Jan April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 (edited) I received this email from a vender who sells on craigslist. "I am sending this email as a heads up to all my clients. After fragging the order of Zoanthids I received, I became extremely sick. I did some research and discovered zoanthids are extremely toxic. They carry the Palythoa toxin. Some say they are unsure if all zoas have it but you have to assume all do. The large meat eating paly's are the most toxic of them all. Some are saying even more than the blue ring octopus. You should never attempt to frag these at all. If you are going to handle them or frag zoas you should where a face shield, and gloves. The problem is when they squirt into your face and some are saying if you absorb the toxin through a cut in your hand from a paly it could = instant death. I have sold these to some of you over the last couple of weeks. They are still a great addition to a tank, but caution needs to be used. What really shocked me the most is the lack of warning when buying these corals. I have been dealing in the aquarium trade for a while as you all know and have never been warned by any wholesaler or retailer when purchasing them. I am not saying to outcast these corals, but just wish that I knew i was taking home a fish bag of death on a Saturday with my children. I still love zoa's and will just treat all coral as dangerous. Google this topic and do some research for yourself. Thanks for you time! Jim" More information on Zoanthids; compatablility, handling, etc.. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/zoanthidcompfaqs.htm Edited April 20, 2009 by Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 Steve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaze98 April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 I have been squirted by palys on several occasions, the most it ever did was make me feel a little nauseous and look like I had pink eye but it went away in one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amuze April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 (edited) "Typical symptoms of palytoxin poisoning are angina-like chest pains, asthma-like breathing difficulties, tachycardia, unstable blood pressure, hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells), and an electrocardiogram showing an exaggerated T wave. The onset of symptoms is rapid, and death usually follows just minutes after." Taken from wikipedia or whatever. I doubt anyone has ever died from handling zoa's and/or paly's. Edited April 20, 2009 by audible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 Ok, this is what I got from the CDC when I inhaled the Palytoxin. For those of you who don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan April 20, 2009 Author Share April 20, 2009 Ok, this is what I got from the CDC when I inhaled the Palytoxin. For those of you who don't remember, I unwisely decided to pour boiling water on some nuisance Palys and ended up inhaling the steam. I ended up in the hospital on a respirator to keep me breathing because it caused my lungs to start collapsing.. According to research done by the CDC, all zoanthids contain toxins. However, only true Palythoas contain the palytoxin which can be deadly and there is no known antidote. Unfortunately in some cases it is very difficult to tell what is actually a palythoa and what is a zoanthid. In any case, I would strongly advise those messing with either one to be very cautious. Wow, thank god you're okay Steve. There should be a folder or something for newbies, heck for everyone, on safety precautions and information when handling these and other corals that release neuortoxins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 poor steve when zoo/paly poisning comes up some one always remebers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 better than licking a toad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 seriously though, there are many poisonous animals in this hobby that we take for granted. Here are few more species to be wary of: Puffers- tetradotoxin Triggers- ciguarotoxin Foxface- unknown toxin (I'm sure it's known, but not to me) Lionfish- venomous Stonefish- venomous Cone snails- venomous Urchins- venomous Live rock abrasions- sometimes causes "reef rash" This can be a dangerous hobby if you aren't cautious. Instead of worrying about the toxicity of your tank inhabitants, just realize that electricity kills more people and burns down more houses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROLL April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 The zoa can be nasty, I work with them before with some small cuts on my hand- I felt sick and nauseous afterward. I think it depends strongly on variety of zoa, some I work with, I don't feel anything while some, I get effects. Radioactive Dragon Eye and Military People Eater were two that gave me more effect than others. Green Monster didn't effect me but it shot toxin at my face when I was cutting it up- I was wearing a face guard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 "seriously though, there are many poisonous animals in this hobby that we take for granted. Here are few more species to be wary of:" Rob are you gettin soft on us..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 These are the exact Palythoa's that got Steve. They are still alive on some live rock I got from him. VERY hard to kill, despite repeated kalk injections. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 poor steve when zoo/paly poisning comes up some one always remebers I'll never live that one down Jason!! These are the exact Palythoa's that got Steve. They are still alive on some live rock I got from him. VERY hard to kill, despite repeated kalk injections. bob Great.......thanks for reminding me of the terror Bob. Just don't ever try to boil them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 I'll never live that one down Jason!! Great.......thanks for reminding me of the terror Bob. Just don't ever try to boil them! I took one rock out of the tank - put it outside in fresh water for a few weeks, then broke it up for frags. I just couldn't get ahead of them. These rocks may be headed for the same destiny. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw April 20, 2009 Share April 20, 2009 (edited) Palythoa toxica isn't the only thing with palytoxin: ScienceDirect Article From the abstract: Palytoxin which had been primarily detected in marine zoanthids (Palythoa sp.), occurs also in a wide range of other animals, e.g. in sponges, corals, shellfish, polychaetes and crustaceans, but also in fish... Give up the hobby, imo Edited April 20, 2009 by dshnarw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROLL April 21, 2009 Share April 21, 2009 These are the exact Palythoa's that got Steve. They are still alive on some live rock I got from him. VERY hard to kill, despite repeated kalk injections. bob Looks a lot alike to my Military People Eater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amuze April 21, 2009 Share April 21, 2009 The zoa can be nasty, I work with them before with some small cuts on my hand- I felt sick and nauseous afterward. I think it depends strongly on variety of zoa, some I work with, I don't feel anything while some, I get effects. Radioactive Dragon Eye and Military People Eater were two that gave me more effect than others. Green Monster didn't effect me but it shot toxin at my face when I was cutting it up- I was wearing a face guard. No way not the Radioactive Dragon Eye's?! OMG say it ain't so. Lol @ designer polyp names making them more risky than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Magnolia April 21, 2009 Share April 21, 2009 Palythoa toxica isn't the only thing with palytoxin: ScienceDirect Article From the abstract: Give up the hobby, imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiCurtis April 21, 2009 Share April 21, 2009 I'm still paranoid when fragging them, I always wear gloves mask,eye protection etc. I'm allergic to bees and seasonal pollen and rag weed etc. so I'm extra Careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoinoven2003 August 16, 2009 Share August 16, 2009 (edited) I joined WAMAS to thank you all for sharing your experience and knowledge on palytoxins, especially steveoutlaw. I was relocating a capricornus covered in palys a few days ago and had a shallow, minor scrape on my finger. I had heard that palys had a toxin but didn't even register that at the time. My finger hurt bad enough to wake me in the middle of the night. I did a Google search on palytoxin which led me to this forum where I read about Steve doing the paly-steam facial. I had been planning to boil a rock covered in brown palys the next day. If I hadn't read this I am pretty sure I'd be either dead or in the hospital. I am also going to post pix for the unknowing (as I WAS) to see exactly what palytoxin will do to a very minor scrape if you annoy your palys and swill your finger around near them. It has eaten a crater in my finger. HUGE thank you to everyone posting here! You can see the offending palys smirking in the background Edited August 16, 2009 by twoinoven2003 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miniflea August 16, 2009 Share August 16, 2009 Puffers- tetradotoxin To be fair, I'm fairly certain that puffers can only poison you if you eat them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager August 16, 2009 Share August 16, 2009 (edited) not only if you eat them, boxfish if aggravated can actually release poison in the water as a defensive mechanism. Most other puffers are simply dangerous due to their fused teeth that can take fingers right off, but people have had fairly serious issues with various fish toxins. that being said if anyone has a puffer fish that has died, be extremely careful removing the fish, and make sure to run carbon in the water, We had one that decided to get too close to a pump intake at the pet store ages ago, we came in the next day to a completely dead system after the impeller went to town on the fish releasing tetrodotoxin. I have had a few that died as well that i removed and i could not feel my hands for a few hours after. so certainly not to be forgotten but certainly not nearly as dangerous as the palys or octopi or boxfish. Edited August 16, 2009 by Jager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 August 16, 2009 Share August 16, 2009 I have experienced extreme tingling in my fingers when moving or fragging zoas and/or palys... Once the tingling sets it I think... hmmmm, should definitely be wearing gloves. I wonder if the response can become more and more severe after each exposure.. Yikes. Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman August 16, 2009 Share August 16, 2009 I joined WAMAS to thank you all for sharing your experience and knowledge on palytoxins, especially steveoutlaw. I was relocating a capricornus covered in palys a few days ago and had a shallow, minor scrape on my finger. I had heard that palys had a toxin but didn't even register that at the time. My finger hurt bad enough to wake me in the middle of the night. I did a Google search on palytoxin which led me to this forum where I read about Steve doing the paly-steam facial. I had been planning to boil a rock covered in brown palys the next day. If I hadn't read this I am pretty sure I'd be either dead or in the hospital. I am also going to post pix for the unknowing (as I WAS) to see exactly what palytoxin will do to a very minor scrape if you annoy your palys and swill your finger around near them. It has eaten a crater in my finger. HUGE thank you to everyone posting here! You can see the offending palys smirking in the background Thanks for adding that to the thread. I'm sure anyone searching the web for information on Palytoxin will eventually hit on this thread, so it's good to have as much information as possible. I have a rock with these palythoa's sitting out in a bucket of fresh water right now. Since Steve's incident, I really do 'handle with care'. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3fan8ic August 16, 2009 Share August 16, 2009 OMG. I have these growing like crazy in tank and was thinking about plucking them. They look ugly IMO. What is the best way to get rid of them in the rank. I can't remove rock. These are the exact Palythoa's that got Steve. They are still alive on some live rock I got from him. VERY hard to kill, despite repeated kalk injections. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now