# Aquarium-related health issues



## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

I'm planning a talk on for the local fish club on aquarium-related health issues. Wanted to see if anyone had some suggestions for me.

So far I'm looking at organizing it in this way:

1) physical (electrocution, drowning, cuts/puncture wounds)

2) chemical (contact reactions, allergic reactions, poisoning)

3) biological (water-borne infections, zoonoses)

for the 2nd category, there's the bloodworm allergies, reported duckweed allergies (gotta look this up myself), allergic reactions to crypts and anubias sap.

for the 3rd category, I was going to break it down to reported infections (salmonella, Aeromonas/Pseudomonas, Mycobacteria marinum (fish TB), Vibrio, Erysipelothrix insidiosa, Cercarial dermatitis) And potential infections (Giardia, Schistosomiasis, fascioliasis, Leptospirosis, Campylobacter infections, Entamoebal infections, Cryptospiridium, Typhoid, Microsporidia, Cholera, Shigella) 

any suggestions/additions welcome....


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

Don't forget children falling upside down into 5 gallon containers, the obvious critter wounds - piranha, lionfish, FW catfish barbs, etc.

Probably the most dangerous is the emotional and sometimes physical trauma that one might be subjected to when trying to introduce the significant other to a new tank. 

Some people insist on using concentrated acids to clean glassware - might mention that one.


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## gheitman (Aug 18, 2007)

What about some misconceptions people may have about aquarium-related health issues (i.e. CO2 escaping from tank causing problems or burning yourself on a tank heater)?


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## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

BryceM said:


> Don't forget children falling upside down into 5 gallon containers, the obvious critter wounds - piranha, lionfish, FW catfish barbs, etc.
> 
> Probably the most dangerous is the emotional and sometimes physical trauma that one might be subjected to when trying to introduce the significant other to a new tank.
> 
> Some people insist on using concentrated acids to clean glassware - might mention that one.


There's a good pic on one of the forums of a piranha bite that I can use. iirc, the bite occured outside the tank during netting.

lol, I'll have to add that one to the talk - call it New Tank Syndrome? My wife will have no problems taking a picture hitting me in front of an empty tank.

acids and first aid treatment I'll add to the chemical section.


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## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

gheitman said:


> What about some misconceptions people may have about aquarium-related health issues (i.e. CO2 escaping from tank causing problems or burning yourself on a tank heater)?


that's a good idea, CO2 is definitely a misconception. Anyone want to hold onto their heater for a bit and bust the second myth?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

The next time you're at the general meeting, ask Don about his hand. He worked on his tank with a very deep cut but should not have.


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## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

yes, he mentioned that to me before. I think several members of the club have had the Fish TB infection.


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## ingg (Apr 8, 2007)

Ergonomic issues?

My back about dies after working on my 180g for a time - I can see folks getting mighty sore if not using the proper equipment.


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## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

good idea, I'll put that in the first section.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

I hear you on the ergonomic issues right now after spending a good share of the day working in the tanks....

How about safely handling, using and disposing of CF bulbs?



> Anyone want to hold onto their heater for a bit and bust the second myth?


I do it all the time to make sure they're working, and so far I still have a hand.


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## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

how frequently do people get mercury poisoning from CF bulbs? (I'm assuming that is the main concern for it - if not I need educated on it  ).


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I sure hope you are talking to reasonable people. With a list like that many would think we were doing biological experimentation... My mom would tell me to quit the hobby. I guess I mean to balance all these things with the reality. I have kept fish for 40+ years and never been hurt - even in the slightest....


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

hooha said:


> how frequently do people get mercury poisoning from CF bulbs? (I'm assuming that is the main concern for it - if not I need educated on it  ).


I doubt anyone gets mercury poisoning, but most of mine crack at the base by the time I change them, so that's something to be careful of - cutting yourself, or having the contents coming out while you're handling it. Maybe it's just the one brand I use (the Hello Lights ones), that crack like that since I don't recall it happening with brands like CoraLife or GE. I'll have to be more observant to see if that's it....


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## Dr.Ponce (Nov 28, 2007)

Probably not an issue at your place but how about "aquariums as vector propagation sites" like mosquitoes wich can be carriers of deseases like malaria, dengue, yellow fever, equine encephalitis, etc....


And TB marinum (Mycobacterium marinum infection)


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## Dr.Ponce (Nov 28, 2007)

Just to complement on a comment above,

I know about two types of vibriosis. One is cholerae ( Vibrium cholerae) transmited by drinking water contaminated with fecal matter. And the other Vibriosis is related to marine animal stings or bites (Rays, Lobsters, etc) , Vibrium vulnificus, wich i understand produces some really nasty blistering of the skin and necrosis of the soft tissue under.


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## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

Tex Gal said:


> I sure hope you are talking to reasonable people. With a list like that many would think we were doing biological experimentation... My mom would tell me to quit the hobby. I guess I mean to balance all these things with the reality. I have kept fish for 40+ years and never been hurt - even in the slightest....


The entire point of the talk will be prevention, prevention, prevention. Alot of people take health issues with their aquarium hobby lightly, if it were their job they'd be more careful. There is a link on another forum of a lady who had an infection related to cleaning her aquarium with an open wound that went to the bloodstream and almost kill her.



JanS said:


> I doubt anyone gets mercury poisoning, but most of mine crack at the base by the time I change them, so that's something to be careful of - cutting yourself, or having the contents coming out while you're handling it. Maybe it's just the one brand I use (the Hello Lights ones), that crack like that since I don't recall it happening with brands like CoraLife or GE. I'll have to be more observant to see if that's it....


I'll add that to the cuts/puncture wound section, in addition to the cuts from barbs/spines of fish.


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## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

Dr.Ponce said:


> Probably not an issue at your place but how about "aquariums as vector propagation sites" like mosquitoes wich can be carriers of deseases like malaria, dengue, yellow fever, equine encephalitis, etc....
> (Mycobacterium marinum infection)


That's a good point to mention - up here alot of us place a bucket outside to get mosquito larvae for feeding fish. The most common mosquito associated disease here is West Nile Virus, definitely worth mentioning.



Dr.Ponce said:


> Just to complement on a comment above,
> 
> I know about two types of vibriosis. One is cholerae ( Vibrium cholerae) transmited by drinking water contaminated with fecal matter. And the other Vibriosis is related to marine animal stings or bites (Rays, Lobsters, etc) , Vibrium vulnificus, wich i understand produces some really nasty blistering of the skin and necrosis of the soft tissue under.


I'm trying to gather a bunch of pics of wound infections related to these infections. I'll have to look for Vibrio infections now . Like I mentioned earilier, the point is to make people aware of potentially severe problems related with the hobby that can easily be prevented.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Be sure to talk about getting stung by fish. I stepped on a bumble bee catfish that jumped out of the tank one time and got spined in the arch of my foot. *Wow*, did that hurt.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

One other thing I came across today was almost cutting the heater cord when I was pruning some anubias. I always unplug the heaters, but for those who don't, and/or don't have GFCI outlets, it could be bad.....

I agree Cavan, those stings can be nasty. I have to avoid them all the time in my salt tanks.....


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## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

I'll be sure to mention not to step on your fish 

That will definitely be in the 1st section.


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## mikenas102 (Feb 8, 2006)

How about mold issues when keeping tanks in a room that is not well ventilated?


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## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

yes, that's a good one to mention. I remember someone mentioning problems with mold on their emersed setups as well.


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## Dr.Ponce (Nov 28, 2007)

Howabout UV light exposure from purifiers and Metal halides? i guess ozone exposure would be less common. mmm...


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## Dr.Ponce (Nov 28, 2007)

Nitrate-Nitrite Poisoning, i guess you would have to drink a lot of aquarium water to get this but it's possible. these compounds convert hemoglobyn to methemoglobyn impairing oxigen transport through te blood stream. 

i understand it is treated with Ascorbic acid (Vitamin c) as it is an antioxidant and produces reduction of the methemoglobyn back to hemoglobyn.

I wonder if it could be possible to treat nitrite poissoned fish the same way....


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## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

Gave my talk tonight - I HATE public speaking but it went as well as I could hope.

Thanks to everyone who helped out!


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## justinbarby (Aug 13, 2010)

Well I know about two types of vibriosis. One is cholerae transmited by drinking water contaminated with fecal matter. Lots of people take health issues with their aquarium hobby lightly, if it were their job they'd be more careful.


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## orisuechris (Aug 14, 2010)

Boy if I had read this prior to starting the hobby I probably wouldn't even have started .


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

hooha said:


> Gave my talk tonight - I HATE public speaking but it went as well as I could hope.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who helped out!


Congrats on the successful talk 

I think you should do a follow-up, but this time talk about all the positive health benefits of the aquarium hobby - reduced blood pressure, increased longevity (I know there was some study or other that showed heart attack victims were more likely to be alive a year later if they had fish), those skin-cleaning _Garra rufa_ treating chronic skin diseases, and so on 

Being aware of hazards is very important, but it's also somewhat off-putting if you don't balance it out with some stuff on the plus side... last thing we want to do is make veryone ask themselves why they're involved with such a dangerous hobby :mrgreen:


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## Cliff Mayes (Jan 29, 2007)

I do not think that anyone gets into or out of this Hobby because of potential hazards.

Add water and electricity plus a bunch of species along with the typical reluctance to wash hands and not wanting any hassle and you have a lot of potential trouble just to reiterate a couple of the potential hazards.

You did my friend open up a can of worms. Pehaps an article to your newsletter may be in order.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Good to keep this going, not stop because you gave your talk. 

How about the dangers when you move tanks? They are heavy, and you can get hurt lifting them. Dropping them on a toe is probably a rare event, but severe when it happens. I have had a stand land on my toe. OUCH!! Stand was not hurt. 
Broken glass is another possible problem. Sharp edges when you are resealing the tank, also. 

As for the heaters, I have brushed up against them in the water, and not had problems, but there was one that was still plugged in when I partially drained the tank for a water change. (oops!) That one was REALLY hot. 

Under the heading of minor injuries, how about trying to restart a filter or power head by spinning the impellor with your fingers. This stings a bit!


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