Can fish parasites or diseases be pass to us?

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philipraposo1982

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Feb 21, 2016
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We often siphon water from the tank, use our hands in the tank and forget to.wash up, or other ways we can come in direct contact with fish parasites and or.diseases.

I am wondering if we as hobbyist need to worry about this stuff?
 
We often siphon water from the tank, use our hands in the tank and forget to.wash up, or other ways we can come in direct contact with fish parasites and or.diseases.

I am wondering if we as hobbyist need to worry about this stuff?



I remember watching an episode of Monsters Inside Me when a man caught a trout and he didn't fully cook it and a tape worm was incidentally ingested by the man. After watching that I became more cautious with using my mouth to start siphon of hoses lol. Never heard of anyone getting infected by Aquarium fish but personally believe it could happen.
 
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I remember watching an episode of Monsters Inside Me when a man caught a trout and he didn't fully cook it and a tape worm was incidentally ingested by the man.
I think the lesson there is to not eat raw fish....good thing I don't like sushi lol.
Regarding the thread topic,I don't think it is possible but I wouldn't be surprised if someone did contract some kind of fish ailment.
 
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Moved to Freshwater Diseases and Health Issues.

The Tank of the Month section is for discussing our monthly contests.
 
Eating untreated food definitely has a potential for parasites of infection. Treatment could be heating or freezing for the correct time and temperature, or some other method (pickling or salting I imagine might work to some extent.)

Getting infected or a gaining a parasite without eating will typically require not only the presence of the invasive organism, but a cut or abrasion, or some incidental ingesting of water. That does happen. (The son of a friend of mine caught a parasite, likely when he swallowed a small amount of water while swimming, in a Montana lake.) It was so rare (in California anyway) that it took weeks for them to identify why the boy was ill and not responding to antibiotics.

So I'd say uncommon or rare, but certainly possible. People who keep native species that they personally acquire from lakes and rivers might be a bit more at risk. Same would likely apply to people who routinely fish, manage fish farms, handle fish at markets, etc.
 
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yup you can catch mycobacterium marinum especially if you are immunocompromised
 
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I got fish granuloma on my hand from the hobby. Had to take 4 weeks of antibiotics.

It started with pain at the finger tip like a ingrown nail (middle finger). Worked its way up the hand over several weeks. Went to the doctor and was misdiagnosed and was prescribed a topical cream. Went back a second time after a few weeks. This time was sent to a dermatologist. I told him my hands are in contact with pond and aquarium water. He went back to his office and figured out what it is. He took a biopsy to confirm. He said if this had gone longer it would of work its way to my body and glands. I have a photo but maybe a mod should advise if it is okay to post.
 
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