Hand washing?!?

[scottyk]

Just curious how many of you make it a habit to wash your hands before reaching into the tank? What do you use to cleanse your skin?

I use regular target brand hand soap and rinse thoroughly, then dry with a clean towel. Everytime I reach into the tank, between tanks, and during water changes I wash them. Am I going a little overboard? I am also very OCD on other people reaching into the tank without washing. Pretty cool when the discus eat out of other peoples hand. They are blown away.

[Kal-El]

Nope, I do the same. Wash and dry my hands very good when changing water between tanks.

[scrappinjaime]

I always wash my hands too. I want to make sure there is no lotion or anything else on my hands that could put pollutants into the tank.

[DiscusDrew]

You let other people touch your tanks....and reach in them! Your a nicer discus keeper than me haha, I guess if they wash their hands haha but I mean their my babies, maybe that's awful. More on subject, yes, if your ocd then so am I because I wash them just as often. I used to never need lotion. But for years its become a staple for the dry skin. I use normal antibacterial hand wash, mine is scent free but I don't think it matters.

[Trier20]

I wash mine with baby shampoo/soap. Why? Bc it's by the sink.


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[jbuck]

I do the same with my tank. I wish there was a "fish safe" soap, I'm always nervous about residue being left on my hands for some reason. Call me paranoid!

[shoveltrash]

I'm nervous about residue too - I always RINSE & DRY. on the occasion that my hands are truly dirty (fresh from working at the barn, gardening, etc), I scrub with hibiclens/chlorhexidine, then rinse like no tomorrow.

[dprais1]

hibiclens? i was thinking about using it to clean my tank when i switched from piranha to discus, but never did. where do you get it from I thought it would be really expensive.

[dprais1]

Oh, i wash my hands most of the time when doing water changes and stuff but for the most part I try not to stick my hand in the tank. I never feed my discus by hand. I use dish soap rather than hand soap because i don't like the smell of the handsoap in my bathroom.

if you 'sterilize' your hands between tanks then yes I think you are going really overboard. JMO.

[Bill63SG]

I wash my hands before wc's,and it seems I always have some form of quaritine going,right now 2 75's,after I do those tanks.

[stac545]

I always wash my hands in between tanks. I dont like to work on more than one tank at a time because then I find my self washing my hands everytime i touch a different tanks/pythons (or hoses). Then I wash them again before touching the aged water hoses to fill up the tanks. For me it is worth the extra couple seconds.

Stacy

[MattE]

I've been thinking about this subject quite a bit lately. Glad someone brought it up. I do a lot of fishing in the summer. Hoping that a good scrub with antibacterial soap will keep the lake bugs out of my tank.

[Larry Bugg]

Well I have 27 tanks, about 1500 gallons. If I washed my hands between tanks I would never get out of the fish room. I am usually siphoning, draining and filling multiple tanks at the same time. Washing between tanks would be a nightmare!! I'm not quite sure I really get it. With the exception of a quarantine tank why would I want to do this? Ok, shoot me now, lol. Other than the introduction of new fish or new plants why should there be a reason to expect something being transfered for one tank to the next. I'm the only one working on them. I am OCD about a lot of things but this is not one of them. Ok, blast away now.....................

[strawberryblonde]

I'm with Larry on this one (and me the OCD type n all...eeeeesh).

I wash before I start working on my tanks, and I wash AFTER working on my tanks. Oh, and if I'm doing a wc while I'm cooking dinner, THEN I wash again before sticking my hands back in the tank.

To me, it's just as important to wash with soap and water after sticking my hands in the tank. Last thing I need to do is transfer crud to food, counters, husbands, other pets, etc.

[foreese]

I'm with you Larry.

[scottyk]

To me, it's just as important to wash with soap and water after sticking my hands in the tank. Last thing I need to do is transfer crud to food, counters, husbands, other pets, etc.

How many do you have?!? LOL

[strawberryblonde]

Shhhhhhh, they each think they're the only true love in my life!!! LOL

[Discus-n00b]

I always feel the need to wash my hands really good AFTER a Water change, not before. And I'm with Larry on this one. With a few exceptions, not worried about transfer tank to tank.

[dprais1]

Well I have 27 tanks, about 1500 gallons. If I washed my hands between tanks I would never get out of the fish room. I am usually siphoning, draining and filling multiple tanks at the same time. Washing between tanks would be a nightmare!! I'm not quite sure I really get it. With the exception of a quarantine tank why would I want to do this? Ok, shoot me now, lol. Other than the introduction of new fish or new plants why should there be a reason to expect something being transfered for one tank to the next. I'm the only one working on them. I am OCD about a lot of things but this is not one of them. Ok, blast away now.....................

i second that emotion

[JenTN]

I always have and when my daughter posted that she hand fed her babies from Hans, he replied to make sure she washes her hands before. Good enough for Hans, good enough for me! I about had a stroke when my mechanic brother in law stuck his perma dirty hands in my fry tank to upright the filter. He was trying to be helpful but whew!

[Discus-n00b]

I'm to worried about soap residue on my hands honestly lol. So I won't do a WC X number of hours after I wash hands or shower.

[dprais1]

+1 on washing AFTER a wc. I've treated my tank with prazi and metro so i know whats inside these fish.

I love my discus.

but I love my daughter more :o

[Bill63SG]

If you've ever swam in a lake,pond or river,the tanks are the least of your worries.I'm with Larry also.Tho not as many tanks,with pumps I can be filling and draining tanks at the same time.

[Discus-n00b]

Yeah, hope no one has that flesh eating bacteria in their tank lol

[gaboon]

I wash my hands using dawn. I figure if safe to use on birds any residue that is left behind shouldn't hurt. I also wipe down anything that goes into the tank.

[Mep1127]

I thought I was OCD like that too LOL. I wash my hands with dial, rinse well and dry. I make sure its antibacterial soap always...

[shoveltrash]

hibiclens? i was thinking about using it to clean my tank when i switched from piranha to discus, but never did. where do you get it from I thought it would be really expensive.generic chlorhexidine isn't that expensive, I think. I work in a hospital (OR), so have access to scrub solution.
heck I really only use it after very dirty work - digging in garden, shoveling horse poo, etc.
otherwise I rinse my hands well with water.







Originally Posted by strawberryblonde

To me, it's just as important to wash with soap and water after sticking my hands in the tank. Last thing I need to do is transfer crud to food, counters, husbands, other pets, etc.
How many do you have?!? LOL
Shhhhhhh, they each think they're the only true love in my life!!! LOL:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[dprais1]

yeah, i can get it from work also but always thougfht it was overkill. for me it probably is because i hate to garden- so I don't.

[shoveltrash]

yeah, i can get it from work also but always thougfht it was overkill. for me it probably is because i hate to garden- so I don't.
well, I'm a surgical nurse.....handwashing/scrubbing is never overkill in my mind LOL. call it 18yr indoctrinated *habit* :crazy:.

[jimg]

I spray alcohol on my hands and arms when I first go into the fish room, after that i don't separate anything any more. I use the same hoses,meters etc between tanks. If i have to separate and sterilize between tanks the way I did for the past few years I'd quit fish keeping!
unless there is a tank with a know problem or new fish, then I use povidone iodine on everything.