Help! Can’t Get Clove Oil Off My Skin!

I sadly had to euthanize my poor fish tonight. I tried so hard to save him, but he was in the advanced stages of dropsy and I had no choice but to put an end to his suffering. It was horrible and I’m still in tears over having to take his life. But it seemed like it was the best move for my fish. I couldn’t continue to selfishly keep him alive. I used the clove oil method. It’s the only option that has ever seemed humane to me.

Anyway, I need to do a water change in my 60 gallon tonight. There’s no way to skip it. My cycle was lost and I still haven’t been able to get it back. Large daily water changes is the only thing I can do to keep the ammonia from hurting my fish. I can’t afford to skip a day.

However, I cannot get the smell of clove oil off of my hands and I don’t want to put any of the deadly oil my tank. Especially because my fish love to nibble by hands and arms when I’m cleaning. I have tried everything! Soap and water, many times. I even tried coconut oil... I don’t know why I thought maybe fighting an oil with another oil might be the solution. But no matter what I do, I still smell the clove oil so ridiculously strong on my hands. What do I do? Will it hurt the fish in my tank? My hands are in the water for at least an hour when I change the water.

Can someone please tell me what I can do? How can I protect the rest of my fish?

 

As long as you’ve thoroughly washed your hands, it’s fine. In low doses, clove oil is used as an antisthetic and becomes lethal in higher dosages.

 

As long as you’ve thoroughly washed your hands, it’s fine. In low doses, clove oil is used as an antisthetic and becomes lethal in higher dosages.

Thank you!

 

This may sound crazy, but detergent could work? Just be sure to throughly rinse your hands afterwards, to ensure that none gets into your tank...

 

Try some vinegar to cut the smell?