# Fish and microwaves



## dvorak (Mar 12, 2012)

NO not INSIDE a microwave... Ok maybe a bad title.
Anyways we got a new tank from an old friend and we're trying to figure out where to put it. One spot is on the kitchen counter, next to the microwave. Would being that close in proximity to a microwave hurt or bother the fish?


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

I don't think so. Maybe if it was on constantly. Try keeping it 2 feet away and it should be good. Check with others though. I would also think it would matter what type of fish you were keeping in it.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The old amana radar ranges were shielded with lead and you didn't have to worry at all. Modern cheap ones aren't as protected. But the intensity follows an inverse square rule, so it drops off pretty quickly and water is an excellent absorber (the microwaves are tuned to heat water), so worst case you tank warms up. You won't have any fish with cancer.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

The radiation emitted from a microwave oven is not harmful to animals. It will heat up water, fat, iron, and proteins. That is the worst thing that could happen, a slightly warmer water. Microwaves are also very tuned. If you modified a microwave so that the door could stay open when you cooked your food, you would unlikely feel anything until you got very close to the microwave. The microwaves are designed to only cook things in the very center of it. It's why most microwaves have a rotating dish, they often times cant even heat the corners of the unit very well. 

I kept an aquarium under a microwave (it was so close of a fit, the lid touched the microwave). I had absolutely no issues with any of the fish in that tank. It was actually one of my easiest tanks to date.


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## Amelia26 (Aug 6, 2011)

bmlbytes... im sooo glad u wasnt murdered by voice talent of the smurfs!!! lol!! jp.. sorry had to do it!!! ;-)


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