10 Gallon Tank Soap put in classroom tank :(

[PurpleFish]

Long story short: a student put soap in my tank when I had a sub and all the fish died.

What I'm wondering is if all of the decor, plants, heater, and tank need to be thrown out due to the soap. He put enough in that the sponge filter apparently looked like a dish sponge full of soap (I threw out the whole filter). Is there a way to save the plants and/or heater and tank? Or is it not worth the risk? I don't want to kill more fish.

 

[bgarthe]

I feel for your sad story. I taught biology for 35 years and having a sub was one of my biggest fears for this reason. I spent quite a while making clear to the students that trouble with a sub will be triple trouble with me. I suspect that a super thorough rinsing will take care of things. Don’t forget to rinse or replace the gravel/sand as well.

I hope you found out the name of the student who did this and can make him accountable. Cruelty to animals is both morally wrong and could be a sign of potential trouble for that pupil later in life.

 

[KadenSlone04]

Put that student up for adoption so that you can use the money to buy a new tank.

 

[Fishfur]

Long story short: a student put soap in my tank when I had a sub and all the fish died.

What I'm wondering is if all of the decor, plants, heater, and tank need to be thrown out due to the soap. He put enough in that the sponge filter apparently looked like a dish sponge full of soap (I threw out the whole filter). Is there a way to save the plants and/or heater and tank? Or is it not worth the risk? I don't want to kill more fish.

That’s disturbing but all is not lost. But just so it’s clear, was it bar soap or a liquid like dish detergent or handwash?

If it was liquid, thorough rinsing until rinse water has no persistent bubbles even when given a hard shaking, is all that’s necessary. Bit of a chore though a hose outside could speed things up. Heaters, glass, hard decorations, all just need rinsing.

Plants have a chance - gentle rinsing until the water is bubble free should get all the detergent off and hopefully they will recover.

If it was bar soap it can still be rinsed off but it will likely take using some liquid detergent to remove any soap scum that may have formed - so hard surfaces may need a bit of scrubbing.

 

[PurpleFish]

Yes, the culprit is known and will be doing restitution activities with me and spending some time with a counselor. LOL on adopting him out tho!!

It was liquid soap. Great to know that rinsing well will work! I’ll have the student help me.

Thank you to all of you who responded. So wonderful to have access to so many knowledgeable people! I feel better and cancelled the order of a new tank. That will save the kid from some of the restitution I planned for him.

 

[Redshark1]

Sorry to hear about that, it can be disheartening.

I have been a volunteer at my local primary school since 2000.

I ran a donated aquarium in the main reception area of the school for 20 years until repeated poisoning of the fish forced me to stop.

At least the kids enjoyed the fish and saw how to keep fish properly for a period of 20 years. That's something.

 

[KadenSlone04]

Yes, the culprit is known and will be doing restitution activities with me and spending some time with a counselor. LOL on adopting him out tho!!

It was liquid soap. Great to know that rinsing well will work! I’ll have the student help me.

Thank you to all of you who responded. So wonderful to have access to so many knowledgeable people! I feel better and cancelled the order of a new tank. That will save the kid from some of the restitution I planned for him.

Yeah haha. You may have to explain to each class or place a sign to say how soap and overfeeding are dangerous to fish. Some kids may not know better and mistakenly think that soap is good for fish because it's good for us (when we wash our hands). They don't realize that a closer analogue is breathing in soap all day.