Your Hands In The Tank

[katiekelsey]

How do you prevent traces of hand soap and hand cream from getting in the tank water? When doing water changes I usually have my hands in the water arranging plants and cleaning the substrate. I had three fish die last week. Everything in the tank tested normal and the fish had no signs of disease or anything else wrong. I think I had hand cream on my hands. The fish died two days after the water change. Until then everything in the tank was fine. I'm so upset about this. I don't want it to happen again. If I used gloves they wouldn't be long enough.

 

[mikem691]

I defiantly wash and rinse very well. then rinse one more time and dry with a fresh paper towel.

 

[brennae]

I rinse really well and try not to use hand cream except at night. I also try not to use any soap with lotion in it before I stick my hands in the tank. I also don't put perfume on my wrists.

 

[Brookster123]

I dropped my ice cream cone in the tank last summer, when i finally finished sobbing uncontrollably I vowed to try my very best to make sure I'd never introduce any foreign substances to my beloved tanks.. so far I've been pretty good with the warm water elbow down scrubs. . No soap..i also have a dedicated tank towel on the wall..

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[Yorg]

To katiekelsey

Hi katiekelsey:

I bought a pair of "Heavy Duty Aqua Gloves" online. They cost about $10. They come all the way up to my shoulders and have an elastic band at the top to secure them in place. I've had them for about four years now with no leaks or tears (they're made of a pretty heavy duty material). You could check online with PetSolutions or Drs. Foster Smith to see if they carry them. They've been a big help.

-Yorg

How do you prevent traces of hand soap and hand cream from getting in the tank water? When doing water changes I usually have my hands in the water arranging plants and cleaning the substrate. I had three fish die last week. Everything in the tank tested normal and the fish had no signs of disease or anything else wrong. I think I had hand cream on my hands. The fish died two days after the water change. Until then everything in the tank was fine. I'm so upset about this. I don't want it to happen again. If I used gloves they wouldn't be long enough.

 

[Chesmok]

I dropped my ice cream cone in the tank last summer, when i finally finished sobbing uncontrollably I vowed to try my very best to make sure I'd never introduce any foreign substances to my beloved tanks.. so far I've been pretty good with the warm water elbow down scrubs. . No soap..i also have a dedicated tank towel on the wall..

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Ice cream cone? How did that happen? :/ On another note, perhaps you changed too much water and the fish died from stress, ph shock, or something else? Don't be too hard on yourself...sometimes fish just die for no reason too. If it was your hand cream, well just make sure to wash your hands and arms really well with a lot of lather and pat dry.

 

[Fresh2o]

I dropped my ice cream cone in the tank last summer, when i finally finished sobbing uncontrollably...

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Perhaps open top tanks or ice cream cones are not for you
I always wash with no soap (and if I do I follow with a lot of rinsing ) and fling my hands about imitating a bird's first flight.
Introducing potentially harmful substances is a big concern for me.


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[Brookster123]

It was a joke people's I'm very cautious, did have a beer overflow on the glass top a little bit.. luckily no one was intoxicated by the accident.. i try to use tongs as much as possible. I have 24" set of tings that save me a lot if grabbing and root tabing with bare hands.

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[Fresh2o]

I like tongs. Imagine trying to plant DHG/DBT/UG by hand? Like typing with a baseball bat.
I can snatch a stray leaf swirling around in the water with tongs much like Miyagi catching a fly with chopsticks in the Karate Kid movie. Mad skills.


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[BBradbury]

Hands in the Tank

Hello kat...

There are extra long gloves you can get for underwater tank work. Foster and Smith carry them. But, if you get a good eco soap with no harsh chemicals and rinse well, you won't have any problems. There's a remote possibility you could still have a trace of something left on your hands, but that's why your tank has a good working filter system and you do those 50 percent weekly water changes to prevent this sort of thing.

B

 

[katiekelsey]

I'm just sick about this. I lost the blood parrot that I rescued last June. He was so friendly and I killed him because of something stupid I did. It had to be hand cream. I checked everything else and the water was fine. I changed the same amount of water that I do every week.

 

[Chesmok]

I like tongs. Imagine trying to plant DHG/DBT/UG by hand? Like typing with a baseball bat.
I can snatch a stray leaf swirling around in the water with tongs much like Miyagi catching a fly with chopsticks in the Karate Kid movie. Mad skills.


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Back when I didn't buy tongs I planted glosso, hc and dhg with my hands. That's mad skills.


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[Eggheadfish]

I scrub up to the elbows and then rinse with hot water until my arms are red then dry with a paper towel.
Sorry to hear about your fish, though I'm a little surprised to think hand cream would kill 4 fish in a 45g (?)-what's in that stuff??
When I changed my substrate a year after getting the tank from a friend, you wouldn't believe the stuff I found in there. Rusted paper clips, broken glass, old pieces of plastic plants, fish bones, etc. I've also been guilty of sticking my hands in there without washing (for emergency reasons - fry rescue, etc) after having a cigarette or eating or whatever and my fish have tolerated it. Maybe since the 55g has more water it distributes more and makes it less harmful, or my fish are less sensitive. Couldn't tell ya.
Brookster and Fresh you guys are killing me over here haha. I would love to see a video of the bird dance.

 

[mikem691]

I'm just sick about this. I lost the blood parrot that I rescued last June. He was so friendly and I killed him because of something stupid I did. It had to be hand cream. I checked everything else and the water was fine. I changed the same amount of water that I do every week.

It wasn't the water change as long as you treated it. If large water changes killed fish mine would all be dead.

 

[Fresh2o]

Katie - Which brand of hand cream was involved? Looking up the list of ingredients may be helpful.


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[gilpi]

I dropped my ice cream cone in the tank last summer, when i finally finished sobbing uncontrollably I vowed to try my very best to make sure I'd never introduce any foreign substances to my beloved tanks.. so far I've been pretty good with the warm water elbow down scrubs. . No soap..i also have a dedicated tank towel on the wall..

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I hope you didn't lose any fish because of that and if so, how did the fish like the ice cream?

 

[Sa777]

Wash your hands and don't put stuff on them before putting your hands in the tank.

 

[Delapool]

My main concern is garden or shed products. So my tank water change is first thing Saturday morning while the fish are watching the cartoons. Otherwise I'm just careful I guess about it. I wash my hands before feeding the fish as well just in case.

I would assume carbon could be run if any problems are suspected.

 

[Joefish...]

Rub some stress coat on your hands before you put them in the tank.


Joefish...

 

[Brookster123]

Rub some stress coat on your hands before you put them in the tank.


Joefish...

I will do no such thing sir..heh

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