Hand Sanitisers & Aquariums?

[CassCats]

Dish soap, the worse you can do...
Not so sure if it was the kids or you using dish soap, they do the same.
So they ain't cleaning their hands at home, buy a top? and make sure you kids can't open it?
Again soap or whatever is not the cause, you are.

Oh for crying out loud, seriously dude, read.

We had just gotten home to from doing groceries, kid ran off while we were putting things away, before we got a chance to wash our hands ourself and before the kid did.

The tank has a lid. Kid knows how to open it.

He came back in and said he was letting the fish nibble his hands.

But you will probably have something else to badger me about all of this so I really don't know why I have to just repeat myself again.

You are actually being a jerk with your message, you dont think I'm not blaming myself for this? Do you want to know how it feels to watch your fish go through this? Everyone else on this thread has been polite, even when pointing things out. Not you, because now I'm mad.

Yes, there's lots here i am to blame for, im beating myself up for it, don't need to have someone else rubbing it in. But the fact of the matter is this can still happen to anyone and I am not the only person this has happened to either, but you didnt read the thread otherwise you'd be badgering THEM about it too. Which they also wouldn't deserve.

Fact of the matter is theres something in some sanitizers that kill fish, especially scaleless fish, and we are hoping someone else knows this and thinks to stop and wash it off their hands before they deal with their tanks.

But thanks, im already aware im a cruddy fish owner for this and had to watch my fish suffer over something preventable.

But if one more person doesn't have to go through this same painful experience, I'd rather them stop and think first just to err on the side of caution.

 

[Ch4rlie]

This thread or any thread on this forum for that matter is not made for members to point fingers at or to blame others.

This forum is to EDUCATE others and to have chats or discussions about fish related matters.

This particular thread is about the dangers of hand sanitisers and the effect this could possibly do to our fishy friends.

The alcohol in hand sanitisers, we’ve learned is not the real danger, it’s the other chemicals that’s added to this, possibly the perfume, the anti mould or the bacterial cleaner solutions, I do not know exactly the specific ingredients that poses a danger to aquaria.

So I was hoping the more scientifically or chemically minded members may help in determining this or perhaps to recommend certain hand sanitisers ingredients or brands to avoid to keep the risks to a minimum of possible.

It’s not the hand washing with soaps or detergents that this thread is about, and for NCAquatics this is not the cause as NCAquatics has repeatedly pointed out, it is more to do with certain hand sanitisers that’s the danger.

It’s irrelevant as to whom or how these things happened, accidents and mistakes happens to everyone, I’ve certainly made some mistakes in the past that caused loss of life in my aquarium and I learned from my mistakes and I felt bad from my mistakes as I knew it could have been avoided but I try to teach others too.

THATS what this thread is about, helping others to avoid making the same mistakes but with hand sanitisers in this case.

Edited to correct some bad grammar by yours truly!

 

[Essjay]

The problem with hand sanitisers is finding out what's actually in some of them. The bottle sitting in my kitchen says "alcohol 70%, proprietary ingredients 30%" Proprietary ingredients could be anything, from something harmless to something deadly to fish. Some shops have hand sanitiser in bottles with a label - though that doesn't mean what's in the bottle is the same product as the label - while other shops have their sanitiser in unlabelled bottles.

Since we cannot find out what we are actually putting on our hands, we have no way of knowing if it will harm our fish. The only safe thing to do is wash our hands very thoroughly before touching our tanks.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Dish soap, the worse you can do...
Not so sure if it was the kids or you using dish soap, they do the same.
So they ain't cleaning their hands at home, buy a top? and make sure you kids can't open it?
Again soap or whatever is not the cause, you are.

Wow, way to not read the thread at all, only to come here and accuse someone? What was the point of this, did it make you feel big and superior? It certainly wasn't to try and be helpful, to anyone

Oh, I also use dish detergent to wash my hands and arms before I touch the tanks. It removes oils and grease well, and when rinsed well with hot water, doesn't leave any residue on my skin, hasn't caused any problems with my tanks. So come at me if you're wanting to lash out at someone, rather than at NC who has already been through enough, and really doesn't need this nastiness from anyone.

 

[Naughts]

This thread or any thread on this forum for that matter is not made for members to point fingers at or to blame others.

This forum is to EDUCATE others and to have chats or discussions about fish related matters.

This particular thread is about the dangers of hand sanitisers and the effect this could possibly do to our fishy friends.

The alcohol in hand sanitisers, we’ve learned is not the real danger, it’s the other chemicals that’s added to this, possibly the perfume, the anti mould or the bacterial cleaner solutions, I do not know exactly the specific ingredients that poses a danger to aquaria.

So I was hoping the more scientifically or chemically minded members may help in determining this or perhaps to recommend certain hand sanitisers ingredients or brands to avoid to keep the risks to a minimum of possible.

It’s not the hand washing with soaps or detergents that this thread is about, and for NCAquatics this is not the cause as NCAquatics has repeatedly pointed out, it is more to do with certain hand sanitisers that’s the danger.

It’s irrelevant as to whom or how these things happened, accidents and mistakes happens to everyone, I’ve certainly made some mistakes in the past that caused loss of life in my aquarium and I learned from my mistakes and I felt bad from my mistakes as I knew it could have been avoided but I try to teach others too.

THATS what this thread is about, helping others to avoid making the same mistakes but with hand sanitisers in this case.

Edited to correct some bad grammar by yours truly!

There have been 3000 views on this thread.

That shows a) lots of people have concerns and b) lots of people have been warned.
Thank you

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

You are actually being a jerk with your message, you dont think I'm not blaming myself for this? Do you want to know how it feels to watch your fish go through this? Everyone else on this thread has been polite, even when pointing things out. Not you, because now I'm mad.

Yes, there's lots here i am to blame for, im beating myself up for it, don't need to have someone else rubbing it in. But the fact of the matter is this can still happen to anyone and I am not the only person this has happened to either, but you didnt read the thread otherwise you'd be badgering THEM about it too. Which they also wouldn't deserve.



But thanks, im already aware im a cruddy fish owner for this and had to watch my fish suffer over something preventable.

But if one more person doesn't have to go through this same painful experience, I'd rather them stop and think first just to err on the side of caution.

You're not a bad fish owner, nor a bad parent. Accidents do happen, and it's horrible when it does, but no one was being malicious or cruel here, it was a horrible accident, and you're far from the only one its happened to. I often make the bet that there isn't a fishkeeper around who hasn't made a mistake that has killed livestock.

What worries me about accusations like the previous posters, is that not only is it cruel and mean towards you, but things like that are only going to make more people unwilling to post about things like this, for fear they'll be made to feel like rubbish over it. @Desperado070 you should think of the knock on consequences of what you say. Not only do you hurt @NCaquatics , but those 3000 people reading are probably much less willing to share their own mistakes for fear of being raked over the coals for it. We should be supporting each other to correct mistakes, sure, but in a constructive way, not accusing or being cruel about it.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Do you feel that I was mean to you @NCaquatics?

 

[CassCats]

Do you feel that I was mean to you @NCaquatics?

No, you were fine. Your intentions behind your words were also trying to be helpful and you worded it showing your intentions too.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

No, you were fine. Your intentions behind your words were also trying to be helpful and you worded it showing your intentions too.

Ok, just wanted to make sure I wasn't one of these people:

What worries me about accusations like the previous posters, is that not only is it cruel and mean towards you, but things like that are only going to make more people unwilling to post about things like this, for fear they'll be made to feel like rubbish over it.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Ok, just wanted to make sure I wasn't one of these people:

Yeah, I wasn't meaning you either! I think the vast majority of people in the thread have been supportive and tried to be helpful. Sadly it only takes one to accuse her of being at fault to spoil the thread

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Yeah, I wasn't meaning you either! I think the vast majority of people in the thread have been supportive and tried to be helpful. Sadly it only takes one to accuse her of being at fault to spoil the thread

It was going good, a lot of good advice was being given...

 

[Ch4rlie]

Sadly it only takes one to accuse her of being at fault to spoil the thread

Let’s not make the minority spoil this thread then

Keep up the good vibes and constructive posts everyone, as I think this thread has been really good at raising awareness at the very least for hand sanitisers and to be careful around our aquariums

 

[CassCats]

Moved the first 3 trial residents back to the 55 few minutes ago. Will observe how they do today before moving the rest back. Dosed with prime as well as the filter isn't cycled in the tank, the cycled one is with the rest of the fish.

Chose 3 cherry barbs to monitor for any signs of agitation. Tank has been sitting a week since, been cleaned and everything replaced. Plants were washed and sitting in carbon for the week too. They got put back in, let to sit for a bit with the tank running to get a little established. Now gonna start slowly moving fish back in under close observation.

The 3 cherry ladies are part of my shoal of 6, but of the residents of the 55 affected, theyre the hardiest choice to watch for potential signs of trouble. A few pest snails have been in the tank for a couple days too, but those can survive the apocalypse so I dont trust their judgment of the tank

 

[Ch4rlie]

That sounds like a good plan to see if tank is now safe for all the other surviving livestock.

Agree that snails are not the best inhabitants to observe for water parameters as I’ve had snails in a fishless cycling tank with 3ppm ammonia and nitrite and they still went about their business just fine!! Indestructible snails

Let’s hope these 3 cherries will do just fine in the 55.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Let’s hope these 3 cherries will do just fine in the 55.

They can get lost easily, trust me. I put 2 cherry shrimp in my densely planted 10g tank and i can't find them. I saw one yesterday, but they hide so well, lol.