You may not have known this, but unfortunately, we can contract illnesses from our aquariums. These are mainly skin diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans.

Mycobacterium

The most severe of these is Mycobacterium, which can be transmitted to humans by a freshwater or saltwater fish suffering from fish tuberculosis. Fish tuberculosis is an incurable disease in fish that will cause them to waste away slowly. It causes lesions and ulcers on the skin and takes a long time to heal.

It is painful and will also leave you with scars. A detail to note regarding this disease: immunocompromised individuals are much more likely to contract a Mycobacterium than those who are immunocompetent.

This disease is therefore the worst thing you can catch in the aquarium hobby.

Salmonellosis or fungal infections

You can also contract salmonellosis or a fungal infection, which are quite common illnesses. Fishmongers, in particular, often get fungal infections on their hands simply because they handle many fish. However, this is still much less serious than Mycobacterium.

No need to worry, however; there are medications available at pharmacies to treat fungal infections. And for salmonellosis, you will simply have to deal with a bad stomachache. That being said, rest assured that by simply taking a few standard hygiene precautions, you can avoid catching anything.

Precautions to take to avoid contracting diseases

The primary precaution is to always wash your hands with soap before and after working with your aquarium.

Before, to prevent your hands from introducing germs to the fish and making them sick. And after, to avoid carrying germs when you cook, eat, etc. So it is important to always wash your hands with soap before and after putting your hands in your aquarium water.

Other precautions to consider: avoid starting your siphon hoses by mouth, and do not dump your old aquarium water in the kitchen sink. Use the toilet instead. And if you want to water your plants with your aquarium water, which is perfectly possible, avoid using it to water plants that will later be consumed, such as strawberries, tomatoes, etc.

There can always be bacteria that survive. Many of them, in fact, withstand cold very easily. You should not assume that because it is cold, they will definitely die. It is not a guarantee.

Finally, if you can and if you remember, regularly disinfect your aquarium tools: nets, tongs, spatulas, siphons, hoses... And then everything else that may come into contact with your aquarium water, everything you might use, must be cleaned with a product intended for aquarium equipment, then rinsed thoroughly. This is how you will be able to limit the risks of spread.

Caution! It is better to use separate tools for each aquarium if you have several, in order to avoid the risk of cross-contamination. You should therefore have one net per aquarium, one pair of tongs per aquarium, etc.

In conclusion

As you will have understood, if you are an aquarium enthusiast, you can contract skin diseases, and it is most often your fish that will transmit them. However, this can be avoided by maintaining good hygiene!