The Infection That Nearly Ended My Time In The Aquarium Hobby

Many people who keep saltwater aquariums are familiar with the common health risks -- but this is one I bet you haven't heard of. Lots of people told me I should break down my 310 gallon mixed reef but I love it too much to let a little thing like orthopedic surgery get me down!

[User_dashzero]

You can probably breathe underwater now…

[bakedPython]

That orthopedic surgeon is incredible. They knew their stuff, even on a somewhat rare infection, and were probably patting themselves on the back for the rest of the day for asking that last question.

[autumnisnothere]

Not a fun infection. I've been battling it for 10 months now. Took my doctors 3 months to send me to an infectious disease specialist who knew right away what it was and gave me the appropriate antibiotics. It's getting better now. Glad you posted this video; so many as you said have never heard of this. My fish know I'm upset with them!

[TenorCantusFirmus]

My mother (health lab technician) talked me about Mycobacterium marinum when I started keeping aquarium as a teen. Raising/keeping awareness on it is paramount for safety and health reasons.

[ExTRAErrestrial_Travels]

I got so excited watching this video. I’m a microbiologist and an Infection Control Practitioner. Mycobacterium tend to be what we call fastidious; it’s hard to culture and takes a long time to grow and usually cause chronic infections. Other bacteria in this family include Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (Tuberculosis) and Mycobacterium Leprae (Leprosy). Also Mycobacterium Laprae can also be carried by armadillos so be careful. But they usually take months of antibiotics to kill because of how slow growing they are.

[videolover]

As a microbiologist, my first thought was "wow! Mycobacterium is one of my favorites!" It's no wonder that no one ever calls me to tell me what they have gotten sick with. I'm always unreasonably excited. So glad you have recovered from this!

[delsere]

Excellent summary. You told us everything we needed to know, in a short, 4 minute video. More hobbyists do need to be aware of this and I appreciate you telling your story.

[brigidlambie]

Just wanting to toss this out there: a lot of doctors forget to ask about if you work at a petstore, work around aquariums, or own any of those things. Your doctor may even write it off as not a big deal if you mention it. But there are a lot of infections you can get from EVERY pet you own. Dogs, cats, hamsters, ect. And you can absolutely get the infections just working at a petstore.

[kathleenkaufmann]

My ex husband and I imported tropical fish to sell to stores. Mainly fresh water but got into salt towards to end, some marine fish but mainly living rock for reef tanks. Many times the fresh water fish would come in sick so we held them in tanks at home to treat before delivering them. I had never heard of this bacterium before now. I am a nurse that worked mainly with burns. FYI, all burns tend to get infected due to bacteria commonly found on skin. We were in the hobby and importers for years. I feel we were lucky to escape this infection. Thank you for this video of info. It may help to raise awareness in the hobbly.

[chrissy-]

I'm immune compromised so I'm going to wear gloves when working in the tank. Thank you for sharing this! I'm glad you're ok!

[Reefkpr]

I've been in the hobby for 31 years and this is the first time hearing about this. Thanks for passing on this valuable information. At least I know what to tell a Dr. if I ever experience anything like this. 👍

[victoriocodotto]

Leterally when you told "nodules" i tought about mycobacteria. I did my thesis about them, they can be present in all water environments and usually can be deadly dangerous only for immuno-compromised people. During my research i understood that high percentage of ornamental fish are positive if tested, even with no death or big external signals.

[christerpedersen]

Well, you're not the only one, I've had this too😮 Several years ago I was working in a LFS and got this swollen infection in a finger. Tried to wait it out, didn't work and went to the doctor. Gave me some antibiotics but it didn't work so they sent me to a specialist. I told him what I did for a living, he showed me a picture of a similar infection and told me I had fish tuberculosis (common name). Gave me some really heavy antibiotics and I got rid of it after some months (it was so strong I couldn't be in the sun without a heavy coat of sunblock).
I live in Norway and aquaculture is big over here and that's where the specialist had seen this stuff before.
I'm glad you shared this as this is rare but a serious infection.

[allyt]

I’m a microbiologist and I knew immediately what it was from the thumbnail. I’m sorry to hear about what happened to you. It’s a good psa for anyone working with water that the mycobacterium can get into any cuts you have especially on your hands.

[jlato]

My Grandfather got the infection while fishing in the backwoods of Florida. He managed to avoid surgery, but took over a year of treatment to clear the infection. This is a great video to help spread awareness as nobody I have told this story has heard of it. I am just getting into the hobby and would have never thought about it being a factor in a "clean" environment!

[hatindrama]

Great video with accurate title and you did it in 4 minutes. No clickbait, no BS. Just straight to the point. Stay safe!

[oxapollyon]

thank you for sharing your story! mycobacteria isn't talked about nearly as much as it should be. i personally got a myco infection from a freshwater tank a few years back, but luckily a trip to a dermatologist (who also asked if i had fish) and some antibiotics caught it before it could do anything scary. experiences like yours are terrible though, but at the very least sharing it will help more people know about the risk. i hope you recover fully!

[RMacca]

Im not even really in the hobby but got this suggestion and i just wanted to say thank you for bringing awareness to this type of thing and keeping it a short sweet video that will hopefully be effective in informing as many people as possible. We need to encourage this kind of content as a community and a platform ❤

[firstnamekaty]

I watched an episode of Monsters Inside Me a couple years ago about a man who had accidentally scratched his hand on a barnacle while cleaning the bottom of his boat and a month or so later he noticed a little red mark, callous looking thing on his palm and he started having terrible pain with swelling and mobility problems in that hand. To make a long story short, he had barnacles living and growing in his hand! He almost lost his hand completely bc the barnacles had grown all around his ligaments and the surgeon didn’t know if he would be able to save it before surgery but thankfully he was able to. I’ve never forgotten that episode bc it surprised me so much that barnacles could even do that. That show is crazy af.

[jordanlee]

I’m in med school and just learned about Mycobacterium marinum – often overshadowed by its more infamous relative, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). Out of my extensive flashcard rotation, M. marinum is among the less emphasized (contributing only 5/90, 000 of my total flash cards), making it understandable that several doctors might overlook it. It's a relatively rare condition, and your encounter sheds light on its complexity, thank you for sharing!