Do you guys wash your hands ?

[Kira696]

Bit of a dumb question, but I am new to keeping fish and already know soap is bad for fish, right now i have just plants in my tank, and I do wash my hands with antibacterial soap after using the toilet etc. but always rinse thoroughly with cold water before putting my hands in the tank. Though still worried I may have got soap in there, because theres no fish I can't tell if there is/isn't soap in my tank :L Are plants effected by soap or just fish? Also do you guys buy a special organic soap so you dont have to worry?

 

[dalto]

Honestly, I am typically more worried about washing my hands after they have been in the tank than before.

I haven't done any scientific testing but as long as you have rinsed your hands off normally I don't think the amount of soap residue on your hands would be damaging to your fish. If it is a big concern why not get some gloves for use in the fish tank.

 

[mimiheart]

I was my hands before and after dealing with the tank. I'm allergic to a ton of soaps, so I just use a glycerin unscented soap. You can also find or make your own glycerin soap with activated charcoal and/or fine sand in it, which I find works well to exfoliate things. Just rinse it off thoroughly afterward.

 

[TMaier]

I do before and after. And I rinse really well.

 

[Kira696]

Thanks for all your replies, I do have some bubbles, not sure how to tell if they're soap bubbles or not?

 

[cgthebeast]

Uh yeah! Def wash, you can get serious infections of diseases from your fish tank no matter how clean. And if you like me, you always have a scratch on your hand. They make fish safe soaps

 

[cgthebeast]

Thoughts are just air bubbles, soap is foamy bubbles

 

[Kira696]

Thoughts are just air bubbles, soap is foamy bubbles

I hope your right, so worried for my plants ahaha, I don't have any fish in there yet but the plants are still very important to me.

 

[mimiheart]

Looks like just air to me, too.

 

[lewis.r]

I just rinse in freshwater from tap before maintenance and then after finishing use antibacterial hand wash.
I always figured before I put my hands in as long as they are just washed that's I fine rather than introducing soap into the tank, but I give a real good clean after.
2 years of doing just that I have had no problems at all!

 

[wendy fm]

I to was worried about the bubbles when I first started. They were air bubbles. I rinse before to make sure I don't have soap or lotion on my hands before I place them in the tank and then wash them really well with soap and water after.

 

[idol1]

I keep my hands out of all my tanks. If I have to go in I use dawn and wash very good.

I have 2 prs. of tongs for each tank, and that's a lot of tongs.

I can not afford any contamination between tanks.

 

[lok_fish]

Not a dumb question, I also wondered that myself. Thanks to your thread I have an answer! I think I'll just do a real good rinse w/o soap before hand and use soap afterwards.

 

[Brookster123]

I come in contact with different types of crap at work that I wouldn't want in the tanks. Even still I just do a warm water rinse down before putting my hands in. If I can smell soap on my hands I won't put them in the tank. Always a good wash after with dial soap, it's what doctors scrub in with so..

 

[nirbhao]

I use regular white hand soap before and after. I use hand sanitizer if I'm pulled away.

Idol, good on you for keeping your hands out! I find myself elbow deep even with my planting tongs.