Mill.Shires
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2017
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o.k... I had a discussion with a store owner who told me fewer than 5% of his fish were ever infected, yet I contantly see "not for sale" "sick" notices on tanks (in lots of stores). A former fish store employee told me that so many fish were sick in the store he worked at that they routinely treated almost all fish on delivery. Another fish bench-bleacher employee told me even if a fish is sick with a bacteria (not parasite) infection, it is rare that the sick fish would transfer the bacteria to healthy fish in a healthy tank....so there is very little risk of infection from a store bought (sick) fish. He also said that is why many stores have central filtration systems instead of individual tanks --- because the risk of cross infection is very low. A claim that fish don't transfer disease between/to other varieties (such as a cardinal tetra infecting a yellow rainbow) seemed highly suspect to me.
I can't find any supporting science or statistic information about:
1. What % of fish in a store/received by a store are actually diseased or parasitized
2. What is the risk of a sick fish giving a different kind of fish a disease
3. What is the risk level of a purchased disease or parasite fish infecting a varied population in a healthy tank
Any owners or ichthiologists out there that can shed some light on this? I have been keeping fish for more than 25 years and have rarely had disease outbreaks in my tank. A store recently sold me some sick fish and more or less shrugged their shoulders --- even after they posted a "sick" sign on the tank of fish from which mine was purchased just 2 days prior to the posting (yes, 50% of the ones I bought died)....I can deal with that. What I am concerned about is the health of my other fish....and curiosity about more science behind the tropical fish industry and diseases. I know risk can vary from disease to disease, that sickness falls into 4 broad categories (bacterial infections, fungal infections, parasitic, or protozoan infections) ---- and also that some diseases are fairly common. So ruling out those rare or singly specific (such as only infect catfish) --- what are some broad, research/statistic backed general conclusions?
I can't find any supporting science or statistic information about:
1. What % of fish in a store/received by a store are actually diseased or parasitized
2. What is the risk of a sick fish giving a different kind of fish a disease
3. What is the risk level of a purchased disease or parasite fish infecting a varied population in a healthy tank
Any owners or ichthiologists out there that can shed some light on this? I have been keeping fish for more than 25 years and have rarely had disease outbreaks in my tank. A store recently sold me some sick fish and more or less shrugged their shoulders --- even after they posted a "sick" sign on the tank of fish from which mine was purchased just 2 days prior to the posting (yes, 50% of the ones I bought died)....I can deal with that. What I am concerned about is the health of my other fish....and curiosity about more science behind the tropical fish industry and diseases. I know risk can vary from disease to disease, that sickness falls into 4 broad categories (bacterial infections, fungal infections, parasitic, or protozoan infections) ---- and also that some diseases are fairly common. So ruling out those rare or singly specific (such as only infect catfish) --- what are some broad, research/statistic backed general conclusions?