First, Harro, thanks for puting in link to Steven Pro's good
article. Adrian Tappin had a really good one on Mycobacteriosis in
Rainbowfish, but I lost the link.
And as to Gary's letter, my omission of advice on water changes, tank
cleaning, and water hardness factors was deliberate. I assume that
everyone (including myself) on this forum takes good care of their
fish.
I doubt that good tank maintenance will prevent infections from the
virulent Mycobacteria (M. marinum) that I wrote about and that my
fish have. The Ucko reference (see my article)describes the
transmission of M. marinum disease from caged marine fish to wild
Reef fish in the Red Sea.
For far too long, disease problems have been blamed on hobbyists. It
is an easy way for commercial breeders, fish stores, etc to escape
responsibility for selling fish infected with Mycobacteria marinum.
Easier to blame the hobbyist than to face the problem and take
corrective measures. These would be for LFS to monitor wholesale
shipments (random autopsies, etc) so that commercial breeders selling
diseased fish to them would be held accountable.
As long as commercial breeder and fish stores can escape
accountability, I believe that this disease will continue and spread.
M. marinum is a really nasty disease that can also infect hobbyists.
If the LFS won't take action, then all we (as hobbyists) can do is
protect ourselves and our fish. Educating hobbyists is critical.
Thus, my urgency in writing the article.
TommyBoy, thanks for compliments. I will answer your detailed
questions in another letter.
Diana