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Ive got poison ivy really bad on my hands/arms- its not safe to play in the fish tanks is it?? Im guessing not, but im not sure, any opinions??

That's actually a really good question that not many people think about...
I'd be most worried about any ointments or lotions you're putting on the rashes; you definitely don't want that stuff getting into your tank. I'd get a pair of yellow dishwashing gloves (rinse them well first, as they're usually covered with talc) for tank maitenance and keep your hands out.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

I'd definitely go with gloves. The grocery store I work in carries home medical gloves, both regular and latex-free.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

i think such lotions are oil-based, meaning they don't desolve in water. if i'm right, dipping your hands shouldn't be that terrible for the tank.
maybe you can try to dissolve some lotion in water and see what happens.

on the other hand, being too safe about it won't hurt too much.

I can use gloves for the small tanks- but even the long gloves wont help on the 55 gal. The lotions can be washed off- is the poison ivy a threat to the tank, or just the meds for the rash??

I would be more concerned about getting an infection in any open area on your skin, maybe from scratching. Even if you do excellent tank maintenance there is fish fecal matter in the water.

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If at first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished.

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OK, get ready as this may be lengthy, at least entertaining. just two months ago Flipper, my wife's prize fish died and I went to bury him in the woods. He was what they call a freshwater dolphin, mormyrus tapirus, quite e to all types of fish maladies and very sensitive to everything. Anyway two days later I develop this rash on both legs. I thought it was just that, poison oak on my legs. never had a problem before, but that doesn't mean it won't still get you. After a week the rash was growing, itchy as can be and quite painful. Both legs (knees down to just below the ankle bone) swelled up so bad you couldn't see the taper they should have had. They looked like red logs. Anyways, wife took me to the ER and the doctor said it was a bacterial infection, cause unknown. He was thinkin it was either flipper, or the bloodworms I would feed him (leaning towards the worms as "mosquito larvae will do that".

Last edited by divertran at 15-Jun-2005 10:55

Sorry, wasn't sure how much I could post at once. So he prescribed antibiotics, lotion and rest till the swelling subsided. When I went to see my regular doc she said it definitely WAS poison ivy, or more likely poison oak, and even showed me the contact points where it touched me. Then she went on to say that the infection was caused by a severe allergic reaction to it. (That made much more sense to me). This really may not be related to your problem, but it brought the incident to mind, and I thought I'd share.