Mycobacteria- Fish Tb

I am petrified of this disease. A few months back I had a fish with bent spines and one with red sores. I removed some fish but everyone died eventually. Should've taken them to the vet for testing but they ate each other.... I completely cut off going in that room for fear of mycobacteria being on the floor and I tracking it everywhere in the house. How contagious is it on surfaces? Or do I have to have direct contact with water. Now a friend's tank (3 feeder goldfish in a very dirty 10 gallon tank with no filter). I advised them to upgrade and they bought a 55, but haven't set it up yet. The goldfish spine is bent up, but could it be something else? Like nitrate poisoning? Gills seem red and such. Could my fish have had neon tetra disease and then some other infection to cause the lesions?? I am just very stressed and worried about contact a it the disease.

Also- can surfaces be tested for it? Or do I need a fish specimen? This disease has ruined fishkeeping for me. I love love love fish, but don't want to be at risk of contracting an antibiotic resistant disease. Am I just being paranoid?

 

I've read about fish TB and it was a concern for me as well. I have read though that it is actually difficult to catch from a fish. You have to have an open wound for the germ to get into, it can not simply attack your skin. However gloves and safety glasses wouldn't hurt anything if you feel more comfortable that way. I would think a good bleach rag ran over surfaces would also kill the germ or clorox wipes would work. If you find a bump or wound usually on your hand that will not heal go to a doctor immediately and make sure to tell the doc you have fish. Otherwise they may not treat you correctly, but this kind of TB is mostly a nasty skin disease in humans that can be treated.

 

I'm hoping it's that rare. I thought I read that clorox wipes didn't contain any ingredients effective on it. I used isopropyl alcohol every time I came into contact with fish. All of my fish babies are gone, and I am taking a long break from the hobby after this...

I let the water evaporate completely, triple bagged the tank, and put it in the trash with filter, plants, light,etc. I've thrown out most of my other fish tanks, but I don't know if they were infected...

 

This link may help you, it states that vinegar will kill the germ

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140225101501.htm

 

Mycobacterium are part of the normal flora of freshwater. Go get your stuff out of the trash.

 

Mycobacterium are part of the normal flora of freshwater. Go get your stuff out of the trash.

I threw it out a month ago. Could yout elaborate on that though?

 

I threw it out a month ago. Could yout elaborate on that though?

It lives in pretty much all freshwater environments. It's almost impossible to eliminate and even if you did, it would just be reintroduced with any new plant or fish.

Everybody's freshwater tank has it.

 

It lives in pretty much all freshwater environments. It's almost impossible to eliminate and even if you did, it would just be reintroduced with any new plant or fish.

Everybody's freshwater tank has it.

Wait seriously? Not just when fish are showing symptoms? So any time I put my hand in a tank there's mycobacteria?

 

Wait seriously? Not just when fish are showing symptoms? So any time I put my hand in a tank there's mycobacteria?

Yes, it's everywhere. There's even some in tap water.

 

So I've likely come in contact before and shouldn't be nearly as worried? Thank you for the info! Most sites make it out to be this disease that you need to crazy cull and quarantine fish for, tear down entire systems, etc. Are surfaces outside the tank any concern at all?

 

As long as you don't have cuts/wounds being exposed to the water, and you don't stick your hands in your mouth afterwards its not really a concern.

If you have a positively diagnosed fish, then extra precautions wouldn't hurt, and I think culling is usually recommended because of the (slim) chance of it spreading to humans and the difficulty in treating the fish.

 

So I've likely come in contact before and shouldn't be nearly as worried? Thank you for the info! Most sites make it out to be this disease that you need to crazy cull and quarantine fish for, tear down entire systems, etc. Are surfaces outside the tank any concern at all?

No, you shouldn't be too worried. Zebrafish laboratories have tried to eliminate it using much more drastic and effective methods but they still failed.

I would keep decaying organic matter from building up too much in the substrate and filter as it's food for Mycobacterium and many other potential pathogens and encourages their overgrowth. This is one of the reasons I don't like people cleaning their canister filters every 6 months.

 

So I've likely come in contact before and shouldn't be nearly as worried? Thank you for the info! Most sites make it out to be this disease that you need to crazy cull and quarantine fish for, tear down entire systems, etc. Are surfaces outside the tank any concern at all?

You tossed all your equipment and quit the hobby because of something you read on the internet. Is that right?

 

You tossed all your equipment and quit the hobby because of something you read on the internet. Is that right?

I read articles from zebra fish labs that I thought were reputable and after that scare of my fish showing symptoms I though it wasn't worth the risk. I understand it sounds quite ridiculous and unnecessary but I really did not want to get a disease that was hard to cure and took many months of antibiotics.

I also read on various forums that many recommended just tossing equipment because trying to disinfect was too risky. Must've been misinformed.

 

I also read on various forums that many recommended just tossing equipment because trying to disinfect was too risky. Must've been misinformed.

That's terrible. I hope you learned something about diagnosing diseases based on simply reading about them on the internet though. What an expensive and scary way to learn a lesson. I hope you try again with the fish, it's very rewarding and I believe we'd all be hearing about outbreaks of this if it were even slightly common.

Not to make light of it but it does remind me a bit of the ads we see for pharmaceutical drugs on tv where they list about a half a million symptoms that it will treat and for you the listener to consult with your doctor if you think you might have the disease. Smelly feet? Tired? OH MY GOD I HAVE XXXX disease!!

 

I'll be taking a bit of a break, because tb or not it was heartbreaking to lose my all of my fishies, probably from various unrelated ways over time, (pea puffers, danios, neon tetras, oto catfish, a koi betta, dwarf frogs, mystery snails, etc.), but I am not done with the hobby forever.

Also I am not out of equipment, just down two tanks, 2 (cheap) filters and some lights. Plus the sand, a few random rocks and plants, but I would get rid of those anyway regardless of what disease they had just to be safe. Still, an impulsive mistake that cost.

 

I don't mean to be over stepping...but is it possible you have OCD? There are lots of counselors out there that can help if so.

 

Yep.

This has been really helpful and confirmed I have little to be afraid of. Thank you all.

 

This has been really helpful and confirmed I have little to be afraid of. Thank you all.

I also have OCD and am currently going through this with my tank. My fish are currently alive, but I have separated the ones showing symptoms (wasting away/bent spines), although I had some deaths a few weeks ago. It's definitely really stressing me out and I have faltered in giving this tank proper maintenance because of this fear of spreading it. Good luck.

 

I also have OCD and am currently going through this with my tank. My fish are currently alive, but I have separated the ones showing symptoms (wasting away/bent spines), although I had some deaths a few weeks ago. It's definitely really stressing me out and I have faltered in giving this tank proper maintenance because of this fear of spreading it. Good luck.

Exactly what happened with me. I had some dwarf frogs and a snail left and I could've done more but was so paranoid. Feel very guilty about it.