I was cleaning my tank,siphoning the last bit of stinky water when I accidentally swallowed a mouthful of the most disgusting fish turds in my life.I ran to the bathroom and gargled with listerene.Am I going to get sick later?
2007-10-29 17:17:40 · 13 answers · asked by TomatoMug 3 in Pets ➔ Fish
Nitrogen compounds are the least of your worries. It is next to impossible to have fish surviving in a tank if there is a high enough concentration of ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate to do ANY harm to you. Your main worry should be about any bacteria in the water. By rinsing with Listerine, you should have killed any in your mouth, and the bacteria you swallowed will hopefully reach your stomach, where your stomach acid will flat out fry them. Basically, you've got NOTHING to worry about besides the fact that you just got a mouthful of fish toilet water...
Soop Nazi
2007-10-29 18:12:34 · answer #1 · answered by nosoop4u246 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I work at an aquarium & have swallowed lots of "fish" water from starting a syphon, & I haven't been sick from it once! I know it's NOT a pleasant experience but there is nothing that will hurt u or make u sick. If u think about it fish poo has nothing that bad in it & in order for the fish to survive in the water , it has to be balanced so really other than it being discusting, it won't make u sick.
If u have a s/w tank & u swallowed alot of saltwater that could make u sick but that is only from the salt
Hope this helps & don't worry u will b fine :)
2007-10-29 17:41:19 · answer #2 · answered by MaMa 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
no you wont get sick. its part of the territory when you clean your tank responsibly. you are from time to time going to get some nasty water in your mouth. if it's really going to affect you doing water changes/cleaning, then buy a new siphoning device so you don't have to suck. there's different tools (and i just saw a new one today) like the siphon hose that you can move back and forth in the water to get the siphon to start, or the one i saw today that you hook into your faucet and it uses itself to siphon for you. but if your tank is too small to use any of these items, then just suck it up, it's hapened to most of us and we are all fine.
2007-10-29 18:39:11 · answer #3 · answered by dbighound75 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Did you use the sucking method to start your siphon? Tsk, tsk, tsk...
This is a simpler, more efficient way to start a siphon which I have had no problems doing: http://www.fishlesscycling.com/articles/how_to_use_a_common_siphon.html
If your ammonia and nitrite levels are low in the tank, then you probably won't get sick, but will have some stomachaches and/or diarreah later.
P.S- Try asking this in a Health or something category because we don't know too much about health:)
ZTM
2007-10-29 17:44:03 · answer #4 · answered by ZooTycoonMaster 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
That has happened to me, but I did not get sick. There is always a posibility of it, but I am guessing it is pretty slim. Kids everywhere eat lots of things off the floor, and I have heard of babies eating their own feces. If your not sick now most likely you wont, and if you do get something, I am thinking it would pass rather quickly through your system.
2007-11-02 15:49:09 · answer #5 · answered by army of one 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, you won't get sick. it's happened to me a lot(accidently of course). if you have ever been to the lake and swallowed some of the water, it's the same. actually, your fish tank is probably cleaner. only worry if you get diarrea by tomorrow. :-)
2007-10-29 17:34:47 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'd be dead if that was the case. After maintaining 100's of tanks, that happens more than you'd like. I'm not going to say you get used to it, but you quit worrying about it!
2007-10-29 18:14:15 · answer #7 · answered by Dr. Kalyfran 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That happens to my husband often, and if you do get sick it is just from the thought. The poo itself will not make you ill.
2007-10-30 04:49:46 · answer #8 · answered by bigjuggies79 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No you wont. Its just a funny thing to hear someone swallowed a fish poo.
2007-10-29 20:10:30 · answer #9 · answered by Chad, M.D. 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
no... u won't get sick...don't worry...
but if u keep something special in that tank with your fish like red ear slider then u might get Salmonella Infection. normal fish poo won't make anyone sick...
i used to swallowed it nearly every time i clean my fish tank..
it taste disgusting but its won't hurt a bit..
just take its easy...okay?
btw...here some video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC6BhvjUWts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa_440OaQxE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7r7uZl5wJw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGU-IQk_xO8
2007-10-29 22:09:23 · answer #10 · answered by nightowls 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋