mpe1329 said:Sorry to bother you, but I read with interest your advice re fish TB and UV sterilizers. My experience has been that SW fish are hard to kill and FW fish hard to keep alive, which seemed counter-intuitive to me until I read your posts. May I ask what type/brand of UV sterilizer you use? Any recommendations about the wattage of the bulb would also be appreciated.
My Response:
During the MB (mycobacteriosis) outbreak two years ago I used two different brands of UV sterilizers. They were the 'UV Gamma 'and the 'Turbo-twist' with either 8 or 9 watt bulbs for my 45, 50, and 55 gal tanks. One sterilizer for each tank. The UV sterilizers stopped the disease in its tracks and saved my fish.
While the above filters worked wonders, they were hard for me to hook up to the biofilters I use. You see, these particular UV filters are really just a container that directs water in a spiral path around the UV lamp. You have to pump water through them from a separate apparatus.
Recently, an experienced hobbyist on this forum highly recommended the Submariner UV sterilizer. This filter combines the UV and biofilter into one apparatus. I just bought one ($80) and am going to set it up for my 50 gal tank. It has a 7 watt UV lamp. I'm going to use this tank as a quarantine tank for new fish.
Folks, many fish being sold are carrying diseases. UV sterilizers will kill not only bacteria but many parasites (e.g. Ich). UV sterilization is being increasingly used in wastewater treatment. Recently, wastewater treatment scientists showed that UV light is highly effective in killing Giardia cysts, a human parasite. My reasoning: if UV sterilization kills human parasites and their cysts, it will probably kill fish parasites and their cysts. I think SW (saltwater) hobbyists are ahead of us on this.
One minor caveat for UV sterilizers.... UV sterilizers can interfere with iron uptake by non-rooted plants (UV light oxidizes the iron chelators). Thus, you may need to add some chelated iron if your plants show iron deficiencies. However, I had no problems with iron deficiency when I used the UV sterilizers in my NPT tanks.
Below is a website that has more information on brands of UV sterilizers:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?N=2004&Np=1&Ntt=uv%20sterilizers&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&Nty=1&pc=1
Well said. I suppose in certain circumstances there might be a few medications that work. I've tried most of them, and I'm 100% convinced that I've done more harm than good trying to treat fish diseases.In my experience, treating sick fish is often difficult, expensive, and/or doesn't work.
For those that have healthy fish and haven't had problems, I salute you! You obviously have a good source of healthy fish and take good care of your fish. But you've also had a little luck.
This is true. Not all the parasites will end up getting zapped by the UV, the lucky ones will have already attached to a host before then.Don't suppose though that a UV sterilizer is a sure-fire device that will forever rid you of the worry of diseased fish. Waterborne critters are the only ones that a typical UV unit can zap. Waterborne transmission isn't the only pathway for one fish to infect another.
It depends on how coarse or fine the sponge is, most pre-filters are designed to prevent larger debris like plants leaves and possibly fish waste from entering the UV chamber. I don't think it would stop tiny shrimp, fry, rotifers or other small organisms from coming into contact with the UV light.So for us how don't really use filters/pumps (using one on my 20g-long to remove get rid of algae - take out DOC), is the sponge prefilter suppose to stop very small animals from entering like baby shrimp, fry, laval (fresh water planktonic creatures).
I just want to be informed in case I want to add this. Looks like the submariner would be good for UV sterilization and some water flow.
This of course is true, but I'd bet on a UV controllng disease in a tank better than a quarantine tank. Even if you quarantine your fish for a long time there is no guarantee of their condition once put into the main tank. At least with the UV I know the transmission of disease will be limited to contact. I would take those odds any day. But as Diane pointed out, it's just much easier for new fish to deal with the limited pathogens in the tank when they stressed out.Don't suppose though that a UV sterilizer is a sure-fire device that will forever rid you of the worry of diseased fish. Waterborne critters are the only ones that a typical UV unit can zap. Waterborne transmission isn't the only pathway for one fish to infect another.
Dear Raul,It depends on how coarse or fine the sponge is, most pre-filters are designed to prevent larger debris like plants leaves and possibly fish waste from entering the UV chamber. I don't think it would stop tiny shrimp, fry, rotifers or other small organisms from coming into contact with the UV light.
Do you have the exact dates on that talk yet? I would like to hear that talk.BTW, I will be giving a talk on mycobacteriosis at the Raleigh Aquarium Society's workshop in Feb 2008. I'll have more info then.
Thanks so much for the info and reassurances. Wow, very eye-opening article! Poor fish! The guy I bought the fish from is in Florida and did say he'd treated the fish and they were eating fine. But, they were obviously sick, at least a good number of them, so I'm really disappointed in this seller. I sure wish I could find a cardinal tetra hobbyist to sell some to me. I've heard the San Francisco aquarium society is amazing, but they aren't having meetings/auctions right now because of Covid.A UV sterilizer is a good to use whenever you add new fish. I keep one on hand for just this purpose. The one you bought sounds fine.
I don't think that you have to worry about snails and shrimp getting mycobacteriosis from whatever species of EM (environmental mycobacteria) that fish might be carrying. My snails did not get sick.
Humans getting Fish TB is fairly rare. Just don't clean tanks when you have an open wound, sores, pin pricks, etc. Unbroken skin is an excellent barrier to EM.
Parasites are probably a bigger problem with incoming wild fish than Fish TB. Read my article on fish diseases. Professional importers of valuable wild-caught fish often use a series of dewormers, including levamisole.
The UV will help, no matter what. It will help with bacterial infections secondary to the parasites. And if the parasites are small enough, it will kill them too.
I can't thank you enough for this reference! I'm happy to pay a premium for healthy fish. Wahoo! I'm psyched they're on the west coast, too, so shipping shouldn't be as traumatic for the fish. Getting from Portland to San Jose shouldn't involve a lot of transfers.These fish could be carrying parasites other than ich or just totally stressed out. That's sad that you're just down to one or two.
My aquarium club RAS does all their bulk fish orders only from the Wet Spot. Believe me, the RAS senior members are extraordinary picky, so I would vouch for the Wet Spot without ever having gotten a fish from them. I've never heard any complaints from RAS members-10-40 per year that get fish from these bulk orders. Cardinal Tetras, both wild and TR (?) are for sale for $3-4 each at Wet Spot.
