Hi Rosie,
I've just been catching up on your journal, I'm so sorry to hear about everything that has gone on, what an absolutely terrible time you've had.
Like you, I have worried about fish TB in the past as fish gradually die from nonspecific symptoms. I have just never had it confirmed. I'm currently running a plant only tank so it's less of an issue!
However, between Diana's mycobactum document and this aquaculture document, I feel like UV may beg some more exploration. I certainly need to do some more reading.
It sounds very much like MB is endemic in ornamental fish culture, pet stores, and commercial aquaculture (even in fresh watersupply owing to its chlorine resistance).
It makes me wonder if running our tank water through UV sterilizers (at the correct flow rates) at least a couple of times a day might not be a very good prophylactic and it is likely better for fish than medications. This probably applies to all fish diseases especially as fish tend to actively shed disease before showing signs. I wonder if a discussion on UV sterilizers might not be warranted in its own thread?
You know I have been puzzled about this too, that apparently it's everywhere but often doesn't affect anything. There are about 20 species of Mycobacterium, and I wonder if they often use the generic staining test which doesn't indicate which type it is, if it doesn't actually affect the fish with granulomas then maybe it is just one of the less harful kinds. My theory is that many of the less harmful ones are everywhere, and that the very harmful ones (which I have and which causes granulomas) are rarer, this disease has been so nasty it's impossible to ignore. The generic one that kills very slowly over months and years doesn't seem like as much of a problem for a tank than what my tank has caught which has just ravaged the fish, and also much less obvious too, I wonder if people would ever notice it, unless they didn't buy fish for many years and kept one population like Walstad did.
Thank you for that article, I'll have a read through that now. I'm currently running the UV from 8pm - 10am, so I can dose fertiliser and it doesn't chelate the iron before the plants can use it. When I researched into UV it did look like a good option, but also often was confusing too and talking in terms I don't quite understand (redox). I think a separate discussion would be good, I will also at some point make a thread that just goes through my experience with the FishTB for others who think they might have it in the future. Bit too sad about it to start it now though tbh. I think at the moment I just need to get over the shock and sadness of it before I can regroup in a few days and make a better decision. Every option seems exhausting right now.
I have been euthanising fish as soon as they have a symptom, since I killed all the pencils last week I haven't noticed any obvious symptoms, but they often come on very quickly. Energy seems lower in the tank but that might be my imagination tbhTo answer your question as I was typing while you posted! I think I would immediately euthanase any obviously sick fish but I'd probably keep anything that looks ok for now.
Truly sterilizing a tank and filter will mean stripping it cleaning it and then running it with diluted chlorine bleach (we seal and fog areas in healthcare as well as using UV) for a period of time to get into every little crevice, but that would include nets, pipes, buckets the works and throwing away pretty much everything that is living or hard to clean like wood. Even then if there is any reservoir you've missed you will immediately reintroduce it at low levels or it could come in on the next fish that you buy...
Changing the substrate out and giving everything a good clean, filters pipes etc to try and get rid of as much biofilm as possible would be ideal but it will place huge stress on the fish which are already fighting MB, unless there is another tank they can go straight into?
I'm also wondering if twinstar reactors and or ozone may be of use?
Sadly there isn't another tank for them to go into, all my other tanks are tiny, and also in the offchance they don't have the TB I don't want to introduce it. In my two nanos with fish, one (23L) has ricefish where none have ever died but it's in the same room as my big <Nymphs Spring> tank and I'm sure I've swapped plants over before in the past few months, and the second (45L) has a betta and chili rasboras. In this tank the rasboras have gone from 12 to 7 over the past few months so I am suspicous, but the betta seems very healthy, and from what I've read FishTB really hurts bettas so maybe this tank has been spared idk. Maybe I should but I can't bear to destroy everything in every tank, so I will be buying all new buckets, pipes, cleaning equipment and work out a new regime to make things as safe as possible. I set up a third nano at Christmas with my dad that I haven't shared yet, for ricefish babies and crystal shrimps, I think that one should be safe as everything in it is new. I won't buy any new fish to these tanks though, and when the fish eventually die I will do a hard cleaning as you describe in every one, and I'm going to get all new buckets, pipes, cleaning equipment, etc.
I will eventually do the BIG CLEAN as you describe in the big tank, I guess the question is when. Do I wait and see what happens, try UV and other treatments, or cut my losses and start again? Or some hybrid idk. If I did a rescape/cleaning with all new sand at least the fish would just be in buckets for a few hours and could go back in without extra ammonia and stuff.
Not sure about the twinstar/ozone, I guess that's worth an investigation too, I've never been sure what it did to be honest!
For installing the TMC was very easy, though it does stick out the back of my cabinet a bit as it's so large. You can't see it though. It also looks like it will be easy to clean.@shangman let me know how you get on with the UV, I’m debating over the TMC one or the Eheim one as I like the fittings on it.
As for the fish, I’ve been there and had to euthanise using clove oil, it’s probably the best thing you can actually do for your fish now. Then claim yourself a fresh start.
Whichever you choose will be what’s best for you, just know that there’s no judgement if you decide to start all over again.
I bet most of us would in a heartbeat.
This is the thing also, is how many fish are suffering in the tank but I don't know? The pencilfish I gave to the vet were RIDDLED with granulomas, it is possible my fish have them and the obvious symptoms just aren't there yet. The most important thing is for my fish not to suffer. It's quite subjective though.
You are right, I think it's such a grim thing to happen that there aren't really any right answers. I may not euthanise immediately, btu I think I will before the end of the year, and probably sooner if things take an obvious turn for the worst. Maybe very soon, I'm not sure yet tbh. I think if my apistos start to look bad then that's that.
I'll read this one asap too!Interesting review article on MB in fish Microorganisms 2020, 8(9), 1368
Did the vet tell you what strain of MB your fish had?
I don't know the strain sadly. I'll just upload the sort PDF of results I got from the vet