Mycobacterium marinum
Some fishy bacteria you can catch Too!
By: Shaun Hayes

Tuberculosis in fish.

From some reading that I have done on Fish Tuberculosis,
most writers say that Tuberculosis occurs in saltwater and not freshwater tanks but, they
have been proven wrong by thousands cases when the aquarist only had freshwater tanks. Your
fish are most at risk if, they are crowded or overstocked or if new fish are constantly
being added.
The bacteria will look different from species to species and because it does, it might
look similar to other diseases.
Tuberculosis is a widespread bacteria that mainly attacks the heart, liver and kidneys
which eventually leads to the Wasting disease..
Tuberculosis affects the skin as well as major organs. On the body you can see nodular
legions, raised lesions, darker or lighter coloration than usual, fins can have a rotten
appearance and eye protrusion. If the gills are affected by the bacteria, you may notice
rapid breathing and/or uncoordinated movement.
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In aquarists, the infection usually
appears in the dominant hand. It usually occurs when cleaning your tank(s) when a small
cut is received, allowing the bacteria of M.marinum into your system. When the bacteria
are in the system,they multiply extremely slow: 2 -9 weeks for a single bump to appear.
The bump can be slightly raised, scaly,
warm and/or red with mild to no pain at all. In some cases the bump evolves into a pus
bump that will drain yellow pus off and on. If you have a deep injury infected with
M.marinum, tendon or joints may swell, be warm and stiff. Infected areas may require
surgery.
Other than the bumps on the hand or arm,
there are no signs or symptoms. There will be no fever, stomach aches, cramps etc. These
bacteria are often mis-diagnosed as some other infection. M.marinum cannot be detected by
blood tests, X-rays and can be only weakly detected by a tuberculosis test.
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One of the simplest ways of to prevent
the infection is to wear gloves, especially if you have a weak immune system, and to have
minimal contact with the inside of your aquarium.
Other things that you can do are wash, wash, wash
your hands with anti-bacterial soap after contact with the inside of your aquarium.
You can cut the number of this bacteria in half by
lowering the temperature to between 70 & 82 degrees.
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Aquarium Fish magazine, Aug. 95' pg.79 Michael Verneris
Sean Rhodes, interview
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© 1996 Caleha Enterprises
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