Good Information

[AllenLeicester]

Went to my LFS today and was talking about what to have in my new tank!Started talking about Dwarf Gouramis and how prone they are to diseases,He told that Dwarf Gouramis carry a disease which is very similair to (Human Cancer) They call it (Fish Cancer) And we can catch it from the fish! He said that if you put your hand and you have a cut or open woaned,in a tank and the Gourami has this fish cancer disease,we can catch it! It will be very hard for Doctors to find it , But as soon as you say asort of fish disease (Sounds weird i know) they will know what you mean. Now i dont think its time to start panicing because there has only been once bad case of this , and i think its sounds rare, but thought i'd let you know what i was told!

 

[*Fishkies*]

Hmmm....that is quite interesting. I have never heard of anything like that before...

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Although Dwarf Gourami's have been in a quality decline lately (especially color morphs due to over/inbreeding), are increasingly quite prone to parasites, and disease...But, I strongly doubt there is a human cancer causing disease that only your LFS guy knows about.

Fish CAN however carry Tuberculosis that is contagious.

 

[Bignose]

Went to my LFS today and was talking about what to have in my new tank!Started talking about Dwarf Gouramis and how prone they are to diseases,He told that Dwarf Gouramis carry a disease which is very similair to (Human Cancer) They call it (Fish Cancer) And we can catch it from the fish! He said that if you put your hand and you have a cut or open woaned,in a tank and the Gourami has this fish cancer disease,we can catch it! It will be very hard for Doctors to find it , But as soon as you say asort of fish disease (Sounds weird i know) they will know what you mean. Now i dont think its time to start panicing because there has only been once bad case of this , and i think its sounds rare, but thought i'd let you know what i was told!

I need to see documented proof of this story before I'll believe it. It goes against pretty much all current understanding of biology. There are very, very, very few viruses that cross species barriers. And, cancer, being an uncontrolled reproduction of a cluster of cells, really shouldn't be able to cross species barriers at all. If a fish cancer cell should happen to enter our body, our body would just destroy it since it is from a foreign species. Even if the cell doesn't happen to be destroyed, in order for "fish cancer" to spread, it would have to lodge itself into our body and start to grow. But, human blood and fish blood are very different -- where is the fish cell going to get its nutrients from? This story is just urban legend, because it just isn't possible.

Now, if there is a carcinogen -- a cancer causing agent -- in the tank and you stick your hand in there I can believe that both your fish and you could develop cancer from that. But, cancer cells leaving a fish and growing in your body is simply impossible.

Tuberculosis is one of the very few diseases that can affect both fish and humans, but even then, the fish-affecting TB usually causes only a small reaction to people. I.e. it is not the really serious-to-humans TB. Unless you are immuno-compromised (like if you have AIDS, or are undergoing chemotherapy, or don't want to strain your immune system like if your were pregnant) it is not a great worry.

 

[paul_219]

Wow interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Lhutch]

FU** Garamis

 

[-germ-]

I reckon your LFS is winding you up mate, then again i do have a bit of a lump on my leg...
Oh its my knee!
(somebody pull my leg for me please! it hurts)


Oh, quick one...
Cancer isn't contagious, even between humans....

Unless, of course your fish are really heavy smokers....

 

[K.J.]

I daresay the LFS just tricked you. That is, in no way, possible.

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Or maybe the LFS guy is crazy?

 

[ArauraDiscus]

I don't see a disease that infects cold blooded organisms that can infect a human.

Thats why humans normally can only get a disease from monkeys, or flues from birds and pigs.

 

[AllenLeicester]

Don't shoot the messenger!

 

[Bignose]

Don't shoot the messenger!

Please don't take this personally, I in no way mean this as any kind of insult at all. But, the messenger did title the thread "Good Information" and that pretty much couldn't have been farther from the truth.

But, I hope that you and anyone else who has read this thread has learned a little something, and can now consider themselves better informed. Unless information like this is disputed, it can take on a life of its own. I can give you a few examples: like the myth that ich has a dormant cycle or the myth that keeping a fish in a small tank (stunting) will cause their organs to continue to grow large. Neither one of these myths has any kind of evidence behind them, but they are very often repeated here on the fish forums.

So, again please forgive me if it comes off harsh, but when another myth like those others seems to be starting, I like to pounce on it and smother it as quickly as possible so that it doesn't spread any more than it has to.

 

[platyfanatic]

listen i know this is off topic but...
what does lfs mean?

 

[ArauraDiscus]

local fish store=lfs