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



## Siamese Fighting Fish (May 8, 2011)

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 (Apr 22, 2011)

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 (Apr 8, 2010)

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 (Aug 10, 2009)

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 (Oct 3, 2010)

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 (Mar 3, 2011)

bettafish15 said:


> 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 (Apr 10, 2011)

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 (May 8, 2011)

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 (Apr 28, 2011)

Burd said:


> 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 (Mar 1, 2010)

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.....


----------



## Maryrox247 (Aug 10, 2009)

that does make good point OFL.


----------



## Siamese Fighting Fish (May 8, 2011)

OHH Okay! I noticed OFL said it can make your water LOOK dirty.. This solves many problems. See, after hearing everyone's response on how safe it is, I have been doing it lots. I woke up this morning and the water was unusually cloudy!

Now I see why .


----------



## gmd1800 (Feb 19, 2011)

What about if I use antibacterial hand sanitizer? I don't normally stick my hands in the tanks to fix decor - I typically wait until water changes to do that. However, if my OCD gets to the best of me or I need to put my hand in for some reason, I'm usually paranoid that the alcohol from the sanitizer will leach into the water and hurt my fish somehow, so I scrub like mad beforehand. 

Would hand sanitizer hurt them if I have to put my hand in for an emergency?


----------



## roadrunner (Apr 3, 2010)

Well I used to be worried about sticking my hands in the tank too, but I finally got nice long tweezers for my 20G, so I don't have to stick my hands in and now I can fix my plants and decoration really fast anytime )


----------



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

gmd1800 said:


> What about if I use antibacterial hand sanitizer? I don't normally stick my hands in the tanks to fix decor - I typically wait until water changes to do that. However, if my OCD gets to the best of me or I need to put my hand in for some reason, I'm usually paranoid that the alcohol from the sanitizer will leach into the water and hurt my fish somehow, so I scrub like mad beforehand.
> 
> Would hand sanitizer hurt them if I have to put my hand in for an emergency?


I would wash my hands before working on the tank....


----------



## gmd1800 (Feb 19, 2011)

Thanks, OFL! That's what I thought.


----------



## Burd (Apr 10, 2011)

BrookeGrace said:


> 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.


I should probably mention that some of my fish are -impossible- to catch with bare hands so I have to use my net and yeah, they like to try to jump out. I tend to keep both hands around them until they get back in the water, especially with my slippery little girls.


----------



## CTMongo (May 9, 2011)

Burd said:


> 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.


Thats what i was doing before one flapd out of my hand and onto the bench then on the floor :-( and then thats wen i invested in a net


----------



## nowzem (Apr 14, 2011)

Oldfishlady said:


> 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.....


+1. Never put your hands in your tank without washing with soap (and rinsing really well or you absolutely WILL introduce bacteria/fungus/etc into the tank...you will anyway, but this cuts down on the amount) Also always wash your hands AFTER handling anything to do with your fish and you should avoid placing your hand in the tank if you have open wounds, but like OFL said, its ok if you wash wash wash 

I also recommend NOT handling your fish at all. I use a cup to transfer my fish. When I use hands, they almost always jump out of my hands. The nets tear fins...and the cup causes no harm other than the unavoidable stress from being moved.


----------



## nowzem (Apr 14, 2011)

And the hand sanitizer is almost definitely toxic to your fish. Put some on your hands and then lick your finger (gross, right?! That's what your fish is doing teehee) It SMELLs like a chemical, and it IS a chemical...don't do it


----------



## KittyFL (May 3, 2011)

I've been using long kitchen tongs if something needs adjusting between water change. Since the pretty stuff is heavy, I just push it around instead of lifting and taking a chance on dropping something and breaking the container.


----------

