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re: TB in fresh water tanks
I have been a lurker on this list, but couldn't resist responding as I have
been dealing with what I think is fish TB for quite some time.
I have found TB (or what I think is TB) to be incurable. The fish develop
tumors and gradually waste away. I haven't actually had a fish necropsied
to definitively determine that it is TB, but descriptions of the disease are
pretty close to what I see happening.
All literature I have found is pretty grim. "The Manual of Fish Health"
suggests Doxycycline, sulphafurazole, or minocycline. I tried all of these
in a hospital tank and did not find any of these to be effective. I also
tried Kanamycin. What ever you do, remove the fish from the main tank. I
have read that feeding on infected fish can be a major source of infection.
I remove sick fish from the tank immediately and my losses have dwindled
over time. Haven't had a new case in almost a year. I even added a few
new fish awhile ago and so far everyone is OK.
I hope you have better luck treating your fish. Let me know if you find
anything that works. At one point, I was considering a UV sterilizer to
kill any water born mycobacteria, especially since fish TB is transmissible
to humans. Haven't tried it though and I'm not sure it would work.
Exercise caution when messing with your tank. I think the disease is also
difficult to treat in humans, though not nearly as devestating.
Good luck,
Anna