Please help, my daughter put stuff in tank

[azjen]

I thought my three year old was asleep and she was dumping things in my betta's tank.

She put in three bars of soap, a dish towel, among other things. The other things were closed but it is of course the soap that I am most concerned about. The water was white and super cloudy from the soap and towel when I went in.

So without thinking too much and just trying to get her out, I grabbed tank water from another betta tank and put it in a jar and put her in there. She is stressed but moving around like she normally does when I change water.

What do I do? Can I rinse every thing out and put it back or do I have to get rid of the gravel?

I can replace the spongy parts of my nano filter.

Should I do anything else for her.. I have aquarium salt and Bettafix as I am treating another fish for fin rot now.

I am just sick as this is out of character for my daughter but then again, a three year old is never predictable. I am fortunate she did not electrocute herself in the process. Her and her older sister love their fish and enjoy watching her swim around before going to sleep and helping me feed her. My three year old has no idea what she did was wrong and that she hurt her fish until my husband and I started freaking out.

I just hope she lives... Is it a good sign she is okay so far or is it likely that she still has a good chance to get sick or die?

Thanks for your help...

Jennine

[Yuuki]

There's really not much you can do here aside from doing a good rinse and scrub on her tank, decorations and gravel. I wouldn't add any medications right now, because that would only stress her out more. It wouldn't hurt to add a bit of Aquarium Salt though.


Hate to say it... but something could definately still go wrong. I suppose it depends on how long she was in the soapy water. If you got her out quickly, she should be able to pull through.

I would add the Aquarium Salt. Just to discourage any bacteria from attacking her while she's stressed.

[dramaqueen]

I agree with what Yuuki said.

[doggyhog]

RINSE RINSE RINSE!!! Add some salt defiantly. I wouldn't put her back in her tank for a while. Let is sit with Water in it and then wash it again....

I think she'll be fine.... One of my friends used to use soap to clean her fish bowls! D: Her fish were fine, but she rinsed it really well. made me veeeery nervous!

[ScuitoAmi150]

Scrub it as well as you can and wait a while to put her back in. I'd add some water conditioner when you do put her back in, neutralize any chemicals.

[loppy656]

i wold do the same as they all say.

if you dont have one you should get a lid.

i wold replace the spongey parts or the filter becuse they are sponges and still pobably have sope in them after washing.

just wondering, about how long was the fish in the sopey water?

hope she is ok. =D

[dh5daaaccfdd]

CLEAN EVERYTHGING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She will most likely be fine.

[azjen]

Thank you for the responses. It happened last night. I would say at most, she was in the soapy water for no more than 30 minutes but could have been as few as five.

I discarded the rocks and rinsed the tank and dried it well. I put in new rocks and rinsed the plants and decorations. I did replace the sponges in the filter and then let the tank run for an hour before putting her in this morning.

She actually looks well. She loves her tank and immediately got darker and her stripes disappeared when she went back in her clean tank. Tonight, she is coming up to see me when I go over to her like she usually does. There is a part of her right below her mouth that looks like it could be slightly swollen. I will keep an eye on it.

I am hopeful she will be okay. I just love her as she is so sweet!

I did not add aquarium salt until I heard from you all but will now that you have confirmed that won't hurt her.

I did have a lid on the tank. My daughter took it off. I have moved the tank to my kitchen counter for now so I can watch her for the next week. I don't know if we will move our betta Jazzma back into the girls room. I think my daughter understands she did something wrong and when she saw Jazzma this morning, she said Sorry to her but I don't want to take the chance of that happening again. Of course we got rid of the bars of soap.

Thank you again for the advice!

Jennine

Jazzma- Female in 4.5 Gallon
Obruni- White Delta Tail in 5.5 Gallon
Appiah- Blue/Red King in 10 Gallon

[ScuitoAmi150]

Glad to know she is okay!

[dramaqueen]

I'm glad to hear that Jazzma is doing better. These things can and do happen when you have little ones. It sounds like your daughter understands that she did something wrong. It was a learning experience for her. Young children are smarter than we give them credit for so I think she knows not to do it again.:)