# Can Poison Ivy effect the aquarium?



## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

I know this is a wierd question. But I am just worried about putting my arms in the tank since well..........I have poison ivy on both of my forearms and I was curious if it can effect the aquarium. I have heard that it can't from one of my LFS's and now I am just going to clarify it with you guys. The LFS said that it can't but that (and I knew this part would definately effect the tank) the lotions and other poison ivy treatments will. Also I was curious if I used poison ivy soap in the shower and that it was washed off if it would be ok or not? I was just curious because of the urushiol oils. Thanks!


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

Man , the trouble you get yourself into CL  . I would agree with the LFS on that . If you need to do anything with the tanks , you should either wait till the poison ivy has healed or get someone to help you. I don't think I would risk getting anymore stuff in your tanks after whats happened to them recently. Just not worth the possible trouble.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Oils don't wash off in the shower ... while mine wasn't posion ivy per se, I did have an allergic skin reaction on my arms once, and had to keep said arms out of the tanks while using the oil based cream medications. And since I was working with aquariums at the time, it made things ... difficult.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

> Man , the trouble you get yourself into CL . I would agree with the LFS on that . If you need to do anything with the tanks , you should either wait till the poison ivy has healed or get someone to help you. I don't think I would risk getting anymore stuff in your tanks after whats happened to them recently. Just not worth the possible trouble.


I know :? . That's exactly what I thought! Even though the LFS said that it would be fine I still don't want to take the chance! I just wanted to see what you guys would say and see if I was being silly or smart! I am going to wait then until its all gone! But man its a HUGE pain!!

Thanks guys!


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

> Oils don't wash off in the shower ... while mine wasn't posion ivy per se, I did have an allergic skin reaction on my arms once, and had to keep said arms out of the tanks while using the oil based cream medications. And since I was working with aquariums at the time, it made things ... difficult.


The Urushiol Oil is on the Poison Ivy leaf. It's what causes the irritation on the skin. When you rub against the leaf the Urushiol gets on your skin and the irritation is caused when a person is allergic to it. And I was just asking because the Urushioil oils can transfer to other people, clothing, or anything from your skin and from the irritation. [/quote]


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

I was talking about the oils in the lotions and such they give you to relieve the itching. :thumb: I was not allowed in the tanks at all, it would have killed the fishies (I wasn't worried about my arms of course.)


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

So what were you doing playing in the poison ivy?


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

OH!! Ok!! Sorry Dwarfpike! I got confused!  

I was at my dads business cleaning weeds off of a fence and we both seen the vine and we knew what it was but my dad wanted me to chop it in sections to kill it and said to be careful so I grabed some gloves and some tree cutters and tried cutting the vine and the particles from the vine when I started cutting it must of landed on my arms. I had a t-shirt on. Second time I got poison ivy from my dads business. :roll: Poison Ivy is GREAT stuff man!! :wink: ................NOT!! :roll: :lol:


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## naegling23 (Jan 4, 2008)

I dont think the poison ivy itself will hurt the fish.

What happens with poison ivy is that you contact an oil on the leaf. This causes an allergic reaction, and thats what those bumps and stuff are. As for your fish tank. I dont think the poison ivy oil, or your own skin oil and puss will hurt the tank. Its not really anything different from what you normally put into the tank when you put your hand in there.

But....

You are treating your poison ivy with creams, lotions, oils, etc to combat the itching and rash. Those I would not want within 15 ft. of my tank. And I dont know if/how well you could wash them off. For that reason, I would avoid putting my hands in the tank until you stop treating your rash.

FYI - If you contact the poison Ivy plant, and this is the catch, you know you came into contact with it, you can always wash it off. Im not sure how long it takes to actually affect you, but if you wash it off within a short enough time frame, you wont get the rash. For people with pools, jumping in those work great. I know it doesnt help you now, but maybe in the future it will come in handy.


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

> Second time I got poison ivy from my dads business


 Next time tell him to mess with the poison ivy , or he'll have to take care of your tanks. If he ends up having to do a bunch of water changes , feedings , ect with you riding his tail the whole time , I'd bet you wouldn't have to worry much about the poison ivy anymore. :lol:


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

> I dont think the poison ivy itself will hurt the fish.
> 
> What happens with poison ivy is that you contact an oil on the leaf. This causes an allergic reaction, and thats what those bumps and stuff are. As for your fish tank. I dont think the poison ivy oil, or your own skin oil and puss will hurt the tank. Its not really anything different from what you normally put into the tank when you put your hand in there.
> 
> ...


Yeah the oils on the plant is called urushiol. And its also found on Oak and Sumac. Not trying to sound snotty or mean but yeah I knew all of that but thanks for the info though!  Yeah after I had finished my job (and the rule is after you have come in contact with poison ivy or other you have 20 min to wash if off from the skin which will either prevent you getting it or minimize the chances.) I immediately started washing my arms and such. I have read depending on the person it can take only a few hours - 2 days before the rash is present. When I found out I had it I jumped in my pool right when I got home! And well.........I am going to do that right after this post. Also I have been using Ivy-dry spray and it works WONDERS!!

Im sure the poison ivy itself wont hurt the tanks but I am still going to wait!



> Next time tell him to mess with the poison ivy , or he'll have to take care of your tanks. If he ends up having to do a bunch of water changes , feedings , ect with you riding his tail the whole time , I'd bet you wouldn't have to worry much about the poison ivy anymore.


Hahahaha LMAO!!! :lol: :lol: I have told him already that I WILL not do it again!! And that he will have to find someone else to do it! :lol: But thats a good idea I will keep that in mind! :wink: :lol:

Here's an update though on my Salvini!! My Salvini pair in the 55 are courting as we speak! Just started this morning! So hopefully I will have some more Sal fry and can have a clean slate!  Also I had ordered 3 Female Salvini from Jeff Rapps. And they arrived over the weekend! My girlfriend brought them over as they came with her order! She ordered 6 Mixteco Blue and she said that she has a pair of them already! I showed her some pictures of them after her Nano's died which was my fault with the alage fix :roll: . And she loved them! I thought they would be the best for her because they are colorful, mildly aggressive, hardy and tolerable, and in demand! However, one question how many pairs could she keep in a 75 gal? Thanks!


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## Big Vine (Feb 26, 2007)

A good buddy of mine seems to suffer (greatly at times) from poison ivy, and I always just laugh at him. See, there's been several times where it's happened when we've both gone through the same woods while out hunting, yet I was somehow completely unaffected! Sucks to be him...
...and YOU, apparently! :lol: 


CiChLiD LoVeR128 said:


> 6 Mixteco Blue and she said that she has a pair of them already!
> 
> ...one question how many pairs could she keep in a 75 gal?


I don't know about 'could,' but I'd highly recommend she just stick with one pair.
(the whole point of all this was to start her out with something relatively easy and stress-free after all, right?  ).

BV


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## a7oneal (Dec 30, 2004)

I had some poison ivy slap me in the face one time... it was growing on a fence, and as we were going out, the guy in front of me brushed up against it, and it flew back and hit me almost square in the mouth. I don't seem to be currently allergic to it, but you can build up sensitivity to it, so *knock on wood*.

I concur that the easiest thing would be to keep a single pair, but I could see two pair being fine in there.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

> A good buddy of mine seems to suffer (greatly at times) from poison ivy, and I always just laugh at him. See, there's been several times where it's happened when we've both gone through the same woods while out hunting, yet I was somehow completely unaffected! Sucks to be him...
> ...and YOU, apparently!


Thanks! Thats very kind of you! :lol: I have gotten poison ivy around the eye one time and my eye was sullen shut for at least a week! It sucked HORRIBLY!! Eye mucas and the puss from the irritation combined makeing string like gunk across my eye! I can still feel it at times! Even though its not there! That's the worst case I have ever gotten! All others have been generally mild! And my poison ivy is doing A WHOLE lot better! 

Good thing you didn't get it A7oneal that would suck having it on your face!

Good point guys on the Mixteco Pairs! However, I did read in an article that you can keep a small colony of them in a 40 gal. But that is a good point to just have a pair in the 75 gal! After all that is what I was aiming for to have a stress free setup! Actually she just picked up a 38 gal from an LFS that is relocating and has everything in the store for 40% off now! It was the same exact 38 I had been eyeing! So maybe she could get a 2nd pair going in the 38! If she wants to that is! I am going to see here soon if they have any 30 gal L's or anything in that region! Wish me luck!


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