Tropical fish diseases passed to humans

[Still Waters]

If you keep tropical fish in tanks at home or at work you may be at risk from bacterial infections and life-threatening diseases.

A study from Oregon State University has discovered a ‘disturbing’ amount of tropical fish are already resistant to antibiotics.

This means fish being transported from foreign countries are carrying bacterial infections that cannot be treated and can spread to humans.

http://www.dailymail...pical-fish.html

[Simbi Laveau]

O_O

I've kept fish for decades . They respond to antibiotics in my experience ,and I've never gotten sick .I don't know anyone who's gotten sick.

Bizarre .Just more animal diseases are coming to get us .Birds,pigs,cats,now fish . There will be a vaccine for it in no time ,I am sure.

Edited January 17, 2013 by Simbi Laveau

[PlanB]

I'm sure I've caught and beaten every fish/man communicable disease out there by now without even realizing it.

[Simbi Laveau]

Well I was a bit nervous when I fished out whatever was still alive ,and cleaned the tank,when my box fish died .

I had the horned box fish ,which release toxic poison if they die ,maybe 85% of the time.

The stuff is neurotoxic ,and kills everything else in the tank .

I came home,and god help me,they looked like they died in agony. Seriously .Fish with their faces srewed up in horror.

My scissor gobies ,and ....I think an anemone were alive . I just dumped some fresh salt water into a pail ,and fished them out.Bare hands .

Everything else died . Crabs,fire shrimp ,the other gobies .

I love box fish,I woul never get one again .

I've also been stung by anemones ..

..never,ever had an incident with fresh tanks ,at all ,and I've had problems with fin rot ,fungus ,bacterial hemorrhagic infections .......I do cleaning bare hands ,up to my elbows.

Never had an issue,of any kind .

[Simbi Laveau]

OK,I checked bettatalk ,as she's a friend of mine,and very proactive about the latest fish issues.

I can tell you,this was *not* on her disease page,say two years ago .

I use her diseases page as a bible for my Betta tanks ,for years . I have bred bettas .

She added this recently I assume,and she notes that it only affects you if you use bare hands ,in a very badly contaminated tank ,or are immuno deficient ,like someone with AIDS ,or undergoing chemotherapy .

I saw it on a few other pages as well. Prior to this,the only fatal fish disease ,almost 100% of the time,has been dropsy ,which I've dealt with a few times.

She says this is 100% fatal . Dropsy,albeit rare ,can be cured if you do the right combo of antibiotics ,and the fish isn't too far gone .

Fish TB

:

DISEASE: TUBERCULOSIS

uGENERAL INFO:

This is probably the deadliest of fish diseases, yet most people have never heard of it or know little to nothing about it. It can mimic a large variety of other diseases, making it hard to diagnosis. Only an autopsy can confirm mycobacteriosis. This is a slow blooming disease that may take up to 6 months to affect fish. Ultimately, the bacteria will attack the internal organs, especially liver and kidneys and cause organ failure (followed by sudden death). This is the only fish disease known to be contagious to man. The good news is, unless you have a very infected tank and stick your hands in there and have a big cut or a weak immune system, you will probably never catch it from sick fish. And even if you did, it will not kill you, mostly give you a nasty skin infection which may take a long time to heal. The bug does not like people much (it is a temperature thing), and seems to remain on the skin surface only. Also, just so you don't become all paranoid now, I must add that there has been VERY FEW documented cases of fish TB infecting people. And in most cases, as I said, the people either had a deep cut or immune system deficiency. The only reason I am mentioning all this is so you are aware of it. Don't worry, Mr. Betta is not out to get ya! LOL. Fish tuberculosis can be resident in water but has also been linked to live foods (researchers found cases of live foods infected by tuberculosis etc...), and is mainly passed by injection (eating contaminated live food, or eating a dead fish that was a carrier, etc...) Now you can understand the importance of staying away from fish stores where you can see a lot of dead fish! Pick your fish suppliers very carefully and favor a store or breeder that has high hygiene standards in their fish rooms or stores. As for me, as an added precaution, I have decided to not feed any live foods to my bettas (live worms etc), just to be on the safe side. ( However, microworms, vinegar eel as well as any home hatched brine shrimp are 100% safe and mycobacteriosis free ) ).

uSYMPTOMS:

Affected fish will start deteriorating for no apparent reasons, losing weight (or not), showing deformities (or not), having raised scales (or not), fin and body rot (or not), gray lesions (or not), red patches inside the belly (or not). Sometimes they will seem fine one day and be oh so very DEAD the next. The one thing all the bettas affected by this terrible diseases have in common is that they will all (as in every single last one of them) die. So if you suddenly find a large number of dead fish in your tanks, and more die each day, there is a strong possibility you might be at war with fish tuberculosis (careful though, other bacterial infections can also have similar dramatic death rates).

uTREATMENT:

I am sorry to break the news to you but you will NOT win that war because there is NO cure. Furthermore you will probably have to throw away all bowl, tank and fish gear because regular bleach does not kill this nasty bug. My advice? Stay away from live food and from sickly looking pet store bettas and as I said select your fish suppliers carefully. Oh, and do a lot of praying .

[PlanB]

I've dealt with pretty much all of the same issues as Simbi and never got sick, as far as I know. Though I've never had a marine tank. That sounds rough, I can kind of relate. I accidentally killed an entire koi pond once. Treated it with algaecide and the pump happened to break that night. Dying algae combined with no means of aeration suffocated all of the fish. Truly, my biggest failure in the caring for life.

Quarantining fish in a separate tank is a good idea before introducing to your main aquarium, but not many people do it. Also, never let the store water from transporting your fish into your tank. I imagine this is how a lot of diseases/parasites are introduced. Don't overcrowd, overfeed and make sure they have the species-specific water parameters to keep them from getting stressed.

Might as well use this thread as an excuse to show some fish:

[Simbi Laveau]

I've dealt with pretty much all of the same issues as Simbi and never got sick, as far as I know. Though I've never had a marine tank. That sounds rough, I can kind of relate. I accidentally killed an entire koi pond once. Treated it with algaecide and the pump happened to break that night. Dying algae combined with no means of aeration suffocated all of the fish. Truly, my biggest failure in the caring for life.

Quarantining fish in a separate tank is a good idea before introducing to your main aquarium, but not many people do it. Also, never let the store water from transporting your fish into your tank. I imagine this is how a lot of diseases/parasites are introduced. Don't overcrowd, overfeed and make sure they have the species-specific water parameters to keep them from getting stressed.

Might as well use this thread as an excuse to show some fish:

Owwww,pretty....

And an entire koi pond ..I would want to kill myself . Seriously .

Always wanted a koi pond too....

Marine tanks are harder to maintain ,if they are small.

Larger is easier . Takes longer to prep though .

Ive never been able to keep a mandarin goby ,no matter how long I seed it with micro organisms .

Always wanted a seahorse tank too....

I had to get rid of all my tanks . Last one,a year ago .

I just cannot afford it now .

And I saved the scissor gobies . They are awesome fish .

I love rainbow threadfins,and fancy tailed bettas.

Giant bettas are fun too.

I bred bunches of incredible colored guppies.

I miss it...but I just cannot do it now.