Can Fish tank water make you sick??

[OIF03VET]

Quick question, I sliced some skin of my finger today but have to clean my 65 gallon discus tank tonight. Should I be worried about bacteria or parasites entering my bloodstream?

[Camden]

I clean my tank all the time with cuts and scraps never had a problem. I'm never like bleeding profusely into the tank though.

[OIF03VET]

I wouldnt say I am bleeding profusely, just sort of oozing. The wound covers an area about the size of a pinky nail and is a little less than 1/16". Thanks for the quick response.

[Graham]

Simple answer Yes....you may/can get worms if you get a mouth full of water, you can get bacterial infections, including a type of tuberculosis, a koi hobbyist died last year or the year before in the UK..........Now having said that...the odds of catching anything serious is extremely small...I've been doing this for 47 years and had some infections and worms as a kid but nothing serious....so don't worry about it

[OIF03VET]

After reading that, I think I will get a long glove for that hand.

[April]

well wear a glove if your worried. i went to a talk before from a agricultural fish vet. he said even if they have tuberculosis..all that would happen to us is if we had a cut it would get a bit red around the edges. worst it gets.

[Wahter]

I'm one of the few people who contracted mycobacteria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycobacterium_marinum) from having an open wound (on my finger) and sticking it in a fish tank. I've chatted with some of my local fish keeping friends and found two others who have had this too. One woman (who is really against having the lumpy nodules cut off <--- that's what I ended up having done to the ones on my finger), had to use antibiotics for SIX months on that affected area. She told me she had a splinter in finger and that's how the mycobacteria entered. As for me, I had a burned area on my finger (from a cotton candy machine!) and before it fully healed up, I stuck my finger in one of my tanks. Now I have the scars (after the nodules were removed in out patient surgery).

Go to google.com, then type in "Mycobacterium marinum" in the search field, click on the IMAGES link above the search field to see what the lumpy nodules look like. That ought to convince you to carefully wash your hands after sticking them in an aquarium.

I don't think it's a rare as people say it is, but having a clean tank and washing your hands after sticking them in the tank goes a long way to keeping the lumpy nodules away! (prevention is the key).

Hope this helps.


Walter

[Wahter]

I wanted to add that my friend (the one who used the antibiotic on the affected area for 6 months) talked with Dr. Greg Lewbart (http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/docs/greg_lewbart.html), one of the local fish veterinarians at the local university about this - because her doctor had misdiagnosed it. She told me she gathered all the paperwork on it and showed it to her doctor.

[April]

well then..guess i was told wrong. well..no lumpy modules on me yet..hmmm.
well i have to wash my hands anyhow..due to the fact im allergic to the bloodworms and its in the water. ive been using hibitane. thats what the doctors scrub with . so figured..its good .

[Graham]

Everyone just has to remember that our fish live in an ideal environment for bacteria...bacteria of any kind. Wash up after wards,,,rinse your hands off with H2O2..I go through gallons of it.

Wahter..... Doc Lewbart has done some amazing back/spine surgeries a friend's koi.....pins , stress bars etc. He also brings his students out to David's a couple of times a year for field work. When I'm stumped, I email him, he'll always answer

G

[Kindredspirit]

well..no lumpy modules on me yet..



You are so funny April! I swear woman you make me laugh most of the time!

[Ed13]

One of the few things that scares me in this hobby is Mycobacterium (TB). Mostly about contaminating stock though, as it is more prominent that people realize or that farms and sellers want you to know. If you have ever purchase fish at a Fish Store chances are you have seen or purchased a fish expose to it. And its not limited to ornamental fish only, fish intended for consumption(fresh and saltwater) are exposed to it also. But it is rare to fall victim of it( not your fish though)

Read this and look at the pretty pics!:p
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/sp/feature/index.php

[swinters66]

I also had some bacterial infection a few months ago..and I figured out it was my discus tank. A-because this happened right after I set up my 65 gallon and B-now that I wear good ol rubber gloves to do water changes or filter cleaning, I havent had any bad break outs. The research I did, there is a bacteria that flourishes in heated un-chlorinated water...sometimes people in hot tubs get this also. So, like I said...wear gloves if you arent sure.

[korbi_doc]

:D Like many of us here, I've been siphoning, cleaning tanks, hands in fish tanks daily for over 40 yrs, & I guess been lucky so far not to have these problems...but, in NJ, the owner of the LFS I frequented did have mycobacterium infection & indeed had lotsa problems, tho once he was on some of our newer antibiotics, he did better....perhaps cuz I was involved in the medical profession & washed hands frequently, I managed to avoid this...JME Dottie ;)

[Wahter]

Wahter..... Doc Lewbart has done some amazing back/spine surgeries a friend's koi.....pins , stress bars etc. He also brings his students out to David's a couple of times a year for field work. When I'm stumped, I email him, he'll always answer

G

I've met him a few times. In fact, once I took some sick discus to him to be examined and they turned out to have vibrio. Wish I'd taken some photos for my website.

P.S. all the top fish veterinarians at NCSU are Macintosh users! :D

[brewmaster15]

Hi Walter!
I had not realized that you had contracted that, It definetly sheds some interesting light on it when people you actually know come down with! Glad you are okay...I have seen photos of Myco TB infections...Not pleasant at all!

We also have members here that have contracted citrobacter by ingesting water.

I've had cuts get infected many times , but whether its from the tank water I never could tell...there was a few times I did suspect it strongly though! I make it a habit to wash my hands with rubbing alcohol now, just in case, and if I have an open cut...I cover it with antibiotic ointment and try to keep it dry...the reality is my hands are literally wet from tank water so many times a day..its hard!

-al

[FishLover888]

Simple fix:

Go to WalMart and buy some of the liquid bandage (about $5 will last you for a long time). Whenever you have open wounds on your skin, put it on and you will be fine to touch the water with that.