Hand Sanitisers & Aquariums?

[eatyourpeas]

Don’t think that’s a real issue as long as you throughly clean the cave before adding to the tank.

I know myself, and there will be this little voice saying my fish could die because I did not wash it well enough. Porosity of clay pots is what I am worried about, and with or without sanitizer, I know these things get exposed to many substances.

I ordered some Poly Filter as a precaution and to use with the quarantine tank anyway. I am still learning.

 

[CassCats]

@NCaquatics

How goes things with your livestock today?

Really hoping things have improved since your last post.

I'm a late riser, so just woke not too long ago. Midnight shifts are ingrained in me lol

No new symptoms, no worsening symptoms, and my hoplos are less clamped up too.

Hoping things are looking up.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Ooh, that sounds promising

Let’s really hope the worst of it has passed.

Am barely daring to hope.

Will keep you in our thoughts and hope for the very best.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I'm a late riser, so just woke not too long ago. Midnight shifts are ingrained in me lol

No new symptoms, no worsening symptoms, and my hoplos are less clamped up too.

Hoping things are looking up.

This is such a relief to hear!

Crossing fingers that they go from strength to strength

 

[CassCats]

My hoplos whiskers have started to burn off. But so far thats the only new thing.

The redness in the skull on one of the trilineatus is darker, brown, so that I'm going to think is a good sign (old blood turns brown, yes?)

Still some bleeding on a couple cories.

but generally still going okay.

A collage of the ones lost

 

[Ch4rlie]

That’s good that your surviving livestock are doing fine and looking much better. Thats a real relief.

Seems that transferring them to another tank with carbon is the best method so far and the addition of prime to detoxify the possible harmful substances in water column is useful.

Thankfully you had these tanks/totes around to do this quickly.

Am assuming your plan so far to to clean the 55 tank and rinse off all the plants and decor etc as much as you can and slowly get this tank up and running, cycled with some established media etc etc

Will you be disposing or cleaning the porous decor you have?
Terracotta pots and wood etc

Sorry for the losses on the others though.

 

[CassCats]

That’s good that your surviving livestock are doing fine and looking much better. Thats a real relief.

Seems that transferring them to another tank with carbon is the best method so far and the addition of prime to detoxify the possible harmful substances in water column is useful.

Thankfully you had these tanks/totes around to do this quickly.

Am assuming your plan so far to to clean the 55 tank and rinse off all the plants and decor etc as much as you can and slowly get this tank up and running, cycled with some established media etc etc

Will you be disposing or cleaning the porous decor you have?
Terracotta pots and wood etc

Sorry for the losses on the others though.

I'm throwing everything out. The old sand, hardscape, filter media, filter, heater. All of it is being tossed. Too many nooks and crannies to properly clean, better for my sanity to replace it all.

Plants, im soaking them in fresh water with carbon and rinsing them all daily. A light over them too. Theyre in their own tote.

Tank my husband will be helping me take it down, but ill be scrubbing it then filling it with water with carbon. Fill fresh water every day, let it sit. Gonna let it sit for a week with carbon in it.

New sand, New filter, New hardscape, New heater. A cycled sponge filter is pulled from my other tank with them, so no loss of cycle.

 

[AbbeysDad]

I'll confess that I'm a skeptic and have doubts...it goes without saying that anything and everything in the water, to some degree, gets into fish though osmosis...
However, a sanitizer with alcohol and aloe vera? Alcohol evaporates very quickly (soon after application) and there are fish products (like Stress Coat I think) that use aloe vera. Add to this the small amount in ppm that would be transferred to the water from a hand application. I think more would be required to cause harm so quickly. I'm also questioning the large number of fish in the one photo. If this was anything less than a 125g or larger aquarium, that's a huge bio-load for a tank.
So as we all know it's important to keep soaps and lotions out of the aquarium so good hand hygiene is important when working in the tank. But I'm not sure we need 'the sky is falling' over hand sanitizer either.

 

[Ch4rlie]

I'll confess that I'm a skeptic and have doubts...it goes without saying that anything and everything in the water, to some degree, gets into fish though osmosis...
However, a sanitizer with alcohol and aloe vera? Alcohol evaporates very quickly (soon after application) and there are fish products (like Stress Coat I think) that use aloe vera. Add to this the small amount in ppm that would be transferred to the water from a hand application. I think more would be required to cause harm so quickly. I'm also questioning the large number of fish in the one photo. If this was anything less than a 125g or larger aquarium, that's a huge bio-load for a tank.
So as we all know it's important to keep soaps and lotions out of the aquarium so good hand hygiene is important when working in the tank. But I'm not sure we need 'the sky is falling' over hand sanitizer either.

While I do understand your point of view and the skeptism behind the amount of hand sanitisers needed to have an effect of tank parameters and livestock.

I bring up this thread as I’ve been reading about hand sanitiser and aquariums on online forums and there’s been quite a few issues so NC’s issues that she has had to date is definitely not a one off.

Not all hand sanitisers may have an effect, there may be certain brands or certain manufactures who add certain elements that makes it specifically dangerous for aquarium livestock but still perfectly safe for humans and general household pets like cats and dogs.

There is no way I’m going to risk sanitising my hands and then putting hands in my tanks now that I have seen and read what can happen.

Just a cautionary thread and asking for general opinions and if anyone has had issues, obviously hearing of NCs issues, there is cause for concern from my point of view anyway.

 

[AilyNC]

I've put my hands in tank few hours after sun tan lotion and also after using hand sanitiser. Haven't had issues thankfully but I try to be more careful and wash my hands with water before going near tanks.

Hand sanitiser is only advised when soap & water can't be used re: coronavirus precautions. At home you should just use water and soap.

But no way to know what contaminated the tank and certainly no need to take risks. Be extra careful washing hands before working with fish.

When out don't stop using sanitiser as it's important. If you feel safer with a certain brand carry a small tub with you and use your own.

 

[CassCats]

I'll confess that I'm a skeptic and have doubts...it goes without saying that anything and everything in the water, to some degree, gets into fish though osmosis...
However, a sanitizer with alcohol and aloe vera? Alcohol evaporates very quickly (soon after application) and there are fish products (like Stress Coat I think) that use aloe vera. Add to this the small amount in ppm that would be transferred to the water from a hand application. I think more would be required to cause harm so quickly. I'm also questioning the large number of fish in the one photo. If this was anything less than a 125g or larger aquarium, that's a huge bio-load for a tank.
So as we all know it's important to keep soaps and lotions out of the aquarium so good hand hygiene is important when working in the tank. But I'm not sure we need 'the sky is falling' over hand sanitizer either.

Before it was gutted

Tank size 55 gallons
Stock was:
6 cherry barbs
6 melon barbs
3 hoplosternum punctatum (4 inches tops)
1 BN pleco
33 corydoras

Parameters:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20
PH 7.3
GH 90
KH 143
Temperature 72F
Filtration: Topfin 70 and 60g sponge

Water changed 75-90% weekly
API root tabs every 3-6 months and Seachem Flourish 1x weekly

Stock is relatively decent for a 55. Byron himself has said he keeps more cories than this in a 40 gallon with tetras too.

These weren't household sanitizers. These were the industrial ones the stores here make you use upon entry.

 

[AilyNC]

How's your boy? I'm sure it's been distressing for him too. I'm gonna be extra careful from now on. It's so easy to forget or for little ones to act quickly.

 

[Ch4rlie]

These weren't household sanitizers. These were the industrial ones the stores here make you use upon entry.

That may have a bearing on why your livestock reacted so badly.

Industrial sanitisers may be more potent than the standard household sanitisers perhaps.

 

[kwi]

Not all sanitizers use alcohol as the main biocide, though alcohol is agreed to be the more effective against a virus, and there have been reports of counterfit big brand sanitizers.
Common non-alcoholic active ingredients include benzalkonium chloride, triclosan and chlorhexidine gluconate.
Benzalkonium chloride is very toxic to aquatic life.
Triclosan not a much, will kill algae and may effect fish development, it may also be present in tap water.
Chlorhexidine gluconate is found in mouth wash and may be toxic to dogs (Something in the back of my mind.) can't see if it's harmful to aquatic life.

 

[CassCats]

How's your boy? I'm sure it's been distressing for him too. I'm gonna be extra careful from now on. It's so easy to forget or for little ones to act quickly.

Ive explained to him and showed him what happened. I told him what he did and he has to ask in the future before he interacts with the fish (we have told him this before already anyways!)
He knows he did wrong and I explained it was forever what he did.
Though he doesn't understand the concept of death well, but he understands what he did made me very sad. He was pretty upset about that most of all, so I hope he learns in the future.
He apologized for it though, and so far hes been pretty good about not touching anything he knows hes not supposed to.

That may have a bearing on why your livestock reacted so badly.

Industrial sanitisers may be more potent than the standard household sanitisers perhaps.

I work with some industrial chemicals when I was back at work, the sanitisers are a lot harsher and I'd believe the ones supplied to big businesses would be the same.