i am going to add some fake plants and dont want to hurt the fish (one beta) also, is it okay to rinse the plants with tap water before putting them in
2006-11-28 08:23:53 · 10 answers · asked by aj 4 in Pets ➔ Fish
just wash your hands with a little soap and rinse under warm water make sure to remove all the soap and after doing so, wash the plants as well under warm water and then add it into the tank and maybe add a drop of conditioner, if you want.
2006-11-28 11:13:04 · answer #1 · answered by azn.balla 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with a couple of the other people, dont use soap unless you have oil or something else thats not water soluble on your hands. Otherwise, I would just scrub them in warm water with no soap - the fish aren't going to catch anything from dogs, cats, hamsters and horses - their just too different species. Fish are very sensitive to soap, as the person above me said, and can easily die from it, and if they dont then the bacteria in the tank can. Be careful, if you decide to use soap anyway, about soaps with a high residual activity. These are BAD for fish - it means that they have a lot of reisdue which stays on your hands to kill bacteria long after washing, which is good in general, but bad for fish. Things like hibiscrub, which doctors use, have a high residual activity. There are germs, however, that grow in the tank which can be dangerous to you and to all your other animals - they are zoonotic. Things like pseudomonas, salmonella etc. Also, because of the antibiotics fish farms use, many of these bacteria are multi-antibiotic resistant, so be careful. Always wash your hands vigosously with soap AFTER putting your hands in the water. It wont harm your other animals, (the soap wont), they're not as sensitive.
2016-05-22 23:06:26 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In my own humbled I would suggest cleaning your hands after you take them out more than cleaning them before you put them in. Courtesey to the fish and all is great, but if you're not washing them when you're done, you're hauling a lot of nasty germs around on your hands.
Phosphate free soap if you have it around. LOTS of wrinsing when you're done .. soap in your fishtank is worse than anything from the amount of phospates in it.
Rinsing your plants under tap water is no problem at all. If you feel compelled to buy a gallon of distilled water be my guest. I have 150 gallons of water with live plants in all of my 4 aquariums and none of them were ever washed with distilled, purified, or treated water... just the normal stuff straight from the tap.
For the record aswell they've been uprooted, torn apart into pieces and are still floating around in the tank healtily. Plants are a lot more hardy than most people give them credit for... tapwater without a doubt will be safe to use wrinsing your plants.
Another thing to keep an eye out for is snail eggs or live snails for that matter too. They often come in on plants and can infest your tank easily and quickly. The eggs look like lumps of gel on the leaves or stems, the snails look... like... snails... often are quite small since they're coming from eggs... 1mm long..
2006-11-28 08:38:45 · answer #3 · answered by Accellerated Catalyst 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well, fish can die because of [mild or harmful] chemicals, like the ones in soap. So, make sure to NOT USE SOAP when washing hands. You want to use any type of water, tap or fresh, as long as it's chlorine-free and has nothing harmful in it. This'll keep you fish safe!
Yes, you can wash your plants with tap water. As long as it's chlorine-free. I always use tap water to wash my fake plants and none of my 25 fish have died yet!
2006-11-28 11:44:38 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course!! If you're getting the plant from a petstore then chances are its riddled with tiny baby snails and their eggs. Unless you want a snail invasion you should rinse off all live plants that go in your tank. Hope this helps!!
P.S. Purell works fine for clean hands.
2006-11-28 09:51:16 · answer #5 · answered by ♥Petlover♥ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rinsing your plants with tap water is fine. Wash your hands as usual and rinse them well.
2006-11-28 08:26:42 · answer #6 · answered by smeezleme 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
rinse plants in removed tank water ONLY. wash hands in removed tank water ONLY. any other water may be contaminated with chemicals or have different composition.
2006-11-28 09:17:45 · answer #7 · answered by weebles 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is a very good idea to wash decorations in tap water first. And I would probebly not wash your hands with soap, but with just clean water.
2006-11-28 09:31:13 · answer #8 · answered by skigrrrrl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i just rinse them with warm water, that way theres no chance of soap getting in the water.
2006-11-28 09:07:48 · answer #9 · answered by NICOLE S 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Only if it is chlorine free. To be on the safe side go to a grocery store and buy a gallon of distilled water. Do not use soap.
2006-11-28 08:29:26 · answer #10 · answered by redbass 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋