wisecrackerz

I know most mammalian diseases don't affect fish, but I'm still concerned. I was supposed to to some tank swapping tonight, but I'm sick (flu). If I'm sick, could I make my fish sick by putting my hands in the water, or touching their food? These fish really do need to be moved asap, should I get a friend to swap my fish for me?

aquarist48

Hello Wisecrackerz. I suggest just washing your hands (no soap!) under warm water for a bit and I think everything will be fine. (if you're feeling up to it that is). Best wishes and get well soon! (maybe the response isn't too late)
Ken

wisecrackerz

thanks for the response, we did move them last night; I just had my boyfriend do the actual moving part.

aquarist48

Oh good. I'm glad you had help!
Ken

michaelb323

I will most likely get secondguessed by someone but I will attempt to answer this question in case someone else is LED here by google looking for an answer. The correct answer is yes and no. Does your dog get sick from your flu? Until bird or dog flu mutated was it able to be transmitted to humans? The answer is no, however, you can become a pathogen and vise versa with your fish.

A great example might be an infection caused by a certain type of bacteria. Say your finger had an open cut just under your fingernail, and you stuck your hand into the tank. if a fish has an infection caused by bacteria and that fish carried that bacteria over to your open cut, you could get an infection from your fish. The opposite scenario also applies and is the biggest reason behind stressing a fish, and removing slime, why you never grab a fish.

The above is also why it is an awesome idea to wash your hands with antibacterial soap when you are done working with tank filters or cleaning gravel.

click

Better be safe than sorry. You don't want to be the first case of fish influenza, can you imagine...everyone on this forum would be at risk

...I can only imagine the spring news "new flu strain F1SH is affecting tanks all over the continent, the symptoms: fish have running nose, sore throat and they are sneezing all the time. They also get a fever"

/endjoke

fishpie

seriously! you can't even pass the flu on to a monkey let alone a fish go ahead! what do you think your a bio hazard bomb

michaelb323

How was AIDS passed to humans?(Virus)
How was dog and bird flu passed to humans?(Virus)