Washing Your Hands...

[The_Wolfman]

Hey I was just curious...when you all are about to put your hands into your aquarium do you wash your hands with soap before you do it? I ask this because that's what I've been doing since I set the tank up, ill use a little soap and wash them good enough to where there is no more soap left...im just worried that my water could get contaminated if i do this...???

[Brad.Sedore]

i use hand sanitizer... wait about 10 minutes... rinse my hands off thoroughly... wait a bit and do it once more... then put my hands in.. just always the way ive done it

-Brad

[austinsdad]

I'm a SW guy, but I tend to wash mine for as long as I can with plain water as hot as I can stand it.

[betta4me]

I scrub in I just make sure I rinse thoroughly with water as hot as I can stand it.

[fishfan12]

i just wash my hands with liquid soap, don't use a bar because sometimes pieces stick to your skin. also dry your hands with a paper towel, not a regular one to avoid threads on your hands.

[The_Wolfman]

lol ok cool so it should be fine then right? I do use liquid soap and wash my hands in warm water...sorry im really paranoid right now i'm getting my dwarf puffers in tomorow and i wanna make sure the tank is perfect before they arrive

[Copepod]

I know how you feel..I freaked when I realized I was using white towels I had bleached to dry on when doing PWC's...YIKES !!!

I agree with hot as you can stand.

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Don't wash your hands with soap before you stick your hands into the aquarium. If any traces of soap get into the aquarium, it can be very harmful, or even deadly to your fish.

I wouldn't atleast. I just rinse my hands under water for a long period of time.

[The_Wolfman]

How do you know if traces of soap are left in the aquarium? Is there any kind of signs to look for?

[Talon242]

I do the same as FishCrazyBenBOMB. I never wash my hands with soap, I just run them under water to rinse them off.

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

You can't really tell as far as I know Wolfman, unless your fish start dieing for no reason. Or you have tons of bubbles everywhere.

[The_Wolfman]

haha well i dont have bubbles everywhere so i guess thats a good sign...yeah i'll defiantly stop using soap next time...i just hope the fish dont die when i put them in the tank tommorow :-| i have a bunch of pond snails in the tank and they are all still alive...that's gotta be a good sign haha

[fishfan12]

some signs to look for are bubbles on the fish and near the top or if your fish change color rapidly, especially near the gills.

[The_Wolfman]

the only bubbles i have at the top are the ones being made by my filter

[Innovator]

Coming from a public aquarium aspect and for the most part, I wash my hands with anti-bacterial soap and water before and after touching any tank water for every tank. I wash at least 5-10 times/day. If you sing the "Happy Birthday" song to yourself twice it is considered a respectable amount of time washing up. As someone mentioned before, just make sure you rinse and dry your hands well due to soap residue (if you wash your hands correctly there won't be any residue).

[fishfan12]

those bubbles are fine and also don't ever forget to wash your hands after you finish to keep from getting any fish diseases.

[The_Wolfman]

just incase should i do a water change before i put the fish in the tank tommorow or does it really matter?

[Fishyfanatic]

I use liquid soap and am sure to make sure it is all off my hands. Been doing that for 5 years and haven't had any ill effects or soap contaminents.

Wolf- Does your tank have any fish in it? What are the circumstances behind hte water change? Ie: Did you fishless cycle?

[fishfan12]

the only water change that would help would be to take out some of the old water and pour in some of the water that the fish came in. that would help it adjust better to the tank.

[The_Wolfman]

Theres no fish in the tank yet

Yeah I've been fishless cylcing for the last 3 or 4 weeks, it's been cycled for about a week now...i ordered 6 dwarf puffers online and they will be here tomorow