Mycobacterium Marine

[masterswimmer]

NYC, that stinks my friend. I hope the treatments are successful, quick and painless.

I've seen that link before and am ultra cautious about washing my hands after reaching in my tank. Unfortunately, gloves don't allow the fine motor skills to be used. They are just too bulky and desensitize your hands.

G-d speed NYC,
Russ

 

[nycfatcow]

damn yoh i am facing a decision to take apart my tank and sell everything...this really sucks...

 

[R32Brightliner]

I usually do a two/three minute wash with anitbacterial soap everytime I do some major work in my tank. Ialso take frequent breaks (if I am doing a lot of work/moving items around) to wash my hands so stuff doesn't 'attach'.

Those bulky gloves don't work. Not enough dexterity. However, if you've got cuts on your hands and need dexterity, you can use powder-free latex gloves. Just put a rubberband on tight around your wrist to make apretty good water-tight seal. Intact skin is a barrier to bacteria, etc so you don't have to worry about forearm/arm as much. Just make sure you wash your skin well with antibacterial soap.

 

[KuyaMark]

Calvin sorry to hear that bro! I hope you have a fast, speedy and painless recoverydon't sell your tank and corals. But if you do i'll gladly take them from you especially the frogspawns, torch and the softies

Mark

 

[nycfatcow]

Calvin sorry to hear that bro! I hope you have a fast, speedy and painless recoverydon't sell your tank and corals. But if you do i'll gladly take them from you especially the frogspawns, torch and the softies

Mark

haha mark haha thats all i have to say lol

 

[KuyaMark]

hehehehehe hey you know i am good for it!

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Wingo,
This is not Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is totally different. Yes Mycobacterium marinum is part of the mycobacterium family in which tuberculois shares the same genus, but it is NOT in any way OPEN tuberculosis. Not even CLOSE to being tuberculosis. Two totally different things.
THere is no such thing as OPEN TB. THere is a milliary TB (systemically disseminated) and good ol pulmonary TB. Tuberculosis is a disease of the pulmonary system which has different characteristics all together. Trust me on this one...

Acutally, mycobacterium marinum is not very contagious to humans. Usually occurs in people who are immunocompromised in some way (cold, flu, on immunosuppressive drugs, etc) and by way of a
break in the skin. Hard to treat once you catch it because it is not your stardard organism. It's a mycobacterium which has different wall structure than most of your oridinary bacteria. Need debridement and special antibiotics to treat.

Best way to prevent it is to either wear gloves or to be very meticulous about washing your hands with soap and water each time you put your hands in the tank bare. Most noticable if you have a open cut that is just not healing over some time.

Just gotta be careful. This is a bug the Infectious Disease guys in medicine have known about for years. It is not new, but is very rare...

TB and Open TB are the commons name people call them in the fish hobby when hit by this mycobacterium. Of course, it is not the human tuberculosis. I know it too. I am giving the common name only. Thanks for reminding everyone about the difference.

Also when I referred to Open TB being contagious I mean "very contagious to fish" in the tank. Excuse me for not being clear enough.

BTW you did give very good prevention measures

 

[R32Brightliner]

Thanks Wingo.
I am used to hearing it just a Mycobacterium Marinum in my world. Didn't know that it's known as open TB in the fish hobby. Guess I haven't been around long enough in this hobby (lol).

I actually worry about this bug. With our hobby, it's an easy catch if you are not meticulous in washing hands and being aware of cuts.

 

[noodleman]

Calvin sorry to hear that bro! I hope you have a fast, speedy and painless recoverydon't sell your tank and corals. But if you do i'll gladly take them from you especially the frogspawns, torch and the softies

Mark

lol mark dont you be staring at my frogspawns and torches over at calvin's place.:tank:

Damn calvin this sucks......atleast know i know what those hard bumps i had for a couple of weeks are now lol

 

[lazyreefer]

wow.. scary stuff.. best of luck and wish you a fast recovery

 

[charliethetuna88]

is this an april fools joke

 

[masterswimmer]

is this an april fools joke

This bacteria is not a joke, nor is it something that should be taken lightly. It is not overly common to contract this malady but it does happen.

 

[nycfatcow]

is this an april fools joke

wouldnt joke about my health

 

[Zoous]

Sorry, to hear what happened.
Besk of luck.

 

[Dmitry]

Yikes!! Get better soon! When you're ready to re-start the tank I'm sure you'll find lots of frag donations here! :approve:

 

[nycfatcow]

thanks guys... i know...but i mite be out of the hobby for good

 

[Astoria]

nycfatcow sorry to see you going out of the hobby.:sad2:
I will give you the stand for free if you stay
Best of luck with everything.
Gary

 

[Quang]

Bro, the f%kin sucks! Get better man and keep them hands clean.

 

[alrha]

get well soon, at least you caught it and are able to treat it before it got worse.

why do you want to leave the hobby? i'm sure there are people here that would lend you a hand (pun intended) till yours gets better, and going forward you'll know to be extra cautious and wear gloves.

question: why cant this be caught from the ocean? i've never seen people wearing gloves to the beach...

 

[FastUno]

Same question that Alrha just asked. You would think that a dip at the beach would be more likely to cause something like this. Maybe it happens more often than we know?