the products sold by Tapir and Friends Animal Store are edible! The small tasty exotic fish in the foreground is part of a luncheon meal enjoyed by one of our Tapir and Friends Animal Store Blog loyal followers, Francisca, a wonderful friend of hers, and me this past April in the outskirts of Hong Kong near the Chinese border. You might enjoy visiting our fish "menu" page and see all our realistic plastic fish, stuffed sturgeon replica, fish jewelry and tropical fish eyeglass holders (peeper keepers). Please sample our products with your eyes and not with your mouth!

supplied by Lee

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Looking at You

To some of you, this picture may not be that appealing, however, we find market day an exciting time and an integral component to visiting a foreign country. The noise, color, interesting people, and, of course, the odors are memorable.. Here in the fish market in Santarem, Brazil, along the Amazon River in a butcher is showing off his selection of peacock bass. See the distinctive circle on the fishes' tail from which the fish gets its name. Tapir and Friends Animal Store has a huge variety of unusual plastic fish for sale. One special item is our bass eyeglass holders. This bass isn't a peacock bass though and, don't worry, it doesn't smell nor attract other fish! It is among a number of special animal eyeglass holders or peeper keepers worth seeing.

by Lee

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

NEW - Plastic Box Fish at Tapir and Friends

F1945 B155 - Plastic Boxfish, 4 inches long

Order here

This cute plastic box fish is new at Tapir and Friends Online Animal Store.

Our Plastic Boxfish

This engaging, realistic-looking plastic boxfish miniature is made of hollow flexible plastic with bendable fins. IT FLOATS! This replica has detailed scales and is painted turquoise blue and yellow. Our toy box fish has distinct black eyes and a red mouth and is 4 inches long from tail to the tips of its frontal protrusions.This blue and yellow boxfish makes for a nice pet, fits into a shoebox diorama, or serves as a great collectible. Our plastic blue and yellow boxfish is for decoration or play only. Even though it floats, it should NOT be put in your aquarium with living fish. Check out our other fish toys and gifts.

About Boxfish

Boxfishes are of the family Ostraciidae and are closely related to pufferfish, cowfish and trunkfish. They are a common tropical fish and are found in reefs throughout tropical waters mainly in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean. They come in a variety of different colors, and are notable for the hexagonal or "honeycomb" patterns in their skin and box-like bony skeletons. They swim in a rowing manner. Boxfish have large armour-like scales fused together to form a triangular box-shape. These brightly colored reef fish swim very slowly and some species excude a poisonous substance from their skin which discourages predators.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Swimming/floating plastic fish and seahorses!

Order from our online store

Because you asked for them, we've been looking for these little floating plastic fish for a long, long, time. Finally, they are in our store and ready to ship!
These tropical fish are about 1 3/4 inches long, made of hard plastic, and have hinged tails. They float upright, which is why they are so unusual among the plastic fish of the world, which usually float on their sides and appear to be dead. These look more "alive," and float upright, but with the top fin out of water. In the case of the seahorses, it's the top of their heads that are out of water. The fish move only as the water moves them; they are not automated in any way. I know from our customers that they can be used in a lava lamp, in which case the movement helps keep them under the surface so they curculate and in that case the tail may move from the movement inside the lamp. Since I don't have a lava lamp to test this out, I'd love it if someone can send me their photo and description! Once they are online, you'll be able to find them on our fish page.

Order from our online store

Great selection of plastic fish

We have the most amazing selection of plastic fish! Our other small plastic parrotfish sold out yesterday (it's discontinued), but we are always looking for more! The plastic parrotfish you see above is one of our newer ones, and we have a number of them in stock and ready to ship! Come take a look at our array of plastic fish!

Our Plastic Parrotfish

This engaging, realistic-looking plastic parrotfish miniature is made of somewhat flexible plastic with a bendable tail. This replica has detailed scales and is painted turquoise blue. This parrotfish makes for a nice pet, fits into a shoebox diorama, or serves as a great collectible. Our plastic parrot fish is for decoration or play only. It does not float, and should NOT be put in your aquarium. Best of all, there is no mess, no feeding, and no tank cleaning. Check out our other fish toys and gifts.

About Parrotfish

The parrotfish is a common tropical fish and its family contains about 90 different species. It is found in shallow water reefs throughout tropical waters mainly in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean. It gets its name from its dental structure. Its numerous teeth are arranged on the external surface of the jaw bones, forming a parrot-like beak which is used to grind off algae from coral and other rock.

Popular plastic rainbow trout back in stock

You wouldn't believe how popular this small plastic trout is. Why, you ask? Have you tried looking for plastc trout online? You might think they would be easy to find, but check it out sometime. Plastic trout are truly an endangered species! You can see and purchase this cute little trout at Tapir and Friends Wildlife World from our online store.

Plastic clown fish like "Nemo" - back in stock

Our clown fish is made of slightly flexible, shiny plastic and measures 4 3/4 inches from nose to tail fin - about the size of a real clownfish - and stands approximately 2 3/8 inches high. This fish is similar to the cartoon character "Nemo." This plastic fish rests comfortably on its fins and is large enough for a child to easily hold on to. It comes with an informational tag in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. It makes a nice bathtub toy as well as for school projects, toys, novelties, animal collections, party favors and more. Our plastic clown fish is for decoration or play only. It does not float, and should NOT be put in your aquarium. However, you can make an impressive coral reef shoebox diorama using this and other plastic aquatic creatures and mammals, sharks, fish, sea turtles, and birds from our gift shop. Best of all, there is no mess, no feeding, and no tank or cage cleaning :) Come see our wonderful assortment of plastic fish.

Did you know that there are about 28 known species of anemonefish? The clown anemonefish is the one we usually think of when we think of these reef-dwelling tropical saltwater fish. The false anemonefish was popularized in the movie, Finding Nemo. True anemonefish have some differences in shape. Clown anemonefish are orange with three distinctive white bars. They measure about 4 inches long, while other anemonefish may reach up to about 7 inches. Clown fish are found in warm waters of the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the western Pacific, including the Great Barrier Reef off of Australia. They are not present in the Atlantic, Caribbean, or the Mediterranean. All clown fish are born as males, and some change to females to become the dominant female of a group. Clownfish were the first tropical saltwater fish to be bred in captivity and are often found in saltwater aquariums. The clownfish has an almost unique relationship with sea anemones. The damselfish is the only other fish that is immune to the sting of the anemone's lethal tenticles. There are two ideas about how these fish can live among the tentacles: one is that a particular mucus protects these two fish species from the poison tentacles; the second is that the fish have evolved an immunity to this poison. Clown fish are omnivorous, eating live food such as algae, plankton, molluscs, and crustacea. They clean the sea anemones of particles that could be harmful to them, and their fecal matter feeds the anemone. The anemones provide a safe haven for the clownfish, as predator fish cannot tolerate the toxin in the anemone.

Come see our plastic fish!

Piranhas, anyone?

Everyone likes piranhas for one reason or another, don't we? We have two somewhat lifelike plastic piranha toys. They're made of solid plastic and they feel like a real fish! They're so rubbery, they strech like crazy. Kids will love them! This solid plastic toy fish has a rubbery feel, much like gelatin - a wonderful creepy feeling kids will enjoy - AND IT STRETCHES. It is 5 1/2 inches long before it is stretched (it doesn't stay stretched) and is wonderfully detailed and realistic looking. Our rubber-like plastic piranha comes in two colors: silver with turquoise markings (the one on this page) and yellow with green markings.

Piranhas (Serrasalmus) are a freshwater fish native to South American. Although they have been labeled as meat-eaters, they also eat plant matter, seeds and fruit. They are about 8-12 inches long and have a narrow body with a blunt head. Their strong jaws contain razor sharp, triangular-shaped teeth.

Today we're finding animals that start with "W"

"W" is certainly for WARTHOG! We have a very unusual item in our store - it's warthog jewelry! This special jewelry is made by hand by artist Corinna Bechko. It comes as a pin, a pendant, or a pair of warthog earrings! You can choose from a variety of colors, and if you get the warthog earrings or pendant, you can also choose a bead color to contrast or match. Corinna has a collection of really beautiful and tasteful beads. It's always fun to see what she comes up with!

We also have this nice, tusky PLASTIC WARTHOG. You'll find him in our pig section on the hoofed animals page.

We at least one "W" in our dog section, too. Above is a cute Welsh Corgi pin, hand-cast in pewter and hand-painted by some very talented artists in the US.

This animal is not a dog, but a wolf. The portrait pin is made just like the Welsh Corgi above. You can see and order our beautiful wolf portrait jewelry via our web album link.

A wrasse is a colorful tropical saltwater fish. In the ocean, they come in many bright shapes and various sizes. We were lucky enough to find one type of plastic wrasse, and you can order it here in our gift shop! Just scroll down through our plastic fish to find the pink and yellow wrasse.

"W" is also for Wild Boar. We have two in our online store. One is pictured above, and one below. Take a look see which one you like best!


This is quite unusual. We even have wild boar jewelry among the painted animal pins in our store! Isn't that cool? It's made by hand and hand-painted in the USA.

And last but not least, this is not an animal, but we carry some exquisite baskets made in Colombia. They are made by the Werregue people and are referred to as Werregue baskets or jars. These tightly-woven hand-made art objects actually hold water! Some of them do have animal designs on them, and others are strictly geometric patterns woven into the special palm fibers used for making these striking collector's items. They are still used by the indigenous people who make them in Colombia, but they are a favorite of collectors of ethinic art!

Another plastic fish gone :(

Now it's our popular sheephead plastic fish that is gone. We're unable to get any more, but we like to acknowledge some of our favorites and yours from time to time when we have to take them off of the web site. It's also a good time to remember, that if you love a certain animal in our online store, it's good to buy it while we have it! Some are with us for many years, and some have disappeared soon after they go online. In that case, it's frustrating for us, because we've found something that we and our customers both like, and then we can't get more!

OUR GOAL

We continually try to stock the unusual REALISTIC animal and fish toys, replicas and collectibles in affordable price ranges, and we are particularly interested when a manufacturer comes up with something where the species is recognizable. Over the years, we've found that it's not so easy to find animals in this category. Often the color will be a little off (or way off!), or an animal with the right coloring will have red eyes! Or it looks like a mix of several species. Still, we do our best to find them for you, and it's our pleasure to stock the gift shop with these fun and useful toys and collectibles. Many, many students have completed their school projects to get an "A" with animals from our store. They have also been purchased by museums, zoos, and for corporate events as well as by collectors and individuals who thought they would be fun to have or give as unique a gift. Come see our inventory here! We ship around the world.

Plastic deep-water fish replicas - strange and weird!

Plastic Viperfish

Plastic Anglerfish

Plastic Barrel-eye or Spookfish

Plastic Frogfish 3-D Puzzle

Customers had been asking us for deepwater fish, and for the longest time we couldn't find any. Finally we found some nice ones, and you've been discovering them! These are wonderful fun for kids, and have even been used in biology classes for props. Some have been discontinued by the manufacturer, but fortunately we have quite a number left in stock.

At the top is our viperfish, one of the most imposing, although one of the less true to life. He's creepy and looks like the monster from Alien, although he's actually perfectly safe. The greenish-white "thing" springing from his back actually glows in the dark. He is generally in keeping with a real fish from deep water, but is not perfectly accurate. You can read more about all of these fish by following the links in the deepwater fish section of our very popular fish page. Next comes the angler fish, another one popular with kids. After that, the barrel-eye fish or spookfish. At first we thought this fish was cartoonish-looking and not realistic, but in fact, it's the most true-to-life of the three top-pictured deepwater fish. Pictured lowest on the fish totem pole above is a 3-D puzzle of a frogfish. Frogfish don't live in deep water. They tend to be shallow-water fish (and I think I saw one under the mangroves while snorkeling in a scary spot in Panama) but they are related to the deep-water fish on this post, so we've included them together. As a puzzle, this fish is quite fun. You can take it apart and put it back together unlimited times. You can leave it out to look at when it's finished or pack it away in a plastic box that looks like a nautilus shell until you want to put it together again. These fish are all reasonably priced (quite inexpensive, check them out). The only one that has small pieces that could be a problem for very young children is the puzzle.

Is this the plastic salmon we've all been waiting for?

PLASTIC SALMON - BRAND NEW IN OUR STORE!

Unless you've been looking for small plastic trout or salmon yourself, you would not believe how many queries we get for a plastic fish like this one! And finally we found it! Check it out in Tapir and Friends online store! We're calling it a salmon for reasons you can read on its very own description page (follow the link above), but if you need a small plastic trout, this could also be the fish for you. These toys or replicas have been extremely hard to find! The description, price, and order info can all be found via the link above.

Which animal toy or gift was our biggest seller in January?

This colorful plastic fish (squirting clown trigger fish) was far and away the best selling item from our gift shop in January. The Fish and Wildlife Department from a country other than the US took 1,000, and we sold our last seven to other customers. Here is the link, but we won't have them back in stock until April 2008. If you absolutely need squirting fish, we do have two colors of 9-inch plastic salmon in stock. They're good for the bathtub and other play areas.

Our next most-sold toy in January was this unusual blue-gray plastic alligator. Its color is a bit weird, but the details are very nice. If the color is an issue, paint him green!


Check out this and other more naturally-colored toy alligators and crocodiles in Tapir and Friends online store.