# Mycobacterium marinum "PLEASE READ"



## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I have seen a couple of posts in regards to the young lady that contracted a very RARE pathogen from her aquarium......FISH TB or _Mycobacterium marinum........._

Don't freak out folks.....it is rare to catch anything from your tank......however, it can happen and a good idea and habit to wash hands before and after handling/working with your tank/fish and even touching fish food.......and yet another reason you don't want to abuse, misuse, overuse antibiotics in both your aquarium and you...due to resistant issues and creation of super bugs...... and if you ever suspect fish TB in your tank....destroy the fish and depose of the body properly...don't treat or try to save it.......and clean everything well with bleach wearing gloves.....

Don't be afraid of your tank and fish.......

Knowledge is POWER.......research..........

Here is a great link...Please read......

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Keefer_FishTB.html


http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1105126-overview


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## kathstew (Feb 23, 2011)

So question. It says that in humans it starts off as a purple lesion. Do the lesions only start to appear in the area of the body that was touched by the water, or can it appear on any part of the body? Like if only my hands go in the water, could somehow, the lesions appear on say, my legs? 
From the lady (the one near the body) it sounds like it CAN spread, but doesn't right away. She seemed to have a cut on the finger that became affected ONLY. But was slowly spreading down into her hand.
Is this correct?
Just curious, I apologize for asking if you don't know.


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

The strain fish get is different than in humans...
You wont get lesions, though I think it can cause irritation and itching...

Thanks, ofl, for this post.


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

Thank you for posting this OFL... I'd been thinking on writing a post on the subject for a couple of months, but didn't want to scare everyone half to death...


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

I remember a member on the forum had a beautiful yellow, blue and white betta... it looked to be an import, just a gorgeous fish. She couldn't get it to eat; at one point she tried to give it away, it the hopes that one of us could help the betta.

Before that betta passed away from unknown causes. Since then, I have read about Mycobacterium marinum, I've wondered if that betta might have had it...


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy said:


> Before that betta passed away from unknown causes.


Before that HAPPENED, THE betta passed away...


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## Arashi Takamine (Mar 3, 2011)

I thought fish TB could only be brought upon like if you didn't wash your hands and clean off cuts after handling your tank. I have some open cuts on my hands but I use hot water and clean them off with peroxide if I have to stick my hands in my tank if their bad. If their not and it's only for a moment (like during waterchanges) I'll just use hot water and soap.

EDIT: Oh god now I'm worried. Kai from swimming into the mouth of his dragon decor rubbed off a couple of his scales. (There's a light red patch on him near his dorsal fin.) He doesn't look like he's deformed though. He looks like your normal CT betta....


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

I'm pretty sure you'd have to be sick or immunocomprimised to have tb jump the species barrier. I was speaking to my friend who informed me that while some diseases do jump the species barrier, it's usually fish to fish or mammal to mammal.
Not saying it couldn't happen of course, but as long as a person is in good health, they should be ok.
And of course, as OFL said, be careful and wash your hands after, or wear gloves.


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## Arashi Takamine (Mar 3, 2011)

I don't think I have anything to worry about then. Kai's rubbed some of his scales off from his dragon decoration and going into it's mouth but he's fine other then that. No skinnyness or deformed spine. Plus I have an ultra aggressive immune system. (Alopecia Areata disorder. Aggressive immune system. I rarly get sick.)


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

This pathogen is not species specific per se'......simply put.....for the hobbyist....it will appear usually on the hand/arm that had an opening in the skin.... the entry...first the pathogen has to be in the tank...fish tb....generally, if the hobbyist is immune suppressed/compromised...but can happen in a healthy person but even more rare...... usually will be miss-diagnosed due to it being so rare in humans to start....wrong medication to treat and the pathogen get into the blood stream then to the bone...it is treatable and rarely fatal in humans...but anything can happen especially now with all the resistant from overuse, misuse...etc....of antibiotics.......

Bottom line.....wash hands before and after working in the tank, if you suspect fish TB in your tank-destroy/depose of the fish properly and if you are immune compromised, sick, open wounds on hands...wear gloves too or have a healthy person do it for you.....

Don't freak out and be afraid of your tank/fish....be smart, research, understand, use common sense...be in control......


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

Ive read through these articles and found that people suggest gloves, but what kind of gloves work? (If, say, we needed/wanted them)?

Would the gloves you get to wash dishes work, the yellow rubber ones? :O

My future roomie gets a little skittish with that sort of thing (fearing of TB or not lol!) so Ive always wanted to get her a pair to help her feel more comfortable.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

They have aquarium glove that go up to the shoulder...but regular type glove or the playtex type dishing washing gloves would work....you have to have gloves long enough to prevent water from getting in them at the wrist area...goal is to keep the tank water off the hands......in a pinch....plastic bags would work....


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

Thats true! And yes, they would need to be long. Her tank is on the smaller/shallower side, so I have a feeling those gloves would work for her.

Thanks!


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## MikiMaki (Jun 23, 2011)

Haha when I told my DMV prof about it in school a few years back he didn't even realize fish could get tb or that it was zoonotic. He was a cow doc though. )


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

MikiMaki said:


> Haha when I told my DMV prof about it in school a few years back he didn't even realize fish could get tb or that it was zoonotic. He was a cow doc though. )


Its not the same TB that humans get in the lungs..but in the same family.......
Tuberculosis *(Mycobacterium tuberculosis)*... 
fish TB *(Mycobacterium marinum) *


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

Oldfishlady said:


> They have aquarium glove that go up to the shoulder...but regular type glove or the playtex type dishing washing gloves would work....you have to have gloves long enough to prevent water from getting in them at the wrist area...goal is to keep the tank water off the hands......in a pinch....plastic bags would work....



those sound cool. x: i want some now. >.>;

eehh.... i have a cut on my finger(ironically, from a spare fish bowl, half gallon i never used. it broke when it bumped my mom's one gallon fish bowl. xD), so, as much as i want to change my fish's water, i'm holding off until the cut heals. it still hurts, so i know it's not 100% healed. i'd have held off changing fish water, even if i hadn't heard of Fish TB. :/


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## kathstew (Feb 23, 2011)

OMGOMGOMG. *I'M* immune suppressed! Jeez-us! :/
Now I'm all freaked out! >.< WHAT DO I DO?!
I don't SEE any cuts on my hands, and my fish seem OK....
how does a fish inside a healthy tank get TB? Can it only be passed from one fish to another, or can the fish kinda inflict it upon itself (like fin rot from biting type thing). 
I'm all worried now...
I guess if I ever DID get sick (and I really hope I don't) with something even remotely like this, I will let my doctors know ASAP that it could be fish TB. 
I always wash my hands before and after putting my hands in the tank, and I keep up with changes, and treat for any signs of illness in my tank right away. Oh god, I hope thats enough...

Edit: Then again, I have two dogs, and they are quite messy and actually do gross things. So I guess if I haven't caught anything from them, I'm unlikely to get something from my fish....


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

My friend was stressing that unless you're like post liver transplant or something major like that, as long as you don't y'know, drink the water a sick fish has been in. Should be okay with common sense precautions like gloves/ washing hands.
I'd explain it in greater detail, but the scientific explanations get kinda confusing.


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

kathstew,

It's good to be aware of this problem. Now that you know, you can take precautions. 

***********

What I find disconcerting, from an aquarist point of view, it that there is no way to QT for this (unless you fish arrives majorly unwell and the signs of disease of obvious). 

Every new fish you add to you tank is a potential time bomb that could take down a community/sorority.

How prevalent is this disease in current fish populations?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

OMG THANK YOU. I was getting so tired of constantly repeating that its very VERY RARE for a human to get infected.

If your worried, wear gloves, problem solved. I always wear gloves when changing water or doing tank maintenance because I wash dishes all day and despite washing my hands several times a day I would prefer not to risk chemical contamination in my tanks.


Edit to add.

I vote for this to be moved to the disease section and stickied there so newbies can see it, or possibly in the Betta care section although I think there are already to many stickies there.


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

I second that. People should be aware of the risk, so they can protect themselves.


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## kathstew (Feb 23, 2011)

Agreed! SO glad I know this. Its a scary thing to know, but is important to know. 
I'd never heard of it until you posted this OFL, so THANK YOU.


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## metalbetta (May 17, 2010)

I've never been too worried about contracting fish TB, though I've read some nasty horror stories about it... I think for the most part it only happens to people with suppressed immune systems or decent-sized open wounds on their hands/arms. It is always something to keep in mind though, keep your hands clean when handling your fish. You never want to risk passing any pathogens around your tanks, or any chemicals that might be on your hands. 

Also -- Bleach is your friend, if you know how to use it correctly.


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## ireland (Mar 1, 2011)

After reading this post and multiple website about Mycobacterium marinum, I have become highly suspicious that one of my tank may already been compromised by this disease. I have lost two neon tetras to spine deformity, which I couldn't find the cause of how they became that way when they seem to be in perfect health, three betta to unidentified death, and the remaining neon tetras' health are declining more and more. Two has no upper lip(?), 3-4 are lethargic and are having swimming issues.

Should I just assume that this tank has already been compromise and I should just euthanize the remaining neon tetra, discard all plants, and sterilized the tank and all tank accessory, or wait for more sign of the disease?


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I really think that as long as precautions are taken that there is really nothing to worry about. I always wash my hands before and after cleaning my tanks.


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