[jatcar95]

Just found out about the Wet Spot, as I recently moved to Portland. I checked it out, and it's really incredible, everyone I talked to seemed very knowledgeable (they also are doing great at social distancing). Also going to purchase my next fish from them.

 

[dwalstad]

I envy you living in city with such a superb aquarium fish store.

 

[YodelMogul]

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.

can MB survive being dried out? Im wondering if i brought mb into my tank thru two separate purchases of fish recently. the first purchase i returned as the fish were clearly very sick and displaying dropsy. I then had no fish in the tank for some months, broke it down and moved it and recently restocked with dwarf puffers. 4 of the first 8 i ordered died within 24 hours. I euthanized the rest as they were wasting with crooked spines. Now i just 4-5 from my lfs that arrived with ich and are currently being treated. Im wondering how they will fare in this tank as it may be infected. Very nervous about spreading this to my established tanks, but i have mostly dedicated tools for each.

 

[mistergreen]

MB is pretty common and they can survive 'dried out'. They can come in with newly purchased fish too. Clean out the mulm in a tank seems to keep down their numbers.

 

[YodelMogul]

MB is pretty common and they can survive 'dried out'. They can come in with newly purchased fish too. Clean out the mulm in a tank seems to keep down their numbers.

Scary stuff! I know I’ve put my hands in with broken skin/gotten the water in my mouth too. 😱

 

[mistergreen]

Scary stuff! I know I’ve put my hands in with broken skin/gotten the water in my mouth too. 😱

Consuming them wouldn't be bad. They die in heat and stomach acid. They'll only attack colder extremity parts of your body.

Actually, a good way to sterilize your tank or net is with hot (200f) water for a few minutes.

 

[YodelMogul]

Consuming them wouldn't be bad. They die in heat and stomach acid. They'll only attack colder extremity parts of your body.

Actually, a good way to sterilize your tank or net is with hot (200f) water for a few minutes.

I have a million more questions and I’m not sure what the right ones are or if there are answers. Does sunlight kill them or are the uv sterilizers more powerful? Is it something to really worry about? How prevalent do you think this bacteria is? What about erythromycin? I’m currently just monitoring my tank but I also bought some minnows from the grocery store earlier this year. Many unexplained deaths but now I have 5 left that seem healthy. Even added some swords to test and they seem healthy as well. If this stuff is everywhere then it seems like I may as well just not worry and try to keep my fish stress free. Haha sorry for so many you don’t have to answer!

 

[mistergreen]

MB live in soil So they‘re everywhere. Yes, UV is a good tool to control them. Germicidal UV with wave lengths around 250nm. The sun does provide that but not to the extent of a UV bulb.

 

[YodelMogul]

MB live in soil So they‘re everywhere. Yes, UV is a good tool to control them. Germicidal UV with wave lengths around 250nm. The sun does provide that but not to the extent of a UV bulb.

But these are not the ones that cause disease, correct? Do you know anywhere that has good info on “fish handler disease”? I’d like to learn more, however I’m guessing it is not very infectious based on how little info there is about it and there only being ~100 cases in humans per year. Seems like few people know about fish tb and I’m sure people are tending their aquariums with small cuts on their hands/arms all the time.

 

[mistergreen]

Washing your hands with soap does wonders to get rid of any bacteria even with a cut.

 

[YodelMogul]

MB live in soil So they‘re everywhere. Yes, UV is a good tool to control them. Germicidal UV with wave lengths around 250nm. The sun does provide that but not to the extent of a UV bulb.

So does using a uv sterilizer have any effect on competition between bacteria? Or is it simply sterilizing the water such that the bacteria can then only compete on say gravel/plants etc?
I’m also curious what do you think about vorticella? Could healthy “colonies” of vorticella have any meaningful impact on mb?

 

[FishLOVER317]

I have a 15 gallon tank which is affected by Fish tb. I have lost 9 danios so far. I came across UV sterilizer treatment while reading an article on mycobateriosis by madam Diana Walstad. I have just installed a DIY UV sterilizer which is used for domestic RO purification of water . I have a 11 w UV lamp . At first I kept the flow rate at 30 gph and still it didnt seem to work.Now I have reduced the flow even further. what would be the correct flow rate of water ?

NOTE : I am willing to run the motor 24/7, with a 1 hr break every 4 hours, since my motor gets heated up . THANKS IN ADVANCE...

 

[mistergreen]

The slower the flow rate the better. You'll have to remove the sick fish and treat them with antibiotics. UV alone won't cure sick fish.

View attachment 74410
View attachment 74409

I have a 15 gallon tank which is affected by Fish tb. I have lost 9 danios so far. I came across UV sterilizer treatment while reading an article on mycobateriosis by madam Diana Walstad. I have just installed a DIY UV sterilizer which is used for domestic RO purification of water . I have a 11 w UV lamp . At first I kept the flow rate at 30 gph and still it didnt seem to work.Now I have reduced the flow even further. what would be the correct flow rate of water ?

NOTE : I am willing to run the motor 24/7, with a 1 hr break every 4 hours, since my motor gets heated up . THANKS IN ADVANCE...

 

[FishLOVER317]

The slower the flow rate the better. You'll have to remove the sick fish and treat them with antibiotics. UV alone won't cure sick fish.

is there any effective antibiotic that is easily available?

 

[mistergreen]

is there any effective antibiotic that is easily available?

I don't know what's available in your country. You'd want something like triple sulfa, kanamycin.

 

[FishLOVER317]

I don't know what's available in your country. You'd want something like triple sulfa, kanamycin.

I can only get this medicine for human use.Is it safe for fish?

 

[mistergreen]

You'll have to work out the dosing.
triple sulfa, 1 packet is 3oz - 60% is salt
For each 10 gallons of water, empty one packet directly into aquarium. Repeat dose after 24 hours. Wait another 24 hours then change 25% of the aquarium water. Repeat this treatment for a second time, for a total of 4 doses. Then make a final 25% water change and add fresh activated carbon or replace filter cartridge.

Kana
Use a 1/4 teaspoon Kanamycin per 20 gallons of water.
· Treat every 24 hours with a 25% water change before each treatment. Use 1/2 dose on tetras, neons, ghosts, whales, and sensitive fish. Treat for 5 to 7 days. This medication may interfere with biological filtration. Antibiotics and treatments are always safest when used in a hospital tank. Monitor ammonia and nitrite. Change water as needed. Not for fish used for human consumption.

 

[FishLOVER317]

You'll have to work out the dosing.
triple sulfa, 1 packet is 3oz
For each 10 gallons of water, empty one packet directly into aquarium. Repeat dose after 24 hours. Wait another 24 hours then change 25% of the aquarium water. Repeat this treatment for a second time, for a total of 4 doses. Then make a final 25% water change and add fresh activated carbon or replace filter cartridge.

Kana
Use a 1/4 teaspoon Kanamycin per 20 gallons of water.
· Treat every 24 hours with a 25% water change before each treatment. Use 1/2 dose on tetras, neons, ghosts, whales, and sensitive fish. Treat for 5 to 7 days. This medication may interfere with biological filtration. Antibiotics and treatments are always safest when used in a hospital tank. Monitor ammonia and nitrite and use AquaLife Complete Water Conditioner. Change water as needed. Not for fish used for human consumption.

Thanks man!!!

 

[mistergreen]

Thanks man!!!

Actually, you should dose 1.2oz (34g) for the triple sulfa. 60% of it is salt in the API packet. I'm assuming they don't add salt in it for humans.

 

[dwalstad]

Please reread my article 'Mycobacteriosis in Aquarium Fish'. I used UV sterilizing filters successfully to manage an outbreak and prevent transmission to healthy fish. They did not cure sick fish. There is no realistic, practical cure for mycobacteriosis (MB) or "Fish TB." Routine antibiotics will not help except possibly for secondary infections that accompany the primary MB infection.
Good fish management (removal "of sick fish and UV sterilizers) will control and prevent outbreaks but will not cure diseased fish.
Article is available for free download from my website.