Putting your hand in tank... bad or good?

[Siamese Fighting Fish]

Sometimes I get stressed when a item falls over, and I wanna just shove my hand in and fix it.

Obviously I can't wash my hands before this action because I will get soap in his water, but is doing this safe as long has a soak and rinse my hands with cold tap water?

[newarkhiphop]

ive thought about this too, i mean as long as your hand isnt super dirty with chemicals and things like that , i dont see the harm to be honest

[JKfish]

I typically rinse my hands very well in hot water and pat dry before sticking them in the tank. If I'd been handling chemicals even in the past hour or so before, there'd be no way in Hell I'd be sticking my hands in my boys' water.

It ought to be perfectly fine so long as you don't have any lotion or gross stuff on your hands.

[Maryrox247]

i woudn't worry about it, just make sure your hands are free of chemicals. Believe me it does no harm, i used to put my hands in my 17 and 20 gallons all the time sometimes they were a little dirty to be honest but my fish were always fine. Just relax, if you feel the need to rinse your hands then by all means do so but your fish will be fine either way. :)

[bettafish15]

I wash my hands with soap, rinse under water as hot as I can stand for awhile, rinse under cold for the heck of it, then stick my hands in the tank. ^^

Edit: The only reason I use soap is because I have to have lotion on my hands all the time, and water just doesnt get it off. Use soap only if you're prepared to rinse well, or if you were handling bad stuff.

[Arashi Takamine]

Originally Posted by bettafish15

Edit: The only reason I use soap is because I have to have lotion on my hands all the time, and water just doesnt get it off. Use soap only if you're prepared to rinse well, or if you were handling bad stuff.

I do this as well. I rinse the soap off with hot water sometimes until their a little red if I'm going to be sticking my hands in the tank.

[Burd]

I pick up my fish with my hands rather than using nets when I clean their tanks or need to move them. As long as your hands aren't dirty or covered in chemicals/soap it doesn't bother them any more than a net does.

[Siamese Fighting Fish]

Ahhh okay thanks so much everyone for helping me understand :). And Burd, I would do that but I am scared of traumatizing the poor guy :(.

[BrookeGrace]

Originally Posted by Burd

I pick up my fish with my hands rather than using nets when I clean their tanks or need to move them. As long as your hands aren't dirty or covered in chemicals/soap it doesn't bother them any more than a net does.

I wish I had the nerves to do that! I'm really paranoid that he will jump out of my hand, hahah.

But I really don't like nets. I've had other fish nearly get caught in them and they seem risky in other ways. Just gotta be careful, I guess.

[Oldfishlady]

It is important to wash your hands before and after working on the tank....you only think your hands are clean......the oils can make your tank look dirty too....I always use soap and running water and wash up to my elbows...but I have big deep tanks and sometimes I have my arm up to my armpit in the tank...lol.....and wash good after too.....it is rare that we catch anything from the tank...but especially with open wounds on your hands.....wash...wash.....


Make sure your hands are wet before touching your fish...dry hand can stick to the slime coat and damage it....now you have an open wound the first line protection for the fish that pathogens can invade.....