Fish Tanks and Human Disease: FYI

[snapcrackler]

I hear ya

If you got wet up to your shoulders while workin with a 10g than I would say that you are really into your work or have very short arms.

 

[An t-iasg]

I never thought about my getting a disease from the tank, although after reading the article I can certainly see that it's possible, but rare. But my main reason for wearing gloves is so that I don't get hand creams and moisturizer residue into the tank. Not that I slather them on every minute, but I just wanted to ensure that I wasn't dirtying the water somehow by sticking my bare hands/arms in there.

Snapcrackler, my betta is such a little sweetie; he has such a personality. He is very smart too, to eat off a spoon and follow my finger to the food if he misses it. He's my first betta, so I picked pretty good for my first one! The other betta, my second one, died about a month ago, and he wasn't quite as friendly as my first one, and he didn't follow my finger as well. But I still miss him. Oh, and also, I use the spoon to feed when I have fingernail polish on. The bettas saw the red polish and flared -- not good when you're trying to feed them little pellets between your fingers!

 

[snapcrackler]

That is very awesome... my Red/Blue betta is still growing out it's nipped up fins from purchase date and is looking better every day (ya wonder what they went though before you bought them???)

I learn something every day....

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

I came so very close to buying a betta when i was last at the big chain pet store...but i began to wonder....some of them were pretty roughed up...do they recover?? They had one that was a beautiful opal color, but was missing a ton of scales on one side, and the skin there looked like it had ammonia burns...

(kinda off topic i know...)

 

[An t-iasg]

It's so sad, isn't it, those poor bettas in the cups? Anyway, my one betta had ammonia burns on his gills. He was blue, and the burns were a brownish-rust color. Those burns never went away, and stayed discolored. I really don't know about missing scales but their fins can recover. I've used BettaMax, Kanacyn, and Jungle Fungus Eliminator successfully for fin and tail rot. My betta's fins recovered pretty well, but I've also read that the fins and tail may not grow back to their original length or color if they are badly damaged.

 

[Terry]

Alli are you trying to scare the living daylights out of me, in all the years i have been keeping fish i would never be able to think of how many times i have had my hands in one type of aquarium to another.
I dread to think how much aquarium water has passed my lips in all them years, i always syphon the tanks i clean and i have alway sucked on the end of the pipe to get it started. I don't think i will ever change my methods either, but i think i will have to go and buy one of them suits or maybe it's just to late.

 

[TankGirl]

I have worked with a hand surgeon for the past 10 years and in that time he has seen maybe 6 cases of mycobacterium marinum. This is one of those "when you hear hoofbeats coming down the road, think horses, not zebras" kind of infections, and it really is a zebra. However, there have been times where he suspects it (we live in an area where fishing is extremely popular) and questions the poor patient to death about how really certain they are that they did not clean fish recently, or stick themselves with a baited hook or something, and I always have to remind him to ask if they keep a home aquarium. It is very rare, but if you have an unexplained infection that does not clear up with conventional therapies, then definitely remind your caregiver that you keep an aquarium!

 

[snapcrackler]

I agree Tankgirl, and I will continue to get tank water all over me because I am just not going to worry about it. Simply because the "odds are for me".

I will continue to pet my frog without a suit, and I will grab live rocks with bare hands.

I will not, however, pick up a foot long mantis shrimp with my bare hands and place it in my pocket.

So I will draw the line there.

Interesting post about the hand surgeon you work with... very cool!

I happen to have a good sized Z-plasty scar on my right hand from a great hand surgeon who repaired my tendons after they were cut by falling glass in a garage. So I am sorta indebted, I would say, because my hand works perfectly.

 

[shawmutt]

I don't worry too much about my hands before I get into the tank, but I definitely follow the 15-second rule when washing my hands afterwards.

 

[oscarbreeder]

lmao at Alli.
Cool pic.

 

[Tigerlily]

Snapcrackler - I needed your biohazard suit tonight! Gloves would not have helped... I moved my tank and took out the ugf plates - Water everywhere! I kept expecting Kevin Costner to swim in and show me his gills!

I guess I'll have to scrub down now...

 

[Kerrinne]

Wow....interesting article. I will likely not use anything if I happen to reach my hand in there, but I will keep it in mind if something won't heal on my hands.

Honestly, I try not to put my hands in there unless I absolutely have to anyway. I mean...blech..when you think about it...really. I don't know much about these ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, etc; but the fish poop in that water! LOL

 

[Sinuhe]

I don't think most doctors know about the possibility of catching TB from fish. I certainly didn't. A Finnish aquarium book said it's possible, but very rare, and the writer of the book apparently had never heard of an actual case. All Finnish kids get a tuberculosis vaccination shortly after they've been born, and then later in life there is a test they use to determine if it's still working. It's still possible to get TB, tho. However, tuberculosis in Finland is pretty rare, and is mostly seen on people with a weakened immuse system for one reason or the other, like alcoholics.

 

[Loren]

Good article, Ally. Particularily since I've just had a TB scare with my little gourami (still can't rule it out for certain, but would like to believe I was just a poor dietician). No sores on my hands, but I'll be watching. lEven after all that, I still prefer the 'hands on' approach, so unless I've an open wound I can't see me doing the glove thing. However, I think in the future if one of my fish is ailing, I'll glove up even if I have no cuts myself.

Very thought-provoking article. Thank you for posting it. You find some real good reads I've noticed!

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

Just a note for Sinuhe...the kind of mycobacterium that can be in your aquarium is not the same that causes human tuberculosis. It can still cause a nasty infection, though, through a cut or sore on your hand.

 

[Sinuhe]

Hmmm, yeah. The articles says the TB test may turn slightly positive, tho. I wonder if the TB vaccination provides any protection towards the marine TB.

 

[Guest]

Good info, sure hope I never catch that! I play rough with my kitty cats, so scratches are common.

I know me, I'll never change my ways, hands in one tank or another almost daily.

About a year ago, I read a post (don't recall if it was here or another board) about a lady who gat a bad weird infection from smashing snails against the glass. She got a cut from snail shell and had to go through all kinds of medical treatment. I don't know for sure, but I'd bet it was this same disease.

Since I have puffers now and have to smash snails, I think I will try to do that in a safer manner.

 

[TankGirl]

I will not, however, pick up a foot long mantis shrimp with my bare hands and place it in my pocket.

I have read some amazing articles about the damage that shrimp can do - not that I was ever tempted to pick one up....

 

[Allivymar]

Here's the link to the snail smashing article: http://www.jayscustomcomputers.com/wilma/Articles/page14.html

She never actually says what the infection is; I'm guessing septicemia or some sort of staph infection. Yuck. I'd rather let the loaches play Chthulu loach with em anyway

 

[Tigerlily]

People actually smash snails with their bare hands to get rid of them? eewwwwww! No danger of that here!