hands in water

[sharkbait]

As a newbie, I find myself putting my hands in the water quite a lot. eg. moving new plants, removing dead fish
(I returned from holiday to find my tank full of missing/half eaten fish and the tank infested with ick. the fish sitter has had a tank for 5 years but didn't ring me or start a treatment. argghhhh sob sob.)
or turning temp up on heater to kill ich quicker
Any thoughts on how harmful this could be.
I wonder about traces of cleaning chemicals or bacteria etc.??
I am now trying to be a bit more careful and use a net more.

Stuart

I should add before someone else does, that glass and polystyrene are both pretty good electrical insulators, and there maybe other reasons to avoid putting your hands in.

 

[akhtar]

oh no im so sorry

 

[rsz]

i always put my hand in the water - i never thought about it before ) i don't know if it's bad or not though

rsz

p.s sorry to hear aboout your fish

 

[AquaNut]

Putting your hands in the water isn't really a big deal, as long as your hands are clean. Make sure there's no lotion or perfume on your hands or wrists, and if they've been freshly washed, make SURE that you've rinsed any soap off very well. I stick my hands in my tanks all the time and have never had a problem. As for the electricity, turn off your heater before you stick your hands in. All of my filters are hob power filters and I never turn them off before dipping into the water.

 

[sharkbait]

Yes turning your filter off could kill all the nice bacteria in it. I was told by a friend that it dies within hours. I put mine in a bucket of tank water overnight whilst I set up the tank for the kids goldfish.
Hence the visit from the four seahorses of the apocalypse I got whilst on holiday.

 

[Morrgan]

As a rule, I never put my hands in the tank if I have any open wounds on them. Just a precaution, because there are diseases you can get from fiddling with aquarium water.

 

[MizPlaya692003]

STOP !!! YES. PUTTING YOUR HANDS IN THE WATER IS A BAD IDEA. IT DOSENT MATTER IF THEY ARE CLEAN AND HAVE NO LOTION OR PERFUME. YOU SKIN STILL HAS SWEAT AND CHEMICALS. PLUS YOUR SKIN SHEDS 24/7 EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY NOT SEE IT. USE A NET AND WHENEVER YOU TAKE A FISH OUT WITH A NET AND HANDLE THEM PUT A LITTLE DROP OF STRESS COAT. YOUR HANDS IN THE WATER CANT CAUSE YOUR FISH TO GET ICH UNLESS THERE WAS NO STRESS COAT. BUT IF I WERE YOU I WOULDENT PUT MY HANDS IN THE TANK FOR THE FISHS HEALTH AND YOUR OWN.

 

[smb]

I always put my hands in the tank since I've always hand fed all my fish when they get bigger.

Like Kirsten said, perfumes,lotions and soap can cause harm even in small dosages.

 

[CFC]

>>>hands in water dangerous to fish?

No but with some fish it can be dangerous for your hands to put them in with the fish, hey SMB