# Crisis!! Nail polish remover in tank



## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

To make a long story short, my brother has anger problems. I accidentally saved something in Microsoft Word over a paper that he had written, so now he has no access to recovering it. He got mad and poured nail polish remover in my 2.5 gallon tank when I wasn't home. 5 minutes after he did that, my sister took the fish out and have them in a bowl with conditioned water. Will I still be able to use the actual tank if I clean it out really good? I'm not using the gravel, stones, or fake plants. But can I still use the actual tank? What should I clean it in? I'm so upset... I've had the tank for a month and a half and it was cycled and everything. I also have to put in a new filter cartridge in, but clean out the actual filter part. Is this what I should be doing? Please write back and help me!


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## HMlairy (Jan 22, 2011)

I think the tank should be fine with a good clean with water (NO BLEACH), make sure you rince the decor as well.
I guess the nail polish remover would have killed the benfictial bacteria as well :/ How much did he put in?


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## SeaHorse (Dec 27, 2010)

Hi Ruby! Awww. I'm sorry to hear of your troubles! If there is no greasy film in any way then I would just rinse, rinse, rinse in hot water. If there is a greasy film for some reason then you need to get rid of that. Try to use something natural, vinegar, salt by the hand full (carefull not to scratch the plastic/glass), a very mild dish soap, like ONE drop, but nothing that is anti bacterial but I hate to advise that... and then Rinse, Rinse, Rinse and Rinse in hot water. Till it squeaks it's so clean!!
Good luck. I would say the worst has been done to them so just do your best, that's all you can do.


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## ElectricBlueJackDempsey (Aug 4, 2010)

I think thats so wierd how someone is mad at someone, so they take it out on the defenseless pet. No offense to your brother but that stuff just really annoys me. but anyway, like Jakiebabie said, just rinse it very well with hot water and you should be fine.


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

Jakiebabie said:


> Hi Ruby! Awww. I'm sorry to hear of your troubles! If there is no greasy film in any way then I would just rinse, rinse, rinse in hot water. If there is a greasy film for some reason then you need to get rid of that. Try to use something natural, vinegar, salt by the hand full (carefull not to scratch the plastic/glass), a very mild dish soap, like ONE drop, but nothing that is anti bacterial but I hate to advise that... and then Rinse, Rinse, Rinse and Rinse in hot water. Till it squeaks it's so clean!!
> Good luck. I would say the worst has been done to them so just do your best, that's all you can do.



I don't think I should use anything in the tank though right? Just get rid of the old stuff and buy new rocks and whatnot.


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

HMlairy said:


> I think the tank should be fine with a good clean with water (NO BLEACH), make sure you rince the decor as well.
> I guess the nail polish remover would have killed the benfictial bacteria as well :/ How much did he put in?



I'm not sure how much he put in, but the all of the water wreaked like it. I need to cycle it all over again =( But hopefully they don't die though because I'm cycling it with them in it.


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## amazon21 (Jun 28, 2010)

what fish do you have?? 2.5 gallons seems pretty small....


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## phluid13 (Feb 27, 2011)

And when you're done doing that. If you haven't done so already apologize for saving over his paper. Then pop him one over the head. And then apologize and then pop him again and tell him that's what he gets for not backing up important information on a thumb drive. And then apologize once more for the error of your ways. Third times a charm. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

amazon21 said:


> what fish do you have?? 2.5 gallons seems pretty small....



I have 2 fancy tail guppies and 2 white cloud minnows and a ghost shrimp. They are all very very small. I know it may seem overstocked, but all of the water parameters were perfect, they were healthy and happy. I planned on moving them to a 10 gallon tank in a month because my fiance and I are getting an apt. together and there really is no room in the house right now for a 10 gallon.


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

phluid13 said:


> And when you're done doing that. If you haven't done so already apologize for saving over his paper. Then pop him one over the head. And then apologize and then pop him again and tell him that's what he gets for not backing up important information on a thumb drive. And then apologize once more for the error of your ways. Third times a charm.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


definitely! thanks!


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## mamatoulouse (Mar 26, 2011)

no offense but your brother sounds like a d-bag.. i mean your fish didn't do anything wrong..


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

mamatoulouse said:


> no offense but your brother sounds like a d-bag.. i mean your fish didn't do anything wrong..




Oh I know. He has anger problems. When he gets mad at something, he will throw things, break things, threaten you. He's never done anything to me before because I never piss him off. I understand that what I did is really frustrating toward him, and in his mind he wanted to get me back, but he didn't have to take it out on my animals.


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## lipadj46 (Dec 30, 2010)

sounds like a spoiled rotten douche, your parents must be proud.


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## mamatoulouse (Mar 26, 2011)

ok now im not trying to be rude but is he like developmentally disabled? 
or just very immature for his age?


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## GwenInNM (Feb 2, 2011)

As a School Counselor who deals with kids, I have to weigh in on this. Taking anger out in such a way, really does indicate your brother needs help. Why don't you in a respectful way approach your parents, share your concern and tell them you think it's important they seek help for him now, before it is too late, and he really does harm to someone else or himself.

I don't think incidents like this can be minimized and if your parents are in denial, you may want to go to someone at your school (I'm assuming you are a minor in school) and see if they can connect your family and/or brother with resources.

That is really sad, and he will likely escalate to more dangerous behaviors if he is allowed to without help.

Best of luck to you and your fish.


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## Rip (Dec 24, 2010)

HMlairy said:


> I think the tank should be fine with a good clean with water (NO BLEACH), make sure you rince the decor as well.


just curious here. i noticed you emphasized NO BLEACH. my uncle has a tank that he's never used for any live animals. he just places his fancy rocks in it, and fills it up with water, and it looks pretty cool. but after awhile it would start to get kinda scummy, so the last time i was there, he told me how he put bleach in the water in an attempt to keep algae from growing. i've been suggesting to him he should put some fish in there eventually, and he's said he might. but if he put bleach in the water, is it gonna cause a problem even if he cleans it afterwards. is it impossible to remove bleach or something?


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

mamatoulouse said:


> ok now im not trying to be rude but is he like developmentally disabled?
> or just very immature for his age?




hes a normal student, not disabled.. just anger problems and he did it out of spite to get me back


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

GwenInNM said:


> As a School Counselor who deals with kids, I have to weigh in on this. Taking anger out in such a way, really does indicate your brother needs help. Why don't you in a respectful way approach your parents, share your concern and tell them you think it's important they seek help for him now, before it is too late, and he really does harm to someone else or himself.
> 
> I don't think incidents like this can be minimized and if your parents are in denial, you may want to go to someone at your school (I'm assuming you are a minor in school) and see if they can connect your family and/or brother with resources.
> 
> ...



i know, i definitely agree.. my parents yell at him and say its wrong but they dont do anything... his temper is so bad that he threw a shovel through the storm door. he knew we were getting a new door the next day so in his mind he probably thought, well it doesnt matter if i break it anyway. but still, not normal. im a senior in college, going for teaching.


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

Rip said:


> just curious here. i noticed you emphasized NO BLEACH. my uncle has a tank that he's never used for any live animals. he just places his fancy rocks in it, and fills it up with water, and it looks pretty cool. but after awhile it would start to get kinda scummy, so the last time i was there, he told me how he put bleach in the water in an attempt to keep algae from growing. i've been suggesting to him he should put some fish in there eventually, and he's said he might. but if he put bleach in the water, is it gonna cause a problem even if he cleans it afterwards. is it impossible to remove bleach or something?




i heard of people doing both and i never heard of their fish suffering or dying from it. but i wouldnt recommend bleach tho, just cuz it seems so strong ya know.


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## Mikaila31 (Dec 18, 2008)

bleach is chlorine and will kill fish/bacteria/most things, I'm sure you have dechlorinator though....

nail-polish is acetone and probably would of killed your fish pretty quickly if your sis hadn't gotten them out. HOWEVER I think you should count yourself lucky he didn't know what his weapon of choice was. Acetone dissolves/eats plastics on contact.


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## alidawn15 (Jan 31, 2011)

Mikaila31 said:


> bleach is chlorine and will kill fish/bacteria/most things, I'm sure you have dechlorinator though....
> 
> nail-polish is acetone and probably would of killed your fish pretty quickly if your sis hadn't gotten them out. HOWEVER I think you should count yourself lucky he didn't know what his weapon of choice was. Acetone dissolves/eats plastics on contact.


Yet another reason to buy non-acetone I guess...


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

Mikaila31 said:


> bleach is chlorine and will kill fish/bacteria/most things, I'm sure you have dechlorinator though....
> 
> nail-polish is acetone and probably would of killed your fish pretty quickly if your sis hadn't gotten them out. HOWEVER I think you should count yourself lucky he didn't know what his weapon of choice was. Acetone dissolves/eats plastics on contact.



so are you saying they're won't be any long-term affects on the fish? ... u said that they wouldve killed my fish pretty quickly, but dont you think they breathed in it though?


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

*update on fish*

Ok well when I got home from work i transferred the fish out of the bowl they were sitting in for 5 hours. My sister said the ghost shrimp wasn't in there and she looked on the floor and it was hopping around, so I'm surprised that it is still alive. She put it back in the bowl. Anyways, I cleaned and scrubbed my tank with hot hot hot water and a dash of dish soap. Removed the filter cartridge, took that apart, cleaned that really well, and added a new filter pad in there. I took out all of the rocks, gravel, stones, and fake plants before I cleaned the tank out. Then I filled it up with tap water, put prime in, and stability, and added the fish. So it's just the fish in the tank nothing else in it yet. I'm buying new decorations tomorrow and I will rinse them off before i put them in there. At first only 1 fancy tail guppy was eating some flakes I put in. Then a half an hour later I wanted to see if any of them would eat, so I put in some blood worms and they all ate. They are acting like they always are, still alive, and swimming around, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they stay alive hopefully for another few months..


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## Grimmjow (Jul 22, 2009)

Good to hear they are fine. I would have beaten the life out of anybody who did this, my tank or not.


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## SeaHorse (Dec 27, 2010)

Yeah! At which point you will have your own place, and you are planning now how to fit a much bigger tank into the decor!! Right? LOL If they all make it thru the 2nd cycling then they deserve to live!!


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## mamatoulouse (Mar 26, 2011)

i am happy to hear they are all ok..... now to get a dead bolt for your room and keeping those fishies safe


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## Biemowo (Oct 19, 2010)

Acetone occurs naturally in low levels in the bodys of all vertebrates, and acetone toxicity is rather low, as it is a byproduct of synthesizing certain amino acids, and metabolic processes, it takes a significant concentration over a significant period of time to do serious harm to most vertebrates. It would probably be decarboxylated in your fish's bodys to something not very harmful and then excreted. 

Though given the fact it is a tiny tank the concentrations could have been high enough to cause serious damage in 10 or 15 minutes. You're very lucky.

As for the tank, in my opinion, dump out the water, rinse the tank and decor thoroughly with distilled water (acetone is quite miscible in pure water) and let dry over night. After that it should be good to go in my opinion.


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## Tomsk (Mar 4, 2010)

Keep the tank,dump your brother! 

Tomsk


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

*another update*

Well I bought all new decorations and added them in there, did an almost 50% water change cuz the ammonia was like .5/1 ... it just really sux cuz i loved my tank set-up b4 all this happened.. everything was balanced, all water parameters were perfect, right where they should be.. but things happen in life and ya just gotta deal with it and make the best out of it u can. u cant help what other people do ya know. but anyways, i got diff. color gravel and stones and a different plant, but i got the same little cave thing so maybe they will remember the old one lol. 1 white cloud minnow (the smaller one) is acting not like he always does. hes in the corner on the bottom sorta laying on the gravel sitting there.... pisses me off.. my poor fishies =(


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

*heres some pics of the new tank set-up*


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

im also pretty sure acetone has a lower density than water, not just a little less dense, but light enough to separate on its own. Its likely that a lot of it sat at the top of the tank instead of mixing into the water and hurting your fish. That being said, your running an acrylic tank which is susceptible to melting, perhaps your nail polish remover had different chemicals in it? I would imagine any amount of nail polish remover to leave melt scars on the tank. 

I once put acetone on a piece of paper and rubbed a stain on a capet the carpet melted, its pretty caustic stuff..


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

SinCrisis said:


> im also pretty sure acetone has a lower density than water, not just a little less dense, but light enough to separate on its own. Its likely that a lot of it sat at the top of the tank instead of mixing into the water and hurting your fish. That being said, your running an acrylic tank which is susceptible to melting, perhaps your nail polish remover had different chemicals in it? I would imagine any amount of nail polish remover to leave melt scars on the tank.
> 
> I once put acetone on a piece of paper and rubbed a stain on a capet the carpet melted, its pretty caustic stuff..




well the water was emptied out of the bowl right after it happened, and i cleaned and scrubbed it good.. didnt see any grease on the top of the water or anything slimy.. i called my local fish store where i always go and they said the tank should be fine but not the decor  but yea ur prob right with the dense thing.. thats a good observation


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