Hi,
Was wondering what the best way of sterilizing a fish net is? We had a fish that ended up dying of ich (even though we medicated). Scooped him out with the net and now I don't want to use it again unless I can be sure I won't pass on the ich to other fish in the tank. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Lots of hot water will likely do it. If you're worried, soak it in whatever ich medicine you used. I don't think the parasite can survive drying out, but I run my nets under very hot water after each use.
I would agree with fishycanuck on this, and add that some petshops keep their fishnets in what I believe is methylene blue.
However, this raises an interesting point in fish keeping when there is more than one tank.
In order to keep things scientific, laboratories designate all tools used in a particular tank as particular to that tank, and that tank alone. Siphon hoses and pythons are a good example of something that needs to be, at the very least, well rinsed between tanks, as do fish nets and any other tools that are used everywhere. We are talking about organisms and spores and so on, which we often can't actually see, and sometimes it is easier to be methodical and prudent than trying to fix a contagion that has spread to all the tanks.
It is for these reasons that great care must be taken in quarantining when using central filtration systems.
At the store we use quick cure in our net dip buckets.
put it outside in a snowbank today...not many bugs will survive that!
That's a good one Sue, freezing is also a good neutralizer.
You would think but more often then not you would be wrong. I shall give you an example, around this time last year a coworker at the airport in Montreal confiscated a very large beetle looking bug from a vacationer coming back from Sunny Mexico. The person had found this rather large critter (a good two inches) on the beach and thought it would be a cool pet for his kid. The coworker also works on occasion at the CBSA college in Rigaud Quebec where all Border Service Officers are trained and he decided to bring the little bug as an example of what people try to bring into the country. Well he arrived the night before and slept at the college and forgot the bug in the car. One would think that a tropical bug would die pretty fast and he in fact thought it was dead when he went to get it the next morning, it was not moving and was as stiff as a board. After a few hours of thawing, the damm thing came back to life and was running around the box he had it in.
So moral of the story I would rather boil the net for 10 minutes which is more likely to kill anything on it then freeze it.
Quote from: beowulf on February 05, 2007, 01:24:01 PM
So moral of the story I would rather boil the net for 10 minutes which is more likely to kill anything on it then freeze it.
I agree. Freezing doesn't sterilize, but it does sanitize a bit, boiling would be the best. I was just trying to keep it simple, and thinking about how wretchedly cold it is outside today!
Wouldn't boiling the net damage it? Has anyone tried this? I just run it under hot water.
Haven't tried boiling my nets, but I have used diluted bleach solution. I thought about using Quick Cure or similar, but I'm so clumsy, I'd end up with blue floors!
Quote from: succinctfish on February 05, 2007, 09:24:37 PM
Wouldn't boiling the net damage it? Has anyone tried this? I just run it under hot water.
What I would do is boil the water, turn it off to let cool for a minute or so and then dunk the net it. I would not do it with a plastic net but a fiber net should not be damaged.
Quick dip in a bleach solution and rinse. That's what I've always done, although I have separate nets too. I can't imagine boiling my nets every time I'm in my tanks - I'm in them way too much, but it would be effective. Bleach does eat away at nets so a brief dip & good rinse is crucial with that method.
As for the bug, many creatures have dormant states that help them survive cold temps. That's why Florida's wildlife isn't totally devastated when they get a freak freeze. Dunno about that particular bug of course, but that's what I'd suspect.
When you use the Sterilized net do you dip you arm in the tank. If so how do you sterilize you arm. I asked this question at the store but nobody had an answer ???
I guess if you are truly worried you could buy one of those long latex arm/gloves that vets use.
I'm not suggesting yo do that of-course, we're talking fish tanks here, not surgery!
I think the first poster just wanted to do a one time sterilization of a net after a bad bout of ick.
YES NORM, Brilliant question, and what do you shampoo with if your tank is so deep you have to dunk your head while working on the bottom. :D
It brings a very good point forward and one that has, in the past, caused me some hair algae and duckweed woes when working on everything all at once.
Just how far do we go, when does it turn from common sense to anal retentive and obsessive behaviour. Are there self help groups for these and other similar questions? ;)
What about the post a week back where the fellow was pictured actually swimming in his tank with shorts and a snorkel, some things just can't really be accounted for. But materials introduced should be kept reasonably clean through judicious use of the world's oldest and most widespread solvent known to dissolve absolutely everything known to man, water.
Quote from: normc on February 07, 2007, 11:27:11 PM
When you use the Sterilized net do you dip you arm in the tank. If so how do you sterilize you arm. I asked this question at the store but nobody had an answer ???
I asked this because all nets at the store are sterilized between use. I didn't expect a reasonable answer ;D