vibrio

[toytech]

If the title doesn't scare you then your lucky , me not so much ive had 3 fish die from the infection in the past few months , 2 anthias and a copperband . Now its been 2 months since the last death but im afraid to add any fish to the tank now , the core of my tanks population (clown , coral beauty , yellow corris , blenny and goby ) have survived the deaths and a few other earlier fish losses without showing signs but im not confident . Now the question treat the tank with Cephalexin now and hope that I wipe it out , take the fish out qt them , but for how long? Or try and add fish and treat when signs show . Will it ever be gone or should I simply shoot for prestine conditions in my tank and pray?

[Aquattro]

I contracted what I and my doctor thought was vibrio from scratching my arm in the tank. I could reproduce the rash but rubbing anything from the tank against my skin.
No fish losses, but the tank wasn't right. I got a prescription for enough cephlaxin and added it to my tank. Things cleared up and I was no longer able to get the skin rash/lesions after treatment. I did not verify by any tests, and don't recall how I came to the conclusion it was vibrio, but the treatment seems to have worked over a few days.

[hillegom]

how do you test for vibrio. Also, how do you know your fish died from this bacteria?
Ty

[Aquattro]

For me, I did a bunch of reading and things all sort of aligned to make a guess. I treated the tank for what I thought was there and had results. Maybe coincidence, not sure. To test, you'd need to culture the bacteria in a lab.

[gregzz4]

Hmm
I thought maybe I'd just developed some kind of sensitivity due to eczema in the family.
You guys have me thinking differently.
I can't put my arms in the water for more than 30 seconds without blistering.
Never used to be a problem while swimming in saltwater.
Thanks for the info guys.

[gregzz4]

I got a prescription for enough cephlaxin and added it to my tank.
Was this scrip on top of what you needed for yourself ?
How much did you add to your tank ?
Hope you remember :smile:
I'm covered in hives that I keep covering with polysporin

I'll take this info to my DR and see what happens

OK, for what SEEMS like 30 seconds
Still, once it starts to burn it's torture

[toytech]

The symptons where an obvious bacterial infection on the fishes skin , redness lesions , rapid death , one case of pop eye .The lesions showed up fast and spread very fast across the skin . The dose for the tank is 500mg per 20 L.

[Samw]

Every time I aquascape my tank with bare hands, within a week, the skin peels off my fingertips and takes 2 weeks to recover. It is reproducible every time I don't wear gloves. I always thought it was bacterial. Maybe I'll try some Cephalexin. Where to get this in Canada without prescription? Where's Silk Road when you need it.

[gregzz4]

OK, so maybe it's not in my tank, but I'm still going to talk to my DR as this driving me nuts :smile:

[Aquattro]

Was this scrip on top of what you needed for yourself ?


Don't be silly!! Priorities :)

As for skin issues, I'm at a point now that if I work in the tank, several fingers start to decay. Dr is calling it a fungal infection, I have cream that works until the next time I work in the tank.
But the suspected vibrio thing was big red blisters along any scratches on my arms.

[gregzz4]

OK, I don't get big blisters - just small ones.
I get Hives that are blisters and they're itchy as hell the same day.
Sometimes the next day or 2 they still itch, and sometimes they don't.
I use polysporin on my arms and it helps some.
Sometimes, when the hives are really big I use an antihistamine spray for bug bites and such. This helps short term enough to sleep.
Next day the rash is manageable.
But it still itches and so on.
Maybe my issue is just eczema.

My rashes/blisters start at about 5 mins in the water, give or take. Once the pain starts, I can't think straight as the pain is too much. It's like being poked with hot rods.
I go to the kitchen and wash my arms/hands with dish soap but the pain is still there.
The only thing that takes it away is polysporin applied overnight. And that takes the pain away only after a half hour or so.

I still have blisters and such on my right forearm now due to having my arm in the water last night - from knuckles to elbow.

[Wretch]

OK, I don't get big blisters - just small ones.
I get Hives that are blisters and they're itchy as hell the same day.
Sometimes the next day or 2 they still itch, and sometimes they don't.
I use polysporin on my arms and it helps some.
Sometimes, when the hives are really big I use an antihistamine spray for bug bites and such. This helps short term enough to sleep.
Next day the rash is manageable.
But it still itches and so on.
Maybe my issue is just eczema.

My rashes/blisters start at about 5 mins in the water, give or take. Once the pain starts, I can't think straight as the pain is too much. It's like being poked with hot rods.
I go to the kitchen and wash my arms/hands with dish soap but the pain is still there.
The only thing that takes it away is polysporin applied overnight. And that takes the pain away only after a half hour or so.

I still have blisters and such on my right forearm now due to having my arm in the water last night - from knuckles to elbow.

I know its probably good to know what is causing the reaction but wouldn't no reaction be better? Why not wear gloves if this is a constant issue?

[gregzz4]

Can't pluck algae, manipulate frags etc with cumbersome gloves on

[toytech]

The meds are avaible of the ebay as fish flex , so far the best place ive found for prices that are willing to ship to Canada

[Ryanerickson]

OK, I don't get big blisters - just small ones.
I get Hives that are blisters and they're itchy as hell the same day.
Sometimes the next day or 2 they still itch, and sometimes they don't.
I use polysporin on my arms and it helps some.
Sometimes, when the hives are really big I use an antihistamine spray for bug bites and such. This helps short term enough to sleep.
Next day the rash is manageable.
But it still itches and so on.
Maybe my issue is just eczema.

My rashes/blisters start at about 5 mins in the water, give or take. Once the pain starts, I can't think straight as the pain is too much. It's like being poked with hot rods.
I go to the kitchen and wash my arms/hands with dish soap but the pain is still there.
The only thing that takes it away is polysporin applied overnight. And that takes the pain away only after a half hour or so.

I still have blisters and such on my right forearm now due to having my arm in the water last night - from knuckles to elbow.

I have your exact issues as of lately I'm scared to put my arm in the tank itchy rash on arms plus now my thumbs are drying out and cracking.

[Aquattro]

I have your exact issues as of lately I'm scared to put my arm in the tank itchy rash on arms plus now my thumbs are drying out and cracking.

Been suffering that for several years now :)

[IanWR]

I know those long coralife gloves are so thick as to render them useless for anything involving fine motor. I was just at lee valley and they had a number of different long gloves (mucking gloves) that are much thinner. Most were more like elbow length, but there were a couple that were shoulder length. My wife got a pair to work in her tank and they feel much more like rubber gloves for washing dishes. Anything has to be better than suffering through the kinds of skin irritations described here!

[toytech]

It can cause septecimea just fyi , not something you want to get , oh ya and in rare cases flesh eating desease too . So anyone wanna do a group buy for a bunch of fish flex?

[toytech]

Update , I have dosed my aquarium 3 days in a row last week with 10% water changes in between and my zoa pox has cleared up completely . One frag that was half melted when I started , has all the polyps open and healthy so it worked for zoa pox for sure . Hopping to add a fish or two over the next few months and hopefully im vibrio free as well. No ill effects to sps , lps , inverts or fish .