Stuff we don't talk about...

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/19/2022 at 4:16 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

You know what is super rewarding for me? Watching a tank full of 34 baby snails eating green beans. 😍

Amanos?

I'm very happy for you and your snails.  Please enjoy them 2x as much for me!  I had a nerite once. That's about the extent I'll go to.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/19/2022 at 7:16 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Amanos?

Yes!! I don’t have any shrimp but got immersed in Foo the Flowerhorn’s shrimp videos.

[Odd Duck]

I wash my hands/arms before diving in, but “normal” wash, not surgeon’s scrub.  I also wash between or after certain tanks - QT’s and any tanks with the dreaded Wolffia since I’m still trying to eliminate it.  I rinse after duckweed tanks (it seems to pop up randomly?), but don’t usually soap after.  It’s usually easy enough to pluck out and control.  I’m resetting Wolffia tanks soon with full scrub down so that should eliminate the darn stuff?  One Wolffia tank has plants and mosses I don’t want to lose, so I’m not sure how to address that.  I may try an extended RR on those plants/mosses.

I do get dry hands/arms, but no more than expected from having my hands in water off and on all day. One or two lotion applications usually resolves it and I tend towards dry skin anyway.

[Guppysnail]

On 7/20/2022 at 2:17 AM, Odd Duck said:

One Wolffia tank has plants and mosses I don’t want to lose, so I’m not sure how to address that.  I may try an extended RR on those plants/mosses.

RR on my moss “shook/vibrated/ loose all the entangled duckweed and the DW floated to the top to be scooped off. 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/20/2022 at 7:29 AM, Guppysnail said:

RR on my moss “shook/vibrated/ loose all the entangled duckweed and the DW floated to the top to be scooped off. 

Not to get too off topic, but how do you prepare moss for a tank?  Just dump some seltzer on it?  I do salt dips for everything else, but roots should not touch salt, so I can't do it with moss.

[Guppysnail]

On 7/20/2022 at 9:28 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Not to get too off topic, but how do you prepare moss for a tank?  Just dump some seltzer on it?  I do salt dips for everything else, but roots should not touch salt, so I can't do it with moss.

Moss just pour a bowl of plain seltzer water weight it down so it stays submerged, I use kitchen spoons 🤣 put it in the dark for 9-12 hours no need to seal a lid. Then pluck it out and drop straight in the tank. Kills pests, eggs etc.  This is most plants. No salt needed. 

 

Edited July 20, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/20/2022 at 9:32 AM, Guppysnail said:

Moss just pour a bowl of plain seltzer water weight it down so it stays submerged, I use kitchen spoons 🤣 put it in the dark for 9-12 hours no need to seal a lid. Then pluck it out and drop straight in the tank. Kills pests, eggs etc.  This is most plants. No salt needed. 

 

Thanks! And I'm guessing the seltzer is ok to touch the plant roots, because plants like co2.

[Guppysnail]

On 7/20/2022 at 9:37 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Thanks! And I'm guessing the seltzer is ok to touch the plant roots, because plants like co2.

Sure is sink plant roots and all. 

[Tanked]

On 7/19/2022 at 11:36 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Skin irritation after working in the tank?  Happens to anybody else?  Some random interwebs threads say it's the nitrates.  ?  Also, I hate gloves.  🤣

I an fortunate not to experience any tank related skin issues beyond my nose itching as soon as I start cleaning the filters!  I wash up to the shoulder before and after maintenance with a diluted dawn solution.  My normal work day may involve exposure to a variety of chemicals and require scrubbing/washing my hands and arms 10x a day.

Things we don't talk about...   ( I don't mean to go dark here)

Fish and other critters die!  Perhaps there really isn't anything to talk about here.  Newcomers to the hobby go into panic mode when the prized betta dies or one tetra disappears.  Sometimes it is just old age.  Three months ago, I lost one of my Nerites.  Last week I lost another. Upon reflection I realized that they were a little short of their 5th. year with me.  My reading indicates that 5 years is a long life for a Nerite.  Living things get old and pass on.  Not because you have too much/little of some thing, skipped a water change, over/under fed...    It still hurts sometimes, but as long as you have done the best you could, be happy with the time you shared.

[Odd Duck]

On 7/20/2022 at 10:26 AM, Tanked said:

my nose itching as soon as I start cleaning the filters

This still happens to me as soon as I put on a surgical mask and get gowned and gloved.  Every time.  It’s a state of mind, I tell myself.  Just ignore it.  As soon as you start cutting it will go away.  Go away.  GO AWAY!!!  😆 😂 🤣   It does go away as soon as I’m concentrating on the actual surgery.  Unless I have to stop for a minute for my tech to reposition the patient.  GO AWAY!  👃🏻😂 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

[Katherine]

On 7/20/2022 at 1:17 AM, Odd Duck said:

One or two lotion applications usually resolves it and I tend towards dry skin anyway.

Do you have a particular lotion recommendation? I've been using OKeefe's Working Hands and it's the best I've found so far.

[Odd Duck]

On 7/20/2022 at 2:22 PM, Katherine said:

Do you have a particular lotion recommendation? I've been using OKeefe's Working Hands and it's the best I've found so far.

I’ve tried that but it’s too greasy for me since I moved to the south.  If my hands are crazy dry, I would use something like that.  My favorite super nourishing was a lotion that was provided from the local human hospital.  I used this when I worked at a clinic whose hand soap just tore up my skin.  Medline Remedy with Olivamine Skin Repair Cream.  That stuff will grease you up!  A little goes a long way.  But man, does it work to heal that really dry, cracked skin.  I took a picture of it since I don’t order it often enough to remember what it’s called and Amazon won’t search back far enough to find it reliably.

Mostly I use good old Jergen’s original because it doesn’t leave me so greasy that I can’t pick up anything, plus I really like the scent of the original “Cherry Almond Essence”. 😃  Fruity, but not too sweet, and doesn’t linger so long that everybody asks about your perfume (because you know your perfume is too strong if everybody asks about it).

 

[Goldie Blue]

On 7/19/2022 at 10:36 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Also, I hate gloves.

Same. I hate when water gets into them, just totally freaks me out. 

I also scrub up because I wear a lot of lotion and/or scented sprays etc on my arms that I don't want to get into the tanks. My hands feel really dry after water change day, I have 4 tanks but the 55 gallon has me up to my armpits. 

I usually use Gold Bond Ultimate healing with aloe for my hands, but I use the CeraVe cream in the tub for my arms/body. I break out in really bad hives (seen countless docs, no idea why) and that is one of the only creams/lotions that seems to keep things in check. 

On 7/20/2022 at 5:19 PM, Odd Duck said:

Medline Remedy with Olivamine Skin Repair Cream

I am very excited to try this out, just ordered some. 

[Nuggets Beard]

Do you feed blood worms at all?  You could be allergic to those.  I had the same problem.  I have an insect larva allergy.  It's actually a thing.

[Odd Duck]

On 7/21/2022 at 3:06 AM, Goldie Blue said:

I am very excited to try this out, just ordered some. 

I hope it works for you!

[Guppy Guy]

I probably overthink clean hands in an aquarium. I use a tea tree soap that washes off completely and leaves no smell before sticking my hands in the tank, and I won’t do anything with a tank if I was sweaty from working outside. I don’t want the salts/dirt in there causing mystery problems I would never figure out.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 7/21/2022 at 6:10 AM, Nuggets Beard said:

Do you feed blood worms at all?  You could be allergic to those.  I had the same problem.  I have an insect larva allergy.  It's actually a thing.

Nope. I feed frozen or live brine shrimp, assorted vegetables, krill flakes, sinking cichlid pellets.

On 7/21/2022 at 4:06 AM, Goldie Blue said:

Same. I hate when water gets into them, just totally freaks me out. 

I also scrub up because I wear a lot of lotion and/or scented sprays etc on my arms that I don't want to get into the tanks. My hands feel really dry after water change day, I have 4 tanks but the 55 gallon has me up to my armpits. 

I usually use Gold Bond Ultimate healing with aloe for my hands, but I use the CeraVe cream in the tub for my arms/body. I break out in really bad hives (seen countless docs, no idea why) and that is one of the only creams/lotions that seems to keep things in check. 

The Gold Bond is good. It doesn't clear up the irritation but it's really awesome for hydrating.  The CeraVe was expensive and pretty sure I'm allergic to that one because my skin felt like it was on fire after I applied it.  Tossed that one out.  $$$

Most days I don't use any lotion, perfume, etc whatsoever because I know I'll be working in the tanks (ie: the baby snail growout tank gets water changes 2x daily).  Even so, I get paranoid and scrub hands & arms before touching any tanks "just in case".  I always worry I'll introduce something foreign into the water that will be bad for them. I'm just extra cautious, I guess.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Goldie Blue]

On 7/21/2022 at 8:36 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

The CeraVe was expensive and pretty sure I'm allergic to that one because my skin felt like it was on fire after I applied it.  Tossed that one out.  $$$

Oh wow, that is crazy! It certainly isn't cheap, I have it on Amazon subscribe and save because I go through about a whole tub of it a month. Most dermatologists I have seen recommend that for sensitive skin, it's crazy how some people just react to certain products.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Update - things have gotten significantly better since I switched to dial liquid antibacterial hand soap, the regular gold one (not a foam). I use it on my hands and arms after scaping or maintaining the tanks.