Unbelievable

[Dual45s]

I was out of town this weekend and came home to find a pretty nasty scene. Turns out the wife had a friend over who brought the new baby and little girl. Long story short, we have the foaming dishsoap and while the little girl was mildly ignored while the new baby was oochie-coo'd over, she thought the soap was the coolest thing ever. "The fishies were in a bath but there was no soap." She got onto a footstool and pumped the soap into my 20 (US) gal freshwater tropical tank. I know this isn't the several thousand dollar (pound) travesty that some of you have faced, but I liked my 2 fish.

I've heard that once soap gets into your tank, there's no way to completely clean it out. Does this mean my entire setup is toast? Filter, heater, gravel, tank...etc? I'd like to restart a tank, but if my current equipment will just continue to kill fish there's no point. Thanks all.

 

[Spooky76]

Poo. Kids eh !!

Well im not sure about that really. I would have thought get the fish out, clean everything and put it back.
I suppose the soap will kill all bacteria in the tank / filter etc ? Just means starting again, but I would think the fish will die if left in.

 

[merry78]

ooohhhh man, i'm so sorry to hear that, you must be soo annoyed.
I reckon that most things should be able to be rinsed clean, except for your filter sponges.
Having said that, i have no experience of this, (thank heaven), so i can't be sure.
Best of luck.......

 

[*Fishkies*]

Soap is not that bad, as long is everything is rinsed out very throughly. And then allow it to dry completely and see if there is any residue left. As for soap in the filter, that could be the downfall. You may want to consider a new filter, as it is always suggested to never but chemicals besides the ones made for fish in the filter.

Sorry to hear about the mis-hap. Best of luck when you continue fishkeeping.

 

[Dual45s]

Poo. Kids eh !!

Well im not sure about that really. I would have thought get the fish out, clean everything and put it back.
I suppose the soap will kill all bacteria in the tank / filter etc ? Just means starting again, but I would think the fish will die if left in.

Sorry Spooky, I didn't make it very clear. My wife isn't a fish fan and didn't pay any attention to the tank so they were in soapy water all weekend and didn't make it. Very sad.

On the bright side, anyone have any ideas for a 20 (US) gal tank?

 

[ArauraDiscus]

I would kick that girls parents butts. Sorry for your loss. I make sure that my tanks are at least 4 feet in the air, even though we very seldom have little kids coming to the house, but we do have dogs.

 

[*Fishkies*]

Well now that your looking for stocking suggestions, what are you interested in? There are many different tetras, livebearers, and other groups. As for specific fish...

Swordtails, Platies, Gouramis, Mollies, Neon Tetras, Glowlight Tetras, Cardinal Tetras, Black Skirt Tetra and more.
Are you interested in small fish or more medium sized fish?

 

[Dual45s]

I would kick that girls parents butts. Sorry for your loss. I make sure that my tanks are at least 4 feet in the air, even though we very seldom have little kids coming to the house, but we do have dogs.

The mom is incredibly sweet and really won't stop apologizing. It's hard to be mad when she feels so bad about it. My tank is pretty high off the ground, but like I said she pulled over the footstool. I guess it could have been much worse if she was hanging onto the tank and the stool slipped out from under her.

Well now that your looking for stocking suggestions, what are you interested in? There are many different tetras, livebearers, and other groups. As for specific fish...
Swordtails, Platies, Gouramis, Mollies, Neon Tetras, Glowlight Tetras, Cardinal Tetras, Black Skirt Tetra and more.
Are you interested in small fish or more medium sized fish?

I'd prefer one or two medium fish to a group of small ones. I like planted aquariums, and I guess I'd prefer somewhat aggressive over passive. I don't know if anything fitting those description can be happy in a 20. This may be the beginning of a large tank project that uses the 20 for a sump. We'll see. I'd be willing to hear any suggestions, especially with pictures of ideas. Thanks everyone, I don't post here often, but I lurk almost constantly.

 

[ArauraDiscus]

I would kick that girls parents butts. Sorry for your loss. I make sure that my tanks are at least 4 feet in the air, even though we very seldom have little kids coming to the house, but we do have dogs.

The mom is incredibly sweet and really won't stop apologizing. It's hard to be mad when she feels so bad about it. My tank is pretty high off the ground, but like I said she pulled over the footstool. I guess it could have been much worse if she was hanging onto the tank and the stool slipped out from under her.

Well now that your looking for stocking suggestions, what are you interested in? There are many different tetras, livebearers, and other groups. As for specific fish...
Swordtails, Platies, Gouramis, Mollies, Neon Tetras, Glowlight Tetras, Cardinal Tetras, Black Skirt Tetra and more.
Are you interested in small fish or more medium sized fish?

I'd prefer one or two medium fish to a group of small ones. I like planted aquariums, and I guess I'd prefer somewhat aggressive over passive. I don't know if anything fitting those description can be happy in a 20. This may be the beginning of a large tank project that uses the 20 for a sump. We'll see. I'd be willing to hear any suggestions, especially with pictures of ideas. Thanks everyone, I don't post here often, but I lurk almost constantly.

Yeah it's not too big of a deal, unless they do that to my discus. Then I'd go tarzan on the parents. lol