Diana, thanks for the informative article.
On 6/14/05, blueredorganic <blueredorganic at yahoo.com> wrote:
>=20
>=20
> Rainbowfish (unlike guppies) haven't been in the hobby long enough to
> develop (genitically speaking) much immunity to a powerful pathogen
> like M. marinumn.
I have seen guppies infected with this disease. Most livebearers and=20
goldfish are considered susceptible to fish TB by some at least somewhat=20
authoritative sources. Cichlids in general, and angel fish in particular,=20
are also considered to be at risk. I don't think we've seen development of =
a=20
lot of genetic resistance, and am curious as to whether the disease has bee=
n=20
in the hobby long enough for resistant strains to have been selected.=20
Unless you're buying from a seller that can guarantee the fish don't
> carry M. marinum, my advice would be to buy eggs.
What seller, or person on this list can guarantee that? I can't though I=20
have no fish that appear to be anything less than healthy. I have purchased=
=20
fish at the LFS, from people on this list, from Kent Webster via Tanner and=
=20
from local hobbyists. My plants have come from Florida, Southern California=
,=20
the LFS, a Seattle-area LFS, and PetSmart as well as from fellow plant=20
enthusiasts. And the LFS has had fish that apparently had fish TB although=
=20
no pathologist examined them.
Further, consider the purchase of eggs. You say that you will no longer=20
trade plants because in good conscience you can't -- an ethical decision=20
that I appreciate but something that must be painful to a plant person. If=
=20
plants can be carriers then nylon egg mops can be carriers, too. In fact,=20
some of the adsorption properties of nylon yarn could mean that it is a=20
better carrier than plants simply by being emersed in a tank containing the=
=20
bacteria. We could be buying mops carrying more bacteria than eggs.
While I'm not in the "blame the hobbyist" camp, if in fact this disease is=
=20
as widespread as many people claim it is -- something I'm not positive abou=
t=20
but wouldn't seriously dispute, either -- then the only chance we have is=20
through keeping the fish otherwise healthy and under as good of conditions=
=20
as possible. There is some debate about what "ideal conditions" are -- I've=
=20
been assured on this list that my boesemanis and praecox that are in a=20
slightly acidic planted tank will fall over dead if exposed to anything=20
because they are seriously stressed although the bows don't seem to agree.=
=20
I'm not certain that fish are all that different from plants in that the=20
conditions they are found in are not necessarily the best conditions to=20
raise them. Amazon swords are a lot happier in moderately hard water than i=
n=20
the extremely soft water they naturally occur in. Does anyone know if=20
studies of pH, hardness, TDS, etc. and their impact on the lifespan of=20
rainbows, or disease-susceptibility of rainbows, have been done?
One bright spot is your results with UV sterilizers -- that is making me=20
rethink the idea of putting them on my tanks. Like most everyone else I've=
=20
never had a reason to buy and use them. That is the first positive result=20
I've read, and I thank you for sharing that with us.
Again, thanks for the article and sharing your experiences as well as=20
including others work.=20
Liz
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Diana, thanks for the informative article.
Rainbowfish (unlike guppies) haven't been in the hobby long enough to
develop (genitically speaking) much immunity to a powerful pathogen
like M. marinumn.
Unless you're buying from a seller that can guarantee the fish don't
carry M. marinum, my advice would be to buy eggs.