# I just drank water from my dirty fish tank



## Inga

Before anyone asks, No it wasn't a college prank or dare. I was cleaning my fish tank. I can't even explain what happened but I got a gulp of water in my mouth and because it was a shock, I swallowed. I then rinsed my mouth out and now I feel like I am going to throw up. I am sure it is mostly mental. What a stupid thing. I get grossed out when the water is on my hands. UGH!!!

I am extra concerned because I just lost a fish. One of my Tiger Barbs passed away after having a very large bloated look. I thought she was pregnant but then took a turn for the worse. She had been acting normal until yesterday morning. Then, last night she died. :-( 

I feel like I should drink peroxide or something. Don't worry, I won't but... I just feel gross. Now I can add this to the long line of stupid things to NEVER do again.


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## fish joey

Hello where have you been ? Im sure you will be fine... are you over your guppie explosion?


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## DKRST

I use to do tank maintenance when I was in high school and one of the tanks was a 250 gallon built as a cube in the middle of a restaurant's bar area. Due to the bartenders dropping olives into the tank, it acquired a really virulent bacterial problem and I dumped in literally a hundred of dollars of meds. What's the point of this background? The idiots that built the tank had the only access point as a 1X2' panel located 7 feet above the floor, so when I siphoned to the bar sink, using a 1" diameter hose, you can imagine how much of this NASTY water and medication I got force-fed when I forgot how high (in this case too low!) I was on the ladder when I started the siphon by mouth. Given a 3' to 4' head of pressure, I spent more than a moment over the sink "retrieving" the water I swallowed! You certainly have my sympathy!


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## fish joey

ps sorry about your tiger barb


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## Inga

I have been so busy with family stuff that I have not had as much time to be here.  I miss everyone and the chatting about fish. I am hoping to be back more frequently. I still have way too many Guppies in the 25 and now have a half dozen males in the 60. I also lost a guppy a few days back but am not quite as concerned there as I KNOW that was a birthing issue. Wouldn't you know, there is a new baby in there now to "replace" her. That tends to happen with Guppies. I am glad she only had the one. Still sad to see her go. Again, she was one I thought was super pretty. 

DXRST I am so glad that I am not the only one to do such a thing. This too is a large Python so... BIG GULP. Now, why was a stupid enough to swollow any? Ugh!


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## fish joey

sorry about super pretty guppy....we now have many many sunset platys .. We .have found great LFs to take them ...Yi PEEE...where you abel end your snail envasion?


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## Christemo

I've swallowed water and was okay. But hey, I've also drank water from the schuylkill river so...


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## fish joey

We went to school in Philly and I know our first dog drank out of that river!


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## Grimmjow

I did this once, it was the last time I ever started a siphon with it dug in the gravel.


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## stevenjohn21

If you think that is bad i swallowed water from my Turtles tank ! Ewwww i nearly threw up !

I was so paranoid that something might happen to me that i google searched to see if something bad was about to happen. . . . well 6 months later im still alive  Although i dont suck the syphon hose anymore ;-)


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## Christople

there is a way to start the syphon with out using your mouth... I hope you know


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## Guppie luver

I ave to i was fine it was from a 100 gal. tank so it was a strong pull in the gravel so i got an ill feeling in my stoomache and i got some gaging after but my was grose all of the fish i had had died ( this was over the summer) but affter deth i was still over populated with baby GUPPIE fry i still have them they are almost 1 year they will be a year old in June so still some time so like ya you will gag and maby puke mabey


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## Guppie luver

Christople said:


> there is a way to start the syphon with out using your mouth... I hope you know


 I dont maby try putting alot of paper towles over it then suck so it wont go into your mouth


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## Inga

Christople said:


> there is a way to start the syphon with out using your mouth... I hope you know


 
Yes, Yes, I know better. It was just the situation, it worked better. Rather, I thought it would. ha ha

Well, the tank is clean, the fish are happy and I just ate a few globs of Peanut better to get that taste out of my mouth. It was a taste stemming in my head mind you as I have already washed out my mouth and cleaned my teeth. 

Yes FishJoey, I did solve the snail population. My Assassins did their job with amazing efficiency and now all that is left is empty shells on the gravel floor. On occasion I see one but... I can live with what might be in there now. My Assassins are still in there too so the population will be keep way in check. Now, if only they would work on the Guppies. lol Just kidding.


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## Romad

Grimmjow said:


> I did this once, it was the last time I ever started a siphon with it dug in the gravel.


 
Gak! That must have been nasty :vomit:


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## jeaninel

Inga, if you're using a Python why are you sucking on it to start the siphon? Hook it to the sink and turn on the faucet. lol 

Back in my bucket and hose days I sucked water once....ONCE. lol :lol: I thought I was gonna be sick:vomit:


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## Christemo

Hey, when you do crew, you look for any way to reduce the weight of the boat... even if that includes no water bottles. After a 5 mile race, it kills ya.


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## LasColinasCichlids

The first time I used my gravel vac, I couldnt figure out how to get it to work without sucking on the hose to start it...and of course I got a big mouth full and swallowed some. For a week later I had myself pysched out thinking I could still taste the evil tank water! I wanted to puke every minute just thinking about it!!

I tell you what though...even though I have still yet to manage to get the damn gravel vac to work by pumping it in and out of the water, I have become a pro at starting the syphon by mouth!! LOL


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## SweetPoison

jeaninel said:


> Inga, if you're using a Python why are you sucking on it to start the siphon? Hook it to the sink and turn on the faucet. lol



I was just going to type this!!


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## Inga

jeaninel said:


> Inga, if you're using a Python why are you sucking on it to start the siphon? Hook it to the sink and turn on the faucet. lol
> 
> Back in my bucket and hose days I sucked water once....ONCE. lol :lol: I thought I was gonna be sick:vomit:


'Because the attachment doesn't hook to my sink or tub. The faucets are square (stupid design) I still feel Yuck this morning but I know it is just a mental thing. The idea of the yucky water in my mouth., Thankfully it wasn't dug down into the gross gravel and I keep my tanks pretty clean normally. It is just the idea of the fish, snails and worse... the dead Tiger Barb from yesterday. Sushi anyone? :shock:


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## willow

at least you didn't get the squirts.
i've drunl a fair bit over the years,and i agree after finding a dead fish,makes
you feel worse,cause they don't half stink when you fish them out.


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## Guppie luver

I hate finding dead fish i always scream(then my bf comes down and askes what died this time!) it


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## jeaninel

Inga said:


> 'Because the attachment doesn't hook to my sink or tub. The faucets are square (stupid design) I still feel Yuck this morning but I know it is just a mental thing. The idea of the yucky water in my mouth., Thankfully it wasn't dug down into the gross gravel and I keep my tanks pretty clean normally. It is just the idea of the fish, snails and worse... the dead Tiger Barb from yesterday. Sushi anyone? :shock:


Oh, I see. Well, I hope you had yourself a stiff drink to kill any bugs you ingested. :lol:


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## aunt kymmie

jeaninel said:


> Oh, I see. Well, I hope you had yourself a stiff drink to kill any bugs you ingested. :lol:


I find that a nice lemon drop martini does the trick. ;-)


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## Tomsk

"Appocaylpse now" style voice...

..I love the taste the taste of fish poo in the morning,it tastes of victory! 

Tomsk


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## amazon21

I don't know what it's called, but I do have a backup siphon that is operated by a hand pump in the middle. You just give it 2-5 pumps and it does the rest of the work on it's own. It doesn't hook up to a sink like a python does, but that obviously doesnt make a difference for you. I got it in petco. The only downside is that it is pretty short and probably wont reach your sink, but there may be longer versions available.


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## Mikaila31

Haha am I the only one not all that bothered by it? I am pretty good at avoiding that scenario, but when it does happen, oh well IMO. I often eat food anyway during water changes.


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## dramaqueen

lol! Nothing like a mouth full of fish poo!


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## CoffeeMan

I use my mouth to start the siphon when I do water changes, and often get a little taste of water. Not when I first start, but when I start siphoning the second bucket of water. There's sometimes some water in the hose from the first bucket that I don't notice, and when I start sucking, I get a mouthful of it. It doesn't bother me though... not anymore than drinking water from a stream.


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## Guppie luver

i get the air presure when i start it and it makes me gag real bad


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## brownmane

OMG! You guys gave me the biggest laugh today. How many fishkeepers have never swallowed fish water? My cats love drinking out of the bucket that is filled with the old water. So I don't worry too much if I get some in my mouth. The physics of siphoning liquieds. Thank goodness that I haven't had as big a swallow as some of you have!


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## Inga

Well obviously I am not the only twit that keeps fish. LOL Like I said thank God that I didn't have the thing stuck into the gravel, it was just water. The dead fish didn't stink at all, she must have just died when I found her or shortly before. 

Everyone appears happy and healthy in the tank now. There is lively swimming from the Tiger Barbs and Guppies, Blue (the Opeline Gourami) is doing her slow swim under the Pennywort and the Cories are having a field day dancing about on the bottom of the tank. Even Sharky is out in the crowd now. He is afraid of me so he hides in his log most of the time if I am moving about in the room. When I am at my desk he swims around. I swear he sticks his tongue out at me when I am not looking. lol


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## aunt kymmie

Mikaila31 said:


> Haha am I the only one not all that bothered by it? I am pretty good at avoiding that scenario, but when it does happen, oh well IMO. I often eat food anyway during water changes.


LOL, it doesn't bother me either. I am usually chewing gum during water changes. Once I nearly sucked a wad of bubble gum into my lungs while getting the siphon going, I had forgot that the gum was in my mouth.


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## JasonI

Why would any of you people siphon the water by putting your mouth to the hose. I always fill the siphoning tube with water raise it a little above the tank and before it empties place it back in the tank. That is the way I've always siphoned my water never fails no need to suck on the hose. I would never recommend this to all you siphoning suckers. Talk about loving your pets this is really extreme. I just thought I might add this reply since you have serious intake problems. I hope no one is offended but this is the proper way of siphoning water. Not by sucking into your siphoning tubes. Jeez what are you people thinking that it is not going to go into your mouth's.


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## Inga

JasonI said:


> Why would any of you people siphon the water by putting your mouth to the hose. I always fill the siphoning tube with water raise it a little above the tank and before it empties place it back in the tank. That is the way I've always siphoned my water never fails no need to suck on the hose. I would never recommend this to all you siphoning suckers. Talk about loving your pets this is really extreme. I just thought I might add this reply since you have serious intake problems. I hope no one is offended but this is the proper way of siphoning water. Not by sucking into your siphoning tubes. Jeez what are you people thinking that it is not going to go into your mouth's.


 
Ha Ha That is how I usually do it but because I was working on a tank that is just a little too far away, I don't have enough length and can't quite make it work that way. I do that for my other tanks. I normally just drop a large pail under the small far away tank but this one time, I was lazy and didn't. Guess which behavior I will NOT be repeating? I have don't that before and didn't suck in any water. I don't know why the retardation this time but... I have learned my lesson. Oh, and I do not put my mouth on the hose, I wrap my hand around the end and put my mouth on my clean hand. Still, no more. :-?


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## Thunderloon

Double fold the hose in your hand, stick the end in a gatorade bottle, pull air from the top of the bottle. When you feel the jerks of water hitting the kinks, squeeze real hard and move it to the bucket.

An old boss told me what to do when you swallow something with bacteria in it like bad pond water.

Two shots tequilla and a margharita the right way!

Works!

... "I wrap my hand around the end and put my mouth on my clean hand. Still, no more. :???:"
your clean but was just in a fishtank hand?


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## Inga

Thunderloon said:


> Double fold the hose in your hand, stick the end in a gatorade bottle, pull air from the top of the bottle. When you feel the jerks of water hitting the kinks, squeeze real hard and move it to the bucket.
> 
> An old boss told me what to do when you swallow something with bacteria in it like bad pond water.
> 
> Two shots tequilla and a margharita the right way!
> 
> Works!
> 
> ... "I wrap my hand around the end and put my mouth on my clean hand. Still, no more. :???:"
> your clean but was just in a fishtank hand?


 
Heavens no. I am a clean freak and wash my hands about 30 times while dealing with fish tanks. I drive myself nuts. 

No Tequilla for me, ugh. Too much of that in my college days way back when.


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## CoffeeMan

JasonI said:


> Why would any of you people siphon the water by putting your mouth to the hose. I always fill the siphoning tube with water raise it a little above the tank and before it empties place it back in the tank. That is the way I've always siphoned my water never fails no need to suck on the hose. I would never recommend this to all you siphoning suckers. Talk about loving your pets this is really extreme. I just thought I might add this reply since you have serious intake problems. I hope no one is offended but this is the proper way of siphoning water. Not by sucking into your siphoning tubes. Jeez what are you people thinking that it is not going to go into your mouth's.





Thunderloon said:


> Double fold the hose in your hand, stick the end in a gatorade bottle, pull air from the top of the bottle. When you feel the jerks of water hitting the kinks, squeeze real hard and move it to the bucket.
> 
> An old boss told me what to do when you swallow something with bacteria in it like bad pond water.
> 
> Two shots tequilla and a margharita the right way!
> 
> Works!
> 
> ... "I wrap my hand around the end and put my mouth on my clean hand. Still, no more. :???:"
> your clean but was just in a fishtank hand?



It so much quicker to just suck on the hose. A little tank water isn't going to hurt anyone, unless you have serious immune system deficiencies.


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## willow

i like it :squint::checkedout:


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## Christople

I once let the end of the syphon out of the bucket and oh man there was some yelling. I have never drank any fish water


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## Inga

Christople said:


> I once let the end of the syphon out of the bucket and oh man there was some yelling. I have never drank any fish water


 
Yeah, that would NOT be good. I have all hard wood floors under my aquariums. I spaz if I drop a drop of water on the floor. I usually lay down towels to protect the floors.


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## Guppie luver

ya same i have hard wood and my paernts flip out so i have a carpet under mine:lol:


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## Thunderloon

CoffeeMan said:


> It so much quicker to just suck on the hose. A little tank water isn't going to hurt anyone, unless you have serious immune system deficiencies.


You like tuberculosis? You like asthma?

The Nitrosomona and Nitrospira bacteria can live just peachy in your lungs on the ammonia in your blood stream, they'll spread and grow. There's no point in exposing yourself to the risk of infection.

Do you stick your cut-up hand in the tank? Why risk pulling tank water directly into your blood stream through your lungs?


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## CoffeeMan

Thunderloon said:


> You like tuberculosis? You like asthma?
> 
> The Nitrosomona and Nitrospira bacteria can live just peachy in your lungs on the ammonia in your blood stream, they'll spread and grow. There's no point in exposing yourself to the risk of infection.
> 
> Do you stick your cut-up hand in the tank? Why risk pulling tank water directly into your blood stream through your lungs?


Maybe I should just crawl inside a sterilized plastic bubble and live the rest of my life there.


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## aunt kymmie

CoffeeMan said:


> Maybe I should just crawl inside a sterilized plastic bubble and live the rest of my life there.


Will you be making your nice coffee brew in the bubble? If you are, can I come join you??!!


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## CoffeeMan

aunt kymmie said:


> Will you be making your nice coffee brew in the bubble? If you are, can I come join you??!!


No, the coffee might contain some kind of harmful bacteria. Distilled water and hermetically sealed saltine crackers only.




I know there is a very very slight risk of getting some kind of infection from ingesting tank water or sticking your hand in the tank. But there's also a risk of infection by breathing air or eating food... a much higher risk in fact. I don't live my life scared of rare illnesses that tend to only regularly appear on television shows like House MD.


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## Mikaila31

JasonI said:


> Why would any of you people siphon the water by putting your mouth to the hose. I always fill the siphoning tube with water raise it a little above the tank and before it empties place it back in the tank. That is the way I've always siphoned my water never fails no need to suck on the hose. I would never recommend this to all you siphoning suckers. Talk about loving your pets this is really extreme. I just thought I might add this reply since you have serious intake problems. I hope no one is offended but this is the proper way of siphoning water. Not by sucking into your siphoning tubes. Jeez what are you people thinking that it is not going to go into your mouth's.


Well Why not? Its fast... you will find the VAST, VAST majority of fish keepers start siphons this way. IMO sucking on the siphon tube is the proper way for a real fish keeper to start a siphon, I've never seen it done any other way. In all honestly you rarely ever get a mouthful of water, this usually only happens if you are not paying attention. 




Thunderloon said:


> You like tuberculosis? You like asthma?
> 
> The Nitrosomona and Nitrospira bacteria can live just peachy in your lungs on the ammonia in your blood stream, they'll spread and grow. There's no point in exposing yourself to the risk of infection.
> 
> Do you stick your cut-up hand in the tank? Why risk pulling tank water directly into your blood stream through your lungs?


I would love for you to find a report of a infection by the common filter bacteriums. Exposure generally brings immunity when we are talking about pathogens lol. No I don't like the idea of TB or asthma, but I am a biomajor so I could go into great detail on what lives in a tank, and it is much much more then just filter bacteria. Also Yes I do stick my cut-up hands in the tank. Winter does awful things to your skin, but those plants don't prune themselves! Tank water isn't going to go into my blood stream. If it goes anywhere it is likely to be my stomach and by the time it gets absorbed by my intestines you won't be able to tell if it came from the tank or the coca cola I was drinking during the water change. I got my wisdom teeth removed a month ago and was changing water 2 days after that the same way I always do. I actually did have to go back last Thursday because one of the lower ones was infected, due to some stuck food, go figure... When I got back from that you wouldn't guess what I did... Yeah I changed water;-)

Honestly what is the point of living if you don't have fun? "There's no point in exposing yourself to the risk of infection." Sure this works if you like to get sick often. I am not bothered at all by tank water, I happily drink from a number of streams around here, our tap is from a well and does not have any sanitation means except like yearly water tests.... Oh my parent's run a daycare too out of the lower level of this house. Its been going since I was born(which is way too long)... the point of this is just living here puts me at more risk for disease then my fish tank. 90+% of the insane amount of toys in the basement have been stuck in someones mouth. Children are the embodiment of improper hygiene. This is why I rarely ever get sick, if I get anything it is a mild cold for around 3 days out of the year. The body has a immune system for a reason. Ever hear the saying, "Use it or lose it";-). 

The main safety I practice around water I intend to drink is stay the #@!! away from beavers and their relatives.


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## Thunderloon

I start siphons with my $3.00 siphon hand pump, its all urethane and can be used directly into half inch, only time I've had one fail to get it going was when I tried to get four feet of pull.

Ace hardware, red and white thing. I use it for starting siphon, water changes, slowly adding water and sweeping the dead snails out of my HOBs. You can even use it to move small rock and sand around the tank like a sludge pump and to blast through the UGF to siphon out the murk down there as well.

Second handiest thing I've had for fishkeeping, right behind my Ikea table that laughs at a five hundred pound load.


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## Thunderloon

Mikaila31 said:


> Well Why not? Its fast... you will find the VAST, VAST majority of fish keepers start siphons this way. IMO sucking on the siphon tube is the proper way for a real fish keeper to start a siphon, I've never seen it done any other way. In all honestly you rarely ever get a mouthful of water, this usually only happens if you are not paying attention.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I would love for you to find a report of a infection by the common filter bacteriums. Exposure generally brings immunity when we are talking about pathogens lol. No I don't like the idea of TB or asthma, but I am a biomajor so I could go into great detail on what lives in a tank, and it is much much more then just filter bacteria. Also Yes I do stick my cut-up hands in the tank. Winter does awful things to your skin, but those plants don't prune themselves! Tank water isn't going to go into my blood stream. If it goes anywhere it is likely to be my stomach and by the time it gets absorbed by my intestines you won't be able to tell if it came from the tank or the coca cola I was drinking during the water change. I got my wisdom teeth removed a month ago and was changing water 2 days after that the same way I always do. I actually did have to go back last Thursday because one of the lower ones was infected, due to some stuck food, go figure... When I got back from that you wouldn't guess what I did... Yeah I changed water;-)
> 
> Honestly what is the point of living if you don't have fun? "There's no point in exposing yourself to the risk of infection." Sure this works if you like to get sick often. I am not bothered at all by tank water, I happily drink from a number of streams around here, our tap is from a well and does not have any sanitation means except like yearly water tests.... Oh my parent's run a daycare too out of the lower level of this house. Its been going since I was born(which is way too long)... the point of this is just living here puts me at more risk for disease then my fish tank. 90+% of the insane amount of toys in the basement have been stuck in someones mouth. Children are the embodiment of improper hygiene. This is why I rarely ever get sick, if I get anything it is a mild cold for around 3 days out of the year. The body has a immune system for a reason. Ever hear the saying, "Use it or lose it";-).
> 
> The main safety I practice around water I intend to drink is stay the #@!! away from beavers and their relatives.



... Why the troll? Seriously?
The point of the thread was light humor and I injected a wee bit of thrill and observation.
No, the "right way" to start a siphon is NOT to go all X-rated on the hose, it's to drop the hose in the tank then pull the tail out with your thumb over it.
Given I've seen several people with mild skin scars and some infections from aquarium chores I'll go with the "gloves on" approach AND advise others to do so.


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## Mikaila31

Thunderloon said:


> ... Why the troll? Seriously?
> The point of the thread was light humor and I injected a wee bit of thrill and observation.
> No, the "right way" to start a siphon is NOT to go all X-rated on the hose, it's to drop the hose in the tank then pull the tail out with your thumb over it.
> Given I've seen several people with mild skin scars and some infections from aquarium chores I'll go with the "gloves on" approach AND advise others to do so.


haha that was no troll... That was basic information and observation on my part. IDK about you but I see lots of humor in your post. In the end what ever floats your boat, or starts your siphon. The common method works very well. Starts regular gravel vac, starts entire garden hose. I'm a college student, $3 will buy a fish or some junk food first... no time for gloves, pumps, or trying to fit hoses in tanks. I'm okay with mild skin scars and whatever else. Safety is for when I don't want to do something. I will start wearing gloves if I ever keep poisonous fish or something crazy. You can't prune stem plants with gloves very well. 

I have learned though nothing gives better mild skin scars then clawed cats. I don't mean to sound berating. Its just that there is soooo much stuff out there I could write pages about it. The dangers of chicken, pork, beef, the beach, diet coke, beavers, and grass would be starters. If you think your tank is hazardous, grass is on a whole different level(this isn't sarcastic). I always remember the dangers grass holds when I am lying on it:-(.


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## Thunderloon

mmhmm, troll on, ignored.


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## Mikaila31

sigh..... Well this is vexing. =/


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## Thunderloon

NENER!

Stop butting heads, there's no ignore that I found on the forum!


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## willow

my syphon you have to pump it up and down really fast to get the vac going,
i miss placed it one time,and had many liters of water on the carpet,thankfully i
had a cleaning hoover that sucked it all up,i lost a beautiful Koi angel fish to that. :-(


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## Christople

to start the syphon with out using your mouth fill the part you stick into the grsvel up with water and the lift it up to fill the tube up... be sure to plug the tube with your thumb but let some air so the water will fill it up. then put the you stick the part you stick into the gravel in the tank and fill that up. then take your thumb off the end and the water will start flowing... my fish tank is on tile but right next to it is oak floors.


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## Guppie luver

Wow


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## Thunderloon

Or, you know, you could turn off the magnum, change the intake to the sweeper and turn the magnum back on...

XD


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## aSpiritusSancti

Grimmjow said:


> I did this once, it was the last time I ever started a siphon with it dug in the gravel.


ouuuuch. that must have been YUMMY! lol

you guys should just get the self start ones so you dont have to suck... if that makes sense.


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## Backer

Add one more fish keeper to the list for accidentally swapping fish water. Also add me to the still alive and not sick list. Lol funny thread.


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## CoffeeMan

I'm not sure why this thread got so big. Some people suck water to start a siphon, some people use other methods. Either way a little tank water in your mouth isn't going to hurt you.


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## aunt kymmie

Mikaila31 said:


> You can't prune stem plants with gloves very well.
> The dangers of chicken, pork, beef, the beach, diet coke, beavers, and grass would be starters. If you think your tank is hazardous, grass is on a whole different level(this isn't sarcastic). I always remember the dangers grass holds when I am lying on it:-(.


Agree, there is just no way to prune plants with gloves on and those stupid 18" long plastic gadgets that the big box pet stores sell are junk and do not work! Like you I don't even think about the open cuts I may have on my hand. With two cats I usually have some kind of open scratch, lol. 

Ok, I have to know. What is so dangerous about beavers?? I agree on the grass. Ick. I won't lie down on it, too many bugs can be crawling around, lol. I'm okay with caterpillars and spiders but not insects, yuck. 
The beach?? No way! The beach is the best and I'll kick back in the sand sans a beach towel any day of the week and twice on Sunday. :-D I *adore* the beach!


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## Mikaila31

@Thunderloom - I was trying to have a civilized argument not troll you or cause you any offense which is what my last post was about. There is a ignore button though that will hide all my posts if you do so wish for that. 

@Kymmie - There is a disease called Beaver Fever cause by a parasite called Giardia. Its cause by a number of things, but has some odd connection with being carried by beavers and their relatives as one route of infection. In the northern Mid USA its a big reason why we boil lake water prior to drinking if we are camping in the middle of nowhere. About grass, Insects don't bother me at all, I love laying on the grass. Again it has to do with parasites. My Zoology class had this amazing way of creeping me out about everything to the point where I lost all caring. If I did something before lecture, without fail we would talk indepth about some pathogen that was related, often parasitic. I lay on grass, Prof talks about how hookworm larva live in grass and soil and can penetrate human skin, I do this:shock:. Leave lecture, big grass lawn outside that building = more of this:shock:. Eventually I came to the conclusion everything exists to carry some kinda pathogen that wants to infect me. So I stopped caring about most of it.


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## Inga

Well, I do trim my plants by sticking my hands/arms into the tank as well. I wash very very well as soon as I am done. Actually, BEFORE as well to get rid of any lotion residue on my skin. My fish don't want to eat that. Now... For you fishy sorts. How do you guys manage the plants in your deeper tanks. Am I the only idiot who struggles here. If I am on a step ladder looking down into the tank, I can't see what I need to get at. When I am looking from the side, I can't reach the plants at the bottom. Consequently, my plants are not as nicely pruned as I wish they were. I have actually dreamed of making myself small and swimming in the tank to groom the tank. (Think Petco ad a few years ago)

Then I also dreamed my Rainbow Shark, Tiger Barbs and Gourami were being well behaved with me but my Guppies kept trying to grab my air hose. LOL Yup, I have strange dreams.


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## Thunderloon

I commonly use giant chopsticks. XD

Actually a standard metal grilling fork and spatula may do you well, one or two companies make pruning reachers. I've pretty much made due with a full length of UGF lift pipe and the scraper's handle.

Had this nasty situation last year where I didn't get my gloves rinsed out at work and my finger got scratched up around the cuticle. Toxified human pickle juice bath followed by finding out I'm alergic to Neomycin left me with burns. You can get nice long gloves. Aquarium Cleaning Gloves is a good example.


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## Inga

The problem is that my tank is 25 inches deep. Like I said, I can lean over and reach the bottom of the tank but when I do, I can't see what I am doing. The long handled tools sound like a good idea. I bet it is a lesson in frustration though controlling them. 

My plants are currently in a major need of help. They need some pruning big time but I just can't get to them. (


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## willow

i have to stand on a ladder to reach in to my fish tank :lol:


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## jeaninel

willow said:


> i have to stand on a ladder to reach in to my fish tank :lol:


LOL me too (on the 135G). And if I need to reach something at the bottom I usually just stand there looking longingly at it and decide it will have to wait until water change day when I can drop the water level low enough so that I can reach the bottom without getting water up to my armpit. In the colder months this also means changing into a short sleeved shirt so i don't get my sleeves all wet.


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## Inga

jeaninel said:


> LOL me too (on the 135G). And if I need to reach something at the bottom I usually just stand there looking longingly at it and decide it will have to wait until water change day when I can drop the water level low enough so that I can reach the bottom without getting water up to my armpit. In the colder months this also means changing into a short sleeved shirt so i don't get my sleeves all wet.


 
That is what I do also but.... How do you see down into the tank to see what you are doing? I can't see and have my arms down there working. Maybe I am an idiot or just have poor eyes but... I can't see through the water.  Darn old eyes. Not to mention, I almost fell into my tank once when I was leaning over so much to try to see what I was doing. Then people wonder why my plants are not meticulously groomed. They know I want them to be but don't know I am inept. lol


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