# is it ok to clean a tank while pregnant?



## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Ok. So I know this may be a crazy question to ask, but I just found out that I'm pregnant and have a dr appt next week. But I have a betta and I was wondering if it is safe to clean his tank or not. I don't have anyone who would be able to do it for me, so if I don't do it, it won't get done. He is in a 5 gallon planted, and filtered tank. And I've been doing wc of about 25-30% every three days or four at the most. But I test for ammonia every other day. I just don't want my Rubbie to suffer and I definitely don't want to put myself or my baby at risk either. I've been trying to do research but only finding alot of he said she said stuff and no real facts. Please help.


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14 (Oct 22, 2013)

Dechlorinator won't hurt you, so as long as you are just tanking out old water and adding in new water you'll be fine. What I would not reccomend is doing it during your morning sickness or any other time you feel too sick/swollen to do it. I also wouldn't medicate your fish just to be safe. In the end, if you don't feel up to it at the moment, don't push yourself. 
I'm assuming you're 2-4months, which means in another 3-5 months you probably won't be feeling up to it all the time. Maybe you can train someone to do the changes in the mean time.


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Well I think that I'm about 3-4 months along. But finally after multiple test even though I knew I wasn't going crazy (this will be my second and my first didn't show up until I was almost 6 months along). Anyways, if I don't do it my son (who is 8 and not responsible enough in my opinion to do it by himself) will have to. And there isn't any way he would be able to reach the tank. (My son is a glass knocker). But hopefully Rubbie won't require any medication for a while. And I always keep about 7-10 gallons of treated water aging at room temperature just incase of emergency. I just don't want him to suffer because of an impulse buy. But this pregnancy kinda falls under unforeseeable change. It was one of those "I knew better than to go into that petsmart and look at the fish" kind of deals. I have always had a huge soft spot for fish as they were my first pets. I saw him and fell in love and just had to rescue at least one. And he picked me. Must have been those pregnancy hormones. But I guess as long as he doesn't get sick and I'm just doing the regular ol water changes and vacuuming then all should be fine?


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## MeredithNa (Oct 13, 2014)

Just make sure you wash your hands thoroughly afterwards. Your skin is very effective at keeping bacteria out, and you would be exposing yourself to worse bacteria by going to a public toilet. Unless you actually DRINK the fish water I don't think you would have any problem. And even then, it probably wouldn't be too bad. Just make sure you don't have any open wounds on your hands when you change the water, do basic infection control and keep your immune system strong by eating well and exercising (easier said than done I know hahahaha) you shouldn't have any problem.

You probably have heard of toxoplasmosis. Here is some good information on it.

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070319064015AAUxAYF

Congrats on your little bub by the way! How exciting! :-D


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## ellekay (Nov 11, 2014)

First off, congrats!!

Secondly, I was wondering the same thing, as we are trying for #2. We have 4 tanks currently and they are my responsibility. Hubby would probably do it if I couldn't, but he wouldn't remember or know what to do, and our daughter is almost two so she's definitely no help.  

I agree with the above suggestions and was thinking maybe gloves of some knowledge nd, but not sure how well that would work.

Congrats again!


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Thanks for the help. I guess since I've been doing everything already, there shouldn't be any harm. With my son, I had 3 cats and and that was fun trying to find someone to clean all 5 litter boxes, so really wasn't looking forward to going through that the dispute of "you brought it home, so it's your job" argument. Lol. My fiance doesn't even know about the fish yet. There was kinda an agreement of no more pets after my last rescued puppy. Again, one of those "I shouldn't have gone to petsmart" deals. But my argument will definitely be that he is a fish and won't eat the couch or use the bathroom in the floor.


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

I had a dog that ate a hole through the couch, ate a remote, a cellphone, a mp3 player (whole) and God knows what else. Tried crate training him and he even chewed through the wire one. And last year, I rescued a starving puppy and ended up spending over 1000 bucks in vet bills nursing her back to health. So after that, we both agreed to no more pets. But I couldn't leave him to die in that filthy cup (the water was brown and had black stuff stuck to the bottom of his cup).


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## cousiniguana (Apr 3, 2014)

Congrats! I got the first betta I'd had in many years when I was about 4-5 months pregnant. I did all the water changes myself and the Dr. expressed no concerns. I just washed my hands after I was done and was extra careful to keep my hands away from my face while I was cleaning.


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## Bikeridinguckgirl14 (Oct 22, 2013)

rubbie5837 said:


> I had a dog that ate a hole through the couch, ate a remote, a cellphone, a mp3 player (whole) and God knows what else. Tried crate training him and he even chewed through the wire one. And last year, I rescued a starving puppy and ended up spending over 1000 bucks in vet bills nursing her back to health. So after that, we both agreed to no more pets. But I couldn't leave him to die in that filthy cup (the water was brown and had black stuff stuck to the bottom of his cup).


The remote control eaters are the best, my uncle Joey orders his remote control replacements in boxes of 20 now XD
Another thing since you mentioned having cats, try not to breathe in the dust from the litter, just to be supersafe since I know Our litter container actually says don't change if you're pregnant, so maybe you could wear a gas mask or else have your son do that?


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

Oh. I don't have any cats now. They were all very old except for one and he passed away in a house fire a few days before my son was born. My oldest cat , that I had for 15 years, passed away due to kidney failure as a complication ofddiabetes. And the other one just stopped eating and had alot of life long health issues, so was euthanized. All I have is my betta.


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

I would say have your son help you with emptying the water and stuff.  You shouldn't strain yourself that much since I read it could hurt the fetus especially during the second and third trimester.


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## Netti (Apr 25, 2014)

Congratulations on your pregnancy, how exciting! The little one will enjoy watching the "fishy" swim around too.

I really don't think you need to worry about touching the water at all unless you are medicating, as someone clever already had mentioned! (People still went swimming in lakes too when they were pregnant)

I also don't think you need to worry lifting a little water, lots of mommies lift heavy toddlers during their following pregnancies. (unless your OBGYN tells you to be careful with lifting due to complications)

So, what does your 8 yr old say about having a sibling?


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## rubbie5837 (Dec 22, 2014)

He doesn't know yet. He asked for a sister for Christmas. What are the odds of that. And when I was pregnant with him, I worked up until the day I went into labor and had no problems. But I never strain myself to do anything. But I'm super excited. But I still have to get it confirmed by a dr. But I have been knowing for about a month. I was starting to think that I was going crazy because I was testing every other week since nov but it always came back negative until yesterday. So yay!


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

Congrats.  I can't wait to have brats of my own.


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