I rescued a couple fish from someone today and added them to my tank. They were in there 7 hours before I noticed that something was WAY wrong. First, one was missing an eye and I don't know if it fell out today or I just didn't notice. Then I noticed the second one had a really curved spine! Looked it up online and found that this is most likely fish tuberculosis...they say to euthanize the fish. And that it's highly infectious, even to humans. I'm just wondering if this was enough time to completely infect my healthy tank and what should I do now? I don't think I'll be rescuing any more fishes in the future....
2007-04-29 13:48:41 · 3 answers · asked by me 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Well I flushed the two new infected ones. But what about my other 15 fish that are in the tank? Are they all likely to get sick? The infected ones were only in there 7 or 8 hours. Is my tank now doomed?
2007-04-29 13:58:09 · update #1
Your tank is far from doomed. In fact odds are slim that the disease was transmitted to your fish or into the water at all. While fish TB hasn't been studied in great detail among aquarium fishes, it has been studied extensively in aquaculture facilities. The only confirmed method of transmission from one fish to another was through the eating of a fish that died from fish TB. Other methods may be possible, but no test has ever confirmed the transmission by any other method. The only way it was ever found in the water was if a fish had died of TB in the tank. Transmission rates to humans is also low, but as another poster so well demonstrates it can and does happen. I would suggest using rubber gloves to change the water in your tank and change as much as is reasonably possible if you are concerned about the possibility that it is in your water. Then you should be home free. Then just practice the reasonable precaution of not putting an injured or cut hand in the tank.
If I were you I wouldn't worry at all.
MM
2007-04-29 14:22:29 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'd just keep a close eye on the fish for now. There are actually a few causes for fish to have a curved spine. Fish (piscene) tuberculosis is only one (but this can be transmitted to humans, so use caution when doing water changes for a while).
The others are a vitamin deficiency (scoliosis) and a parasite (camallanus). I've dealt with the last one, but neither of the other two. I actually believe that camallanus is often misdiagnosed as fish TB, because there are seldom "autopsies" to find the actual cause of death. Camallanus is a dark red worm that lives in the fish's intestines. If the fish are small enough, when they're at rest you can sometimes see the worm protruding out the fish's vent (it pulls back in when the fish swims).
If any of these three was the cause, the spinal curvature would have been permanent.
Your best course of action would be to do a larger than typical water change - don't try to remove all the water, but give the tank a good vacuuming in case it was the parasite and any eggs were laid. Keep the water quality good and keep your fingers crossed that the previous owner didn't feed their fish well.
2007-04-29 18:02:12 · answer #2 · answered by copperhead 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Put him in a bag in the freezer. That is the most humane to euthanize.
Don't mess with fish TB. I once got an infected cut on my hand while working at an aquarium store with my hands in aquariums. Was diagnosed as Micobacterium Marinum or "fish TB". It took 3 months of multiple antibiotic coctail to get rid of. It's not worth it.
2007-04-29 13:55:28 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Give it the toilet swirley. Find out what to treat your tank with so your other fish wont get it.
Good luck buddy
2007-04-29 13:54:00 · answer #4 · answered by sportyconnie 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋