Discus Diseases and Humans

[PitBullDog]

Hi all,

Im considering starting a Discus tank, but had a question first....I have read in a few places that Discus can carry diseases that are transferrable to Humans...is this true? If so, what are these diseases, and how do I protect myself and my family. I love Discus, but dont want to get sick...

Thanks,

Jack

[RyanH]

From what I understand, there are a couple of diseases that can be transferred to humans. These diseases are extremely rare and are primarily found in Discus that have been imported from Asia. Cary Strong had an incident some time ago where his little boy got sick from some imported fish. I have never heard of any cases where someone got sick from fish bred in the United States.

hth!
-Ryan

[Ardan]

If the fish came from a poor water source and had been infected with cholera.

Or if the fish had TB, not too common.

If you have open wounds and work in the water with bacteria or the filter, then you can get an infection.

These are all I've heard of.
As always washing your hands after working with the fish is the best defense and taking care of any wounds.
hth
Ardan

[Wahter]

I've had this before. Fish TB (tuberculosis). I've only met one other person who's had this (another fish keeper). She also had an open cut that became infected (I had a similar thing happen to me). In both cases, it developed on our knuckles and we had the growth removed (we have the scars to prove it) :) . Bottom line is to wash really well after sticking your hands in your tanks and try to avoid putting your hands into your tank IF you've got an open cut.

For more info, go to http://www.google.com and type in "mycobacterium marinum" in the search field. You can also click on "Images" to do a search for images of this on the web. Here's a page on it with a photo:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/2337.htm

Yes, those reddish nodules is exactly how it looks - sometimes larger.

Since getting the growth removed, I wash my hands carefully and I am careful to avoid starting siphons with my mouth, putting my lips up to bags to blow air in when bagging fish, etc... I just don't want to go through that procedure again!