Did I Get Sick From Bio-support?

[NameUser]

Hello, im new to fish stuff.

i set up my tank saturday night.. and was extremely ill sunday all day, throwing up and terrible stomach. even today still my stomach feel like its wrenching every once in a while.

does anyone here know if this could be from the bio-support i added to my tank? i know it says there's over 300 million bacteria per spoonful. and i may have gotten it on my hands, and i may have eaten food afterward without washing my hands. lol, not too bright im sure.

 

[Truck]

there cant be any bacteria in the bottle,(good stuff anyway, because there is no food for the bacteria to eat, its a false economy.

 

[drobbyb]

It's highly unlikely that you got sick from the additive. That being said, you can get ill from a fishtank (fish can carry and get TB that can be transferred to you!)

 

[Truck]

It's highly unlikely that you got sick from the additive. That being said, you can get ill from a fishtank (fish can carry and get TB that can be transferred to you!)

just to put your mind at rest, aquarium TB 99.9% of the time is not catchable by humans. and TB doesn't make you sick it causes internal bleeding and isnt noticeable in 24 hours, the most likely thing is you've swallowed an additive you stomach doesn't like it so your stomach is ridding your body of a 'foreign' substance

 

[NameUser]

It's highly unlikely that you got sick from the additive. That being said, you can get ill from a fishtank (fish can carry and get TB that can be transferred to you!)

just to put your mind at rest, aquarium TB 99.9% of the time is not catchable by humans. and TB doesn't make you sick it causes internal bleeding and isnt noticeable in 24 hours, the most likely thing is you've swallowed an additive you stomach doesn't like it so your stomach is ridding your body of a 'foreign' substance

okay wow.. i really didnt expect for my first post to produce somthing that would freak me out completely about owning fish. TB! how do i avoid that?

and i got big als bio-support, and it says it has 300 million bacteria per spoonful.. so its lying?

 

[Truck]

you wont have TB there have been no reported cases of TB caught through aquarium water (to my knowledge)

yes there lying, its a false economy its an unnecessary addative just there to make money, it is not possible to sustain bacteria in an enviroment without food, and if you are worried about TB if you have any cuts wear gloves and dont swallow the water.

 

[Jallen]

It's highly unlikely that you got sick from the additive. That being said, you can get ill from a fishtank (fish can carry and get TB that can be transferred to you!)

just to put your mind at rest, aquarium TB 99.9% of the time is not catchable by humans. and TB doesn't make you sick it causes internal bleeding and isnt noticeable in 24 hours, the most likely thing is you've swallowed an additive you stomach doesn't like it so your stomach is ridding your body of a 'foreign' substance

okay wow.. i really didnt expect for my first post to produce somthing that would freak me out completely about owning fish. TB! how do i avoid that?

and i got big als bio-support, and it says it has 300 million bacteria per spoonful.. so its lying?

No, it isn't lying, that would be illegal and they would be forced to stop selling it, probably with a large fine.

TB is a disease that your fish are very unlikely to catch and you are very unlikely to catch from them.

There is probably a 1/100 chance your fish will get TB, and a 1/100 chance that you will catch it (ever heard of this before now?).
That means that there is a 1/10000 chance you will get TB from your fish. And if you ever got a BCG from school (TB jab) then you probably are immune anyway. I guessed those initial probabilities but I think they are probably about right. If anything they are lower than my guesses.

 

[JustKia]

I have to say I've wondered about this.
I don't know about other countries but in the UK we have trading standards - this covers all sales not just specific stuff, and if a product sold isn't what it claims to be or isn't fit for the purpose it is sold for then trading standards have the power to cause the products to be withdrawn, descriptions changed, etc so that what the consumer gets is as described.

Therefore if a product claims to have "300 million bacteria per spoonful" and doesn't (give or take a small percentage) then it's a case for trading standards.
I understand about what people are saying that there probably isn't any useful bacteria due to the requirements of oxygen, food, etc, but at the same time they can't claim it does something it doesn't *shrugging smiley*

 

[NameUser]

well i dont know. But ive got a bottle of Big Als Bio-Support (300 million bacteria per spoonful)

http/www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl36...ebiosupport64oz

and a bottle of Big Als Bio-Clean

http/www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl36...posebioclean8oz.

and the guy at the store told me to double up on the recomended serving when i first set up the tank.. and there after stick to what the bottle directions says..

by the way i have just one betta, and ive had him in a small betta tank for a week now.. have my 20 gallon tank set up for three days now and im letting the stuff cycle, i dont know what everyone is talking about this cycle, ive read up the links and threads, and it still doesnt make much sence to me, but im giving my 20 gallon tank some time before i drop my fish in there.. But the guy at the store said two days would be enuff time to let the tank adjust and settle. Im not sure if he's right, but im thinking about giving it a week, then maybe drop my fish in there.. i mean, its got a heater, and a filter, how much worse can it be compared to the little half foot squared tank he's in now thats got no heat and no filter?

and please, let me get this straight, in order to catch fish TB i have to drink the water or put an open cut in there? you guys really opened a can of worms on me with that one.. im not really a germaphob, as you can tell by my thread starter about how i probably got the 300 million live bacteria on my hands, then may have eaten dinner without washing.. but that TB thing freaked me out.

 

[Jallen]

I have to say I've wondered about this.
I don't know about other countries but in the UK we have trading standards - this covers all sales not just specific stuff, and if a product sold isn't what it claims to be or isn't fit for the purpose it is sold for then trading standards have the power to cause the products to be withdrawn, descriptions changed, etc so that what the consumer gets is as described.

Therefore if a product claims to have "300 million bacteria per spoonful" and doesn't (give or take a small percentage) then it's a case for trading standards.
I understand about what people are saying that there probably isn't any useful bacteria due to the requirements of oxygen, food, etc, but at the same time they can't claim it does something it doesn't *shrugging smiley*

My only guess is that the bacteria can be dead.
In the sentence "300 million bacteria per spoonful" they say nothing about the bacteria being alive.

 

[NameUser]

I have to say I've wondered about this.
I don't know about other countries but in the UK we have trading standards - this covers all sales not just specific stuff, and if a product sold isn't what it claims to be or isn't fit for the purpose it is sold for then trading standards have the power to cause the products to be withdrawn, descriptions changed, etc so that what the consumer gets is as described.

Therefore if a product claims to have "300 million bacteria per spoonful" and doesn't (give or take a small percentage) then it's a case for trading standards.
I understand about what people are saying that there probably isn't any useful bacteria due to the requirements of oxygen, food, etc, but at the same time they can't claim it does something it doesn't *shrugging smiley*

My only guess is that the bacteria can be dead.
In the sentence "300 million bacteria per spoonful" they say nothing about the bacteria being alive.

ACTUALLY YES THEY DO "Big Al's Multi-Purpose Bio-Support contains 300 million live bacteria per teaspoonful to enhance the growth of any biological filter and reduce ammonia build up."

 

[Truck]

I have to say I've wondered about this.
I don't know about other countries but in the UK we have trading standards - this covers all sales not just specific stuff, and if a product sold isn't what it claims to be or isn't fit for the purpose it is sold for then trading standards have the power to cause the products to be withdrawn, descriptions changed, etc so that what the consumer gets is as described.

Therefore if a product claims to have "300 million bacteria per spoonful" and doesn't (give or take a small percentage) then it's a case for trading standards.
I understand about what people are saying that there probably isn't any useful bacteria due to the requirements of oxygen, food, etc, but at the same time they can't claim it does something it doesn't *shrugging smiley*

My only guess is that the bacteria can be dead.
In the sentence "300 million bacteria per spoonful" they say nothing about the bacteria being alive.

ACTUALLY YES THEY DO "Big Al's Multi-Purpose Bio-Support contains 300 million live bacteria per teaspoonful to enhance the growth of any biological filter and reduce ammonia build up."

its a false economy, trading standards have told the manufacturers to change their lables, wat proof? did you read that topic schmill did ill post a link.


Jallen:

TB jabs at school are only available to those who are or have parents from a foreign back ground. as of 2006

 

[Truck]

READ!

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=262595&hl=

as it explains, it does NOTHING towards a fishless cycle, and yes it says stress zyme but there all the same product.

 

[nosoup4you]

The disease that we call TB is not the same as fish TB. Fish TB is caused by Mycobacterium marinum which is closely related to the bacteria that causes Tuberculosis in humans. Fish TB is not actually TB at all and manifests itself entirely differently. When people contract 'TB' from their fish, which is fairly unlikely, the bacteria enter through abrasions or cuts on the skin and manifest as skin lesions. A good dose of antibiotics will usually take care of things over time but if left untreated can move into joints and bone. It is doubtful that a TB vaccination would have any effect as they are caused by two different bacterium.

 

[JustKia]

I've read the post but it doesn't answer my question.
In the UK companies have to adhere to trading standards - they can't claim a product contains something it doesn't or does something it doesn't (or even vice versa can't claim it doesn't do/contain something that it does do/contain).
There are serious fines if companies are caught contravening the trading standards rules and regs. As far as proof of what trading standards goes - then has anyone actually filed a complaint about these "bacteria in a bottle"? If they do trading standards has to investigate if the labelling/claims are true.
It would cost these companies way too much in fines to go on making false claims about their products.
Now, I can appreciate that the majority have had little to no success with these products and that common sense says surely there couldn't be live benficial bacteria in there.
So either these products do contain what they say and are fit for the purpose intended and somehow people have just been unlucky or there could be some pretty big law suits out there for selling by misrepresentation...?