Question: Is the stuff inside an aquarium thermometer toxic?

[muffinhead]

Hi Guys

Just a quick question. My Axolotl absolutely hates the thermometer in his tank. He is constantly bashing his head into it and we are hearing the "tink tink tink" against the glass all the time.

Well this morning I woke up and went to say good morning and do the water change that I do weekly and I freaked out because I thought that my boy axolotl had suddenly started laying eggs and that he was in fact a she because there were tiny little black dots all over the bottom of the tank. Without thinking too much about it, because I was half asleep, I did a 1/3 water change as planned and went back to bed to tell my partner that Clarence was in fact Clarice.

About half an hour later we were inspecting him - with the light on -t o see if we had gotten it wrong when I noticed shards of glass at the bottom of his tank. What had happened is he had headbutted the thermometer one too many times and it had smashed releasing the tiny black weights it has at the bottom.

Basically I'm worried that he might have ingested some of the thermometer gunk and I really don't want him to get sick.

Any advice?

 

[xxianxx]

A standard thermomater has mercury in it, ive no idea whats in an aquarium thermometer but i would play on the safe side and remove the axolotl and do a 100% water change. If you can syphon of the contents of the thermometer and dispose of it seperately,not down your sink as you dont want mercury entering the water course, contact your local council for safe disposal, also use gloves ,dont get it on your clothes, dont inhale any potential vapours mercury is a toxic heavy metal. If you have the original packaging for the thermometer it should tell you if its mercury, it may be something else less toxic but its best to err on the side of caution if your not sure.

 

[Carl]

I think modern thermometers usually use at type of alcohol instead of mercury either way it's not good for your axolotl...

 

[SludgeMunkey]

Axies tend to think floating thermometers are food. They are ballasted with lead, and the stuff inside is dyed alcohol.

If you are worried about it, remove it.

 

[hacelepues]

Modern thermometers don't use mercury anymore. It's just dyed alcohol, and a tiny amount at that.
The little balls are a metal, not sure which but it's a rule of thumb not to have exposed metallic objects in your tank.
Get rid of the glass and metal balls. Do a partial water change to dilute the alcohol (no need to do a full change, it'll hurt your cycle a lot more than the little bit of alcohol that's probably already evaporated).
If the balls are as big as most are, there is little risk of impaction. But if you are worried about him having ingested any, put him in some tupperware, fridge him, and keep an eye out for any balls popping up on the bottom. If you do fridge, you need to do 100% water changes daily, and to keep the filter running in your tank.

 

[muffinhead]

Hi,

I siphoned out the glass and the lead/metal balls yesterday morning and did about 1/3 water change. There is no discoloration to the water and Clarence seems as happy and active and hungry as ever! When I discovered the broken thermometer it still had about half the metal balls in it and it didn't seem like much (if any) of the red liquid had leaked out. I examined it after I got it out of the tank and nothing leaked out of it except some more metal balls. They are really small, only slightly bigger than the grains of sand I have in the tank. I have now got one of the sticker thermometers on the outside of the glass which I do find slightly unreliable but I guess its better than nothing!

But since we thought Clarence had laid eggs we have been looking between his legs much more closely and now we actually think we might have gotten it wrong and he could indeed be a she. The picture isn't fantastic but what do you guys think?

 

[iChris]

keep a eye on your axie.

I lost one to a rusted and cracked thermometer. it was in a stainless steel bracket and was made for aquarium use too!