Can fish get sick with something that you have?

Marinemom

Marinemom

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Apr 8, 2006
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:help::help:I know that this might sound silly to some people but I have always wondered about this. If you as the fish keeper is sick and you put your hands or arms in the tank water when you have been sick and are just starting to get well, can the fish pick up some parasite or pathologen from you? I mean does it sound like this is even possible? I have been very sick for the last two days especially the first day. I looked and felt like death itself. My poor husband didn't know what to do with me in the doctors office when I almost passed out there. Anyways with the help of antibiotics and steriods I am feeling a lot better. All that remains now is some nausea but even that is better then when I first got up. Which prompts me to ask this question. If I am still having some nausea then I am not completely well but a lot better then before. Can my fish get sick with something that I pass to them through my skin for example? Reason for asking of course is it is in general a good thing to know and my 125 gallon needs a water change on top of the fact that my favorite aquarium shop is now having a sale this week-end on their live plants. 50% off all of the live pants that I know my tanks can use. I want to take advantage of this sale and spruce up my tanks but not at the cost of my precious fish. I mean my 125 has my gorgeous angels and awesome German Blue rams along with three schools of tetras,a nice amount of platys, a school of cories, a striped rapheal that I have had for years and if anything happens to him I would be deeply saddened,and a common pleco. I certainly do not want to jepordize their health and well being. Instinct is telling me to keep my hands out of the tank. They may need a water change and new plants are always a good thing but not at the risk of losing any of them. Maybe I should just wait this out. I am confused about this.

Can someone please help clarify this for me? I just really need to know.

Thank-you in advance for any and all responses to this difficult question that is really bugging me.

Marinemom
 
Never really heard of anything like that, that had any solid evidence behind it. I can see some topical treatments being an issue.

Maybe just do a water change, no vac, no hands in tank. And see if you can purchase the plants and pick them up next weekend?
 
i dont know of any disease that is communicable between fish and humans. most diseases arent communicable between any animal and humans. there are a few exceptions, but not very many. i would be more concerned with things like antibiotics leeching out of your skin into the tank and killing all your bio filtration stuff, but im not even sure thats possible without you bleeding a whole lot into your tanks. if youre that concerned, wear gloves and a dust mask or bandana before doing anything with your tanks
 
You can get sick as hell from fish tho
here is a fairly comprehensive list of zoonoses that you can
potentially contract from your aquarium or from fish (please note that most
of these are pretty uncommon, and catching them would be a rare thing
indeed, and some pretty much require that you actually eat the fish):

Anisakiasis, Botulism, Capillaria phillipenensis, Cholera, Clonorchis
sinensis, Cryptosporidium, Dioctophyme renale, Diphyllobothrium latum,
Echinostomiasis, Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, Eustrongylides, Gnathostoma
spinigerum, Heterophyes heterophyes, Metagonimus yokogawai, Mycobacterium
marinum, Nanophyetiasis, Opisthorchiasis, Plesiomonas shigelloides,
Salmonellosis, Vibrio infection.

Mycobacteria widespread in aquaria
A study on the presence of mycobacteria in healthy fish and aquariums in the Czech Republic has shown that the incidence of the pathogens is 'quite high'.
Scientists from the Veterinary Research Institute at Brno in the Czech Republic analysed samples taken from a home aquarium alongside those from five aquaria run by a professional fish breeder and found that 18 of 42 samples taken from 19 fish contained various forms of Mycobacteria.
The findings, which are due to be published in the Journal of Fish Diseases, also showed that the mycobacteria were present in the water itself, with 75.4% of samples testing positive. Certain mycobacterial species can cause chronic, hard-to-treat fish diseases that do not respond well to over-the-counter medications, with one species, Mycobacterium marinum, leading to fish TB; a condition that not only kills fish but also produces a skin condition in humans known as "fish tank granuloma".
Further analysis of the isolated mycobacteria showed that a wide range of species were present in the samples, including: M. fortuitum, M. flavescens, M. chelonae, M. gordonae, M. terrae, M. triviale, M. diernhoferi, M. celatum, M. kansasii and M. intracellulare. Mycobacterium marinum was absent from the samples, and M. kanasasii
The team wrote: "The incidence of other conditionally pathogenic mycobacterial species in healthy fish and in all investigated constituents of the aquarium environment including snails and crustaceans used for fish feeding, was quite high.
"Accordingly, mycobacterial species from aquarium environments may serve as a possible source of infection for both aquarium fish and immunodeficient fish handlers."
For more information see the paper: Beran V, Matlova L, Dvorska L, Svastova P, Pavlik I (2006) - Distribution of mycobacteria in clinically healthy ornamental fish and their aquarium environment. J Fish Dis. 2006 Jul;29(7):383-93.
 
I understand that I can get sick from the fish although it would be rare. Maybe just another reason to wear gloves when I am messing in the tank. Where can I purchase these gloves that are safe for aquarium use?

Marinemom
 
my lfs carries them
 
Ok good. I plan to go there either today or tomorrow depending on how I feel.

Marinemom
 
Hope you feel better soon, MM!
 
Alright a fun thread. :mad scientist giggle:

Anisakiasis, Botulism, Capillaria phillipenensis, Cholera, Clonorchis
sinensis, Cryptosporidium, Dioctophyme renale, Diphyllobothrium latum,
Echinostomiasis, Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, Eustrongylides, Gnathostoma
spinigerum, Heterophyes heterophyes, Metagonimus yokogawai, Mycobacterium marinum, Nanophyetiasis, Opisthorchiasis, Plesiomonas shigelloides,
Salmonellosis, Vibrio infection.
Click to expand...
This is a listing of water transmitted diseases infecting humans. They do not necessarily cause illness in fish.

I'm go to explain these as several different groups.

Coliforms -- bacteria from the colon, basically these are transmitted into the water via fecal matter. Plesiomonas shigelloides, Salmonellosis, Vibrio infection. These do not infect fish but shigella may be carried by mollusks.

Common bacteria -- These are very widely dispersed and extremely common to find in nature. Only under specific rare conditions will they cause a disease. Botulism (neurotoxin poisoning produced by anaerobic bacteria) Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, Mycobacterium marinum (infects both fish and humans).

Protist-- Cryptosporidium (does not infect fish)

Parasites --These are various flukes, roundworms and nematodes that use fish or snails as a intermediate host. Anisakiasis, Capillaria phillipenensis, Clonorchis sinensis, Dioctophyme renale, Diphyllobothrium latum, Echinostomiasis, Eustrongylides, Gnathostoma spinigerum, Heterophyes heterophyes, Metagonimus yokogawai, Nanophyetiasis, Opisthorchiasis. All of these are rare in humans and require antiparasitic medication not antibiotics.

There is one very large group that is missing from this list-- No viruses? As far as I can tell none have been found to transmit back and forth that cause disease. As this is the most common cause of disease in humans it really stands out.

So back to the original question. If you are sick will you infect your fish? The short answer is 99.9999% of the time you will not. You have a much larger chance of causing disease by adding in new plants, or animals to your tank.

I wouldn't worry about wearing gloves. The only thing that I would worry about if I were you would be passing out and falling into the tank. So I would definitely have your husband do the water change for you. You can sit there and tell him what to do. I'm sure you've never done that before. ;)

I hope that you feel better soon.
 
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