Fish Tuberculosis

The one thing you think will never happen to you...I've got fish TB in my 10 gallon. Just lost a Guppy and another looks like she's going. :'( I know to be very careful and not put my hand in the tank if I have a cut. I am looking into a medication which may help. If anyone has any help for me I would really appreciate it. I just hope I don't lose all my fishies. :'(

 

I am sorry about your fish. I don't have anything to offer to help, just a question...how do you know it is fish TB? What are the symptoms?

Good luck,
Leora

 

It's kind of hard to diagnose as it mimicks other diseases. Some signs are bloating, fins rotting I think, and seemingly healthy fish suddenly dying for no reason. There can be other symptoms too I think. Chickadee thinks it is fish TB too so maybe you could ask her. I don't really know much about the disease.

 

Keep the water as crisp as you can, and follow this guide:



If you can't find any of those vitamins/medications, I'd suggest feedings of spirulina flakes and other well-balanced (think OmegaOne) foods, soaked in garlic, if possible.

A quarantine tank would be preferred. Heck, it might even be a viable excuse to get another tank

 

I am sorry to hear this Omorrokh I know you think it's TB, and maybe it is, but I hope it's not. And if it is, I really wish for your fish to get well. Is it curable at all?

 

Thank you, Marc for the information. I was looking for something like that to post, but couldn't finkd it in print. I have it in my books, but we cannot put the articles on the internet due to copyright infringement problems possibly so there are times I am at a loss for material.

Omorrokh had mentioned the first platy had just wasted away and the presenting symptom of the problem she has had has been the sunken looking body of the fish and the appearance of a type of finrot looking situation. She also mentioned the fish had just layed at the bottom of the tank for days and not been eating. The fish in question has died, but now there is another involved with the same symptoms. Is that correct?

I am hoping that the rest of the tank will be okay and I am sorry to hear that you lost your guppy. It is a horrible thing to lose the little ones. My sympathies. Keep us informed of how things are going or if there is anything we can do. You know that we care about you and we will have you in our thoughts.

Rose

 

Was the Guppy holding it's mouth open and never closing it? Any other odd behavior?

 

Wow...my Guppy who died was showing six of those eight possible symptoms...
loss of appetite
fish remains in seclusion and out of site
rapid breathing (respiration)
eyes appear to be cloudy or "popping out" -- didn't see that one
fish lies on its side near bottom of aquarium
stomach of fish appears to be sunken
whittish blotches on exterior -- nope
degraded and frayed fins

No, she wasn't holding her mouth open as far as I know...why? I noticed that before developing these symptoms she got really bloated and was that was for a long time. Then out of nowhere she started dying and was gone within probably a week. Now every fish is getting bloated.

Yes, Rose, my Guppy Sunspot looks the same as Corona did right before she died--all thin and sunken in, and fraying fins. :'( Just she isn't laying on the bottom like Corona did--she's more floating at the top. Actually I have noticed several fish doing that--floating at the top, with their back all bent or arched. I think I read somewhere else that that can happen if they are not getting enough vitamins and you should feed veggie flakes to prevent it, but I am feeding those. Oh, this is so confusing!

I am feeding Omega One--veggie and regular tropical flakes, Marc. Would the veggie flakes be pretty much the same as spirulina flakes?...oh wait I'm pretty sure they contain spirulina. How do you soak flakes in garlic?

I think one of my problems is my high nitrates. The tank is unplanted and overstocked. I accidently overstocked it, really long story, but I was planning to move the Otos to my new 20 gallon tank, and then I was thinking of getting a bigger tank for the livebearers, but now i've got TB so no way I'm moving any of the fish to other tanks. I don't know what I'm going to do. (the q tank is only 5 gallons so no point in moving them all there...) At least school is out thursday...after that maybe I could double water changes or something.

Wow this post is turning into a novel so I better stop here. Thanks all for the support.

Oh, one more thing, Rose--what was that Sulfa you were talking about? Any idea where to get it?

 

Thanks Marc that is a really good link. The only thing my book on fish diseases adds that's different is "Don't accidentally drink the aquarium water". I'm guessing here it means when starting the siphon
0morrokh - I'm so sorry your fish are sick.
Carol

 

The sulfa is not going to help your fish in this case I am afraid, but it is called Triple Sulfa and it can be found at almost any of the online pet houses.  I think I got mine through .  I have in desperation at times when I was needing professional assistance, called and asked their people what to order for a condition and they are helpful.

Rose

 

Oh ok, Triple Sulfa. The one little problem here is I am completely broke. There is no way I can afford any medications at this moment.

Haha DRINK the AQUARIUM WATER??!! Sorry for shouting but that just struck me as really funny. Oh yeah, but as long as the fish don't have TB it's ok to drink. : Don't worry, I wouldn't think of starting the siphon by sucking on it.

Well, I'll just see what I can do for now. Maybe I'll double water changes or something. I feel completely helpless right now. :'(

 

More frequent water changes can't hurt
yes I thought "Don' drink the aquarium water" was odd also but you never know I guess.
Carol

 

0morrokh, When you get some money next time save some for medications or other emergency's

 

0morrokh, When you get some money next time save some for medications or other emergency's

I try, I try..........

 

just forget you have it until your fish are sick I was just making sure that my brother didn't take amy of my $ and found 16.00 that I forgot I had

 

A little update. Sunspot still looks awful but is still holding on. I can only wonder how long before she can't hold on any longer. :'( The good news is that none of the other fish are showing any of the symptoms with the exception of rotting fins. I am not sure if the finrot is the first sign of yet another fish with TB, or if it is just a separate disease (I've been having problems with finrot in that tank). The only thing is that they still all appear a little bloated. I don't know why, any ideas? I am still trying to get some Triple Sulfa....

Are there any other mads that might help? I was just at Petco and they had Pennicillin, Ampicillin, and Tetracycline. They were supposed to cure internal stuff, including dropsy. I couldn't find any meds that actually listed TB, but do you think any of those could help? Or any other meds?

 

I did find out about a medication called Kanamycin Sulfate that is supposed to treat Fish Tuberculosis or Wasting Disease but like I have said, these are major meds and I would not be at all surprised that they have to be distributed under the permission of a veterinarian.

Rose

 

I recently had a Platy get sick and die. at first he seemed okay, then his underbelly got flat and his back curved a bit, then got sharper. he stopped eating, but we didn't notice until it was too late because he'd school to the tank top at feeding time with our other fish. Eventually, he just got really skinny and curled into a c-shape and stuck to the filter intake. we euthanised him at that point because we knew by that point there was nothing we could do. The LFS told us it was probably TB.

now one of our other mickey mouse platys isn't eating and is looking skinny but has not developed the flat stomach and arched back. She hides a lot at the bottom of the tank behind plants. The other female in the tank is also hiding, but not looking skinny since she just had/is having fry. Are these two just in mourning for their man or is something scaring them or are they sick with whatever the male had? Any thoughts? at last water change, my stats were:
55 gal tank
.12 ammo
0 ites
0 ates
8.2 ph
upper 70's farenheight, but I don't remember the exact temp.

 

unfortunately, I think there is a pretty good chance of the other platys having fish tb.. we had a betta that was a possible TB death and had to get rid of everything that he'd come into contact with.. but they may simply be feeling timid now that there is only 2 of them and platys tend to be more comfortable with at least 3 fish.

Did the platy who died have a loss of color also before dying? Was he inactive?

The symptoms of fish tb are: Inactivity, loss of color or appetite, weight loss, skin defects.

Human strength TB medication may help in early stages. It's contagious so disinfect tank, rocks, net, etc. to prevent transmission. Wash hands and surfaces well. This can make humans sick if it gets into open cuts (slight chance).

I'd treat the tank water and tap water that you use with prime.

 

I didn't notice any discoloration with him, but he was pretty inactive.
Could this also pass to the other species in the tank or just to humans and platys? I also have a pleco, otos, Panda Corys, and Mollies in that tank.
There are still 3 Mickey Mouse Platys in the tank - the two golds that I told you about and a smaller, younger, blue female as well. I also have a red fantail platy male in there to keep breeding going (If he will).

the lfs recommended Melafix so we've been treating with that. do you think that will be enough for the others who don't look as advanced yet?
Shoot. I just realised, too, that even though we've been treating with melafix, we still have a zorb packet (charcoal) in the canister filter. WE'll need to remove that, too, I guess.

any other recommendations as well?

As always, thanks for all the help!

also, when you say throw out and replace everything, does that mean everything? Including substrate, plants, filter, etc?

 

unfortunately, I believe it can pass to ANY fish. you could try adding liquid vitamins to the water for a little boost, but it really is hard to treat.. you might not have fish tb though, so hopefully the melafix will bring some improvement and confirm that it's NOT fish tb.

we tossed everything with the fish tb case that we had.. it was a small hospital tank with a heater, digital thermometer, filter, air stone... I even tossed any stuff that I used in the tank, like a turkey baster and wooden spoon. I think you can sterilize a tank, but i'm not sure on that. You'd probably want to do a new thread on it to get advice from members who've had a lot more experience with it.

For now, i'd just treat with melafix and monitor them and see how it goes. Hopefully you'll see improvement soon.

 

we talked with the lfs today about it too and they suggested we treat for parasites too, so with the water changed today, we added pimafix, melafix, prime, stresscoat, and prazipro. one of those is an antifungal in case the white stuff at the bottom of the tank on our gravel is some type of fungis. So if they don't die from all the medicine, they should be improving real soon. and we did get the charcoal out of the tank earlier today, too, so now the medicines should start doing some good. I'll let you know in 3-5 days.

as far as sterilizing the tank, they told us to add bleach to the water and let the tank run empty for a few days. when it's done, we do the biggest water change we can, then add a bunch of dechlorinator and let THAT run for a few days, then start the cycle all over again. Hopefully we don't have to resort to that. I really like our fish.

 

You used so many meds at the same time? That sounds like a lethal cocktail. How are the fish now? Hope they're OK.

Seems like the LFS did their work again and gave commercial advice, rather then think of the fish.

 

well pimafix and melafix are herbal and only harmful to air-labyrinth fishes as far as I know, prime and stresscoat are basically water conditioners and the prazipro sounds like the only chemical med. Good luck with them.

 

Well, there's hope. Everyone seemed to be trying to eat again last night, so hopefully they'll all make a full recovery. We'll keep watching, though.

 

Well, there's hope. Everyone seemed to be trying to eat again last night, so hopefully they'll all make a full recovery. We'll keep watching, though.

that is a good sign and hope that it's not anything seriously contagious. Hope to hear they've all recovered soon.

 

That sounds good. I hope they recover. Good luck!

Thanks for info on meds, BettaCouple. I am always so wary of adding chemicals to my tanks.

 

That sounds good. I hope they recover. Good luck!

Thanks for info on meds, BettaCouple. I am always so wary of adding chemicals to my tanks.

no problem. we try to limit the harsh chemicals on our fish and gladly see more organic herbal products now for different fish problems.

 

I realize this is a really late response but I just saw this post and figured I might as well reply.

The Platy that died definitely had TB. I lost a tank of Guppies and Platys and they exhibited similar symptoms.
Symptoms include:
Listless
Not eating
Losing weight rapidly
Bloating up, and then later losing weight
Curved spine
Symptoms that imitate other bacterial infections, such as rotting fins or ulcers
Darkening of color
Healthy fish suddenly dying "for no apparent reason"
Floating at the top (not bellyup, but making no effort to swim)
Sitting on the bottom
and the list goes on... Each case of TB is somewhat different.

TB seems to be especially common in livebearers. In some it will cause a sudden death with few symptoms, and in others it will cause a long, slow, painful death. In the latter case euthanasia may be the best choice. :'(

TB is a gram positive infection that spreads three ways...from mother to child in livebearers, from eating the body of a dead infected fish, or from eating the poo of an infected fish. So if you notice a fish with TB symptoms, quarintine him immediately and there is a good chance that not all of your fish will be infected. As for the tank, I have heard that bleach does Not kill TB germs, so chucking everything is probably the safest route to go.

I have heard that Kanamycin may cure TB, but only if it is caught early.

The main thing to worry about with TB is the fact that is may be transferred to humans in the form of a skin infection. This is extremely rare and usually happens when someone has an immune deficiency as well as a large open wound on their hand, and they put their hand into a badly infected tank. However you should still be cautious if you suspect TB...rubber gloves for tank maintenance are a good idea.

Sorry for the long post but I feel it is very important for fishkeepers to know about TB since it is one of the deadliest of fish diseases...

 

TB is common with livebearers you say? Gives me the chills to think about it. Sorry you've lost a whole tank to it.

So you've just thrown it all away (gravel, tank, equipment, etc.), all? Man!

How long did it take between each fish dying? We've just lost one to very suspicious symptoms (about 3 weeks ago), but from then, the rest seem fine.

 

How long did it take between each fish dying? We've just lost one to very suspicious symptoms (about 3 weeks ago), but from then, the rest seem fine.

Well, it happened quite a while ago and I try not to think about it too much. But it all happened pretty quickly. One guppy started behaving weird, gave her a salt bath and didn't think about it again. Then another one seemed to have gotten finrot and was sitting on the bottom a lot. I can't remember whether I started medicating her or not. Then she suddenly just got worse and worse and then died. After that is was like clockwork...one Guppy would start acting weird, then waste away and die, by which point another would have started acting sick. Some took longer to die than others. Then the Platys got sick and died too. I noticed that the Gups were affected in order of age, the oldest going first. The Platys took the longest to become infected.

But, just so you know, TB can stay inactive in a fish for several months. If you had a suspicious livebearer death, keep a close eye on the other fish for the next couple months.

 

Oh man! Sounds like my fish' symptoms. I'll keep my eyes out.

 

Oh man! Sounds like my fish' symptoms. I'll keep my eyes out.

It is quite the nasty disease and good to watch for, but I think your tank is ok and will be ok.

 

Man I hope you're right.

 

How do you deal with fish tuberculosis? It's possible one of my Australian rainbows have it. It has a bent spine and is pooping white stringy poop. It is still eating though. I think I will euthanize the fish. What should I do next? I'm scared of catching the disease myself.

 

I think there is no cure for it. If you are for sure its Fish TB, I've heard of people recommending to sterilize all the equipment to make sure nobody catches it.


⛄️❄️

 

There are other issues that can exhibit symptoms similar to TB, but be something else. I suggest a bit more research be done before you consider euthanasia. Best of luck.

 

Soo what else could it be if it isn't fish tuberculosis? What are the chances that the rest of the fish have it? What should I do at this point?

 

HI Fishboy
I'm sorry your fish is not well.

At this point, it might be a good idea to quarantine the fish.

Like Ken said, it might be TB but it could also be a variety of other things.
Genetics or vitamin deficiency come to mind.

I'm sorry I cannot give a solid answer.
I just don't know that much about it.

 

HI Fishboy
I'm sorry your fish is not well.

At this point, it might be a good idea to quarantine the fish.

Like Ken said, it might be TB but it could also be a variety of other things.
Genetics or vitamin deficiency come to mind.

I'm sorry I cannot give a solid answer.
I just don't know that much about it.

I don't really have anything to quarantine it in. I do wanna make sure all my other fish will be safe. I actually have a before and after picture if that helps.
Before: the smallest and closest one


After:


Anyone? What should I do?