Marine aquarium cautions

[fishytime]

Working at a lfs I am amazed at how many people are surprised to learn about some of the things that could make you at the very least sick (and worse:surprise:) that we keep in our little eco-systems. Im hoping perhaps this thread could become a sticky and be used as a guide for new (and possibly old) hobbyists. People need to be aware of some of the hazards the we commonly keep.

I thought maybe other canreefers could add to the thread if they had a picture of the fish,invert, etc and provide a link to the pertinent information. In thinking about the list of potential "baddies", I realized I have only one thing in my tank at the moment that could "get" me. Not really comforting considering the one thing I have is probably the only thing that could potentially prove to be fatal.

Zoanthids.

A coral touted as being a good choice for beginners and both easy to keep and frag. While all this is true zoanthids contain a deadly substance called palytoxin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palytoxin. Extreme caution should be used when handling your zoas.

-wear gloves
-if you cant wear gloves wash your hands thoroughly after
-do not handle your zoas without gloves if you have an open cut on your hands.
-while fragging your zoas, wear eye protection.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o19/fishytime/IMGP1390-1.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o19/fishytime/IMG_1455_large.jpg

[sphelps]

I would have agree and also recomend gloves!

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0025_edited.jpg

I was stung by a large euphyllia (hammer coral) in my tank last year, as a result I suffered from a severe skim rush and infection that I'm still fighting off. I use to think people over reacted about this subject but it true, trust me.

It's also very hard to receive proper treatment for coral stings when you don't live near the ocean and it takes a long time to get an appointment with a dermatologist.

[Underwater]

Here are a few-but I am sure there are more out there:

http://www.ehow.com/how_9376_identify-treat-jellyfish.html (and other stings)

http://www.e-med.co.uk/diving/dive_questions.php?sub_cat=67 (first aid at the end of the response)

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/venomomouscare/a/aa042798.htm (about fish)

HTH-
~M

[FitoPharmer]

i heard someone loosing their dog to zoa's, so that is defiantly a big one. i cant remeber if it had ate a frag or licked someones hand that was fraggin zoa's.

[Patrice]

A year ago, while I was cleaning a tank, there was some kind of "smoke" that came out of a rock when I moved it. I have no idea that was. Anyway, it was painfull.
It's hard for me to explain this in english. At first, it was just painfull but after 20 minutes, it was like my hand got scrubed on a hard surface. I immediately washed my hand but it did not stoped. The "scrubbing effect" of that smoke have last for about 20 minutes. I was a little worry let me tell you. That was weird and I would love to know what that was.

[fishytime]

Urchins are another one to be careful with. http://saltaquarium.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=saltaquarium&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emedicine.com%2Femerg%2Ftopic1 58.htm

Again best handled with gloves.


http://i377.photobucket.com/albums/oo217/RedCoralAquariums/PC190103.jpg

[rocketlily]

This has been known to happen to many saltwater addicts

http://s417.photobucket.com/albums/pp257/rocketlily/Misc/th_emptywallet.jpg

[fishytime]

:lol: Perhaps the second most important hazard.:lol:

[J.Lloy]

Don't forget Bristleworm Sting. I picked up a rock and the underside had a worm lodged in with its bristles out. Ended with about 500 little spines across three fingers. They swelled a bit and were sore but I could feel the effects for a month. Getting the spines out also were not easy.

[debbaDEEra]

I knew that some corals are toxic but I had NO idea that zoos were this toxic. I have never worn gloves and was not told I should by any other the LFS. I do and have had swollen glands on one side of my neck that the doctors are watching and the next step is more tests. Could this be from me handling EVERYTHING in my tank wo gloves? I did months of research before we got the tank but I guess I missed this tutorial!!

[Alberta-newb]

I can attest to the hammer coral's sting..no long effects but wasn't pleasant.

Should also add all species of rabbitfishes to the caution list, I have never been stung (yet!) but I understand the sting from their spines can be quite painful. I'm always watchfull where my rabbitfish is in my tank when working inside.

[StirCrazy]

I knew that some corals are toxic but I had NO idea that zoos were this toxic. I have never worn gloves and was not told I should by any other the LFS. I do and have had swollen glands on one side of my neck that the doctors are watching and the next step is more tests. Could this be from me handling EVERYTHING in my tank wo gloves? I did months of research before we got the tank but I guess I missed this tutorial!!

all zoo's are toxic the more colourfull the more toxic. the Giant sun polyp ( Protopalythoa grandis ) was used by Hawaiian natives to tip spears in for mortal combat.

Make sure you don't wipe your face with a towel you used to clean up when fragging if you get it on your lips, they will go numb and you will taste nothing but copper for hours, if you actualy injext it... who knows.

Steve

[Hairytank]

There seem to be three seperate health hazards that corals can cause...
1) Toxins from the coral- eg:Zoas
2) Stings from the coral caused by nematocysts- Hammer, fire (similar to jellyfish stings)
3) Infection from a cut from a coral

I wonder if the cure for the sting is the same as for jellyfish? The cure for the sting of a jellyfish is vinigar or urine. They also recommend you wash with salt water and not fresh as fresh will make it hurt more.

[Hairytank]

Oh and I forgot the fourth hazard of keeping corals...
My wife finding out how much money I have sunk into this already and will in the future....THIS may be the most painful of all the hazards..

[Doug]

I have some links that I saved from when we were heavy into its discussion on RC or somewhere.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1105126-overview

http://www.cbwinfo.com/Biological/Toxins/Palytoxin.html

http://www.provet.co.uk/health/diseases/mycobacteriummarinum.htm

Pretty good reference links for what we are discussing here but I take them just as that.

In all my years in the hobby I have never encountered many of these things. I did get an infection from an urchin poke and the tank water getting into it.

Plus when I handle a lot of live rock, esp. well seasoned rock, my hands and fingers swell. Sometimes so bad I need some meds for it.

[Matt]

I have some links that I saved from when we were heavy into its discussion on RC or somewhere.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1105126-overview

http://www.cbwinfo.com/Biological/Toxins/Palytoxin.html

http://www.provet.co.uk/health/diseases/mycobacteriummarinum.htm

Pretty good reference links for what we are discussing here but I take them just as that.

In all my years in the hobby I have never encountered many of these things. I did get an infection from an urchin poke and the tank water getting into it.

Plus when I handle a lot of live rock, esp. well seasoned rock, my hands and fingers swell. Sometimes so bad I need some meds for it.Thanks for posting that. I was about to respond that not all zoas have palytoxin, but it is in your second link.

I'll add bristle worm spines to the list. They are finer than hairs, and irritate like hell.

[Patrice]

Oh and I forgot the fourth hazard of keeping corals...
My wife finding out how much money I have sunk into this already and will in the future....THIS may be the most painful of all the hazards..

That can hit an aquarist really bad. I tried everything without succes. Maybe I should get a better job.

[Boomboy]

i must be very lucky ive handle all my corals by hand and even touch them on purpose sometimes, and nothing happened to me, but now i will definatly be more caution, anybody know of those white doctor gloves where to pick some up also what is the right kind to pick up.

[MMAX]

Get Nitrile gloves. Similar to plain latex gloves but stronger and designed to keep chemicals off your skin. Any automotive or safety supply store should have them.

[StirCrazy]

for bristle worm spines soak your hand in viniger for a while, it will desolve the spines.

Oh and the Urin for jelly fish stings, Mythbusters proved it false.

Steve

[Hairytank]

I love mythbusters it is such a great show! Thanks for the upadate.
I'll refrain from urinating on myself in the future...

[Zylumn]

I'll refrain from urinating on myself in the future...
LOL I say that every day but as I get older (Darn timmies)

[fishoholic]

for bristle worm spines soak your hand in vinegar for a while, it will dissolve the spines.

Oh and the Urine for jelly fish stings, Mythbusters proved it false.

Steve

Wish I had of read this yesterday, my boyfriend got two fingers full of bristle worm spins :sad: FYI tweezers don't work to well.

As for the urine, I always wondered if it was really true or not. Thanks for the info.

[Skimmerking]

As for the urine, I always wondered if it was really true or not.

YEs peeing opn your feet or hands will kill all bacteria. I wouldnt do it on my hands since I bite my fingers. :lol:

But in Afghanistan I had soem infected feet so when i got achance I would do the nasty on my feet and it works..

[StirCrazy]

YEs peeing opn your feet or hands will kill all bacteria. I wouldnt do it on my hands since I bite my fingers. :lol:

But in Afghanistan I had soem infected feet so when i got achance I would do the nasty on my feet and it works..

How did we go from jellyfish stings to bacteria? :mrgreen: I thought we were talking about salt water problems not hygiene LOL what about the bacteria that is in your pee that they test for when you are sick? its still alive as they do cultures..

Steve

[Skimmerking]

Oh and the Urin for jelly fish stings, Mythbusters proved it false.

Steve
See Steve it all started from you some one took it the wrong way like hairytank,...

[Keri]

How did we go from jellyfish stings to bacteria? :mrgreen: I thought we were talking about salt water problems not hygiene LOL what about the bacteria that is in your pee that they test for when you are sick? its still alive as they do cultures..

Steve

Your own healthy urine is sterile to you.


But... we have soap here y'know ;)

And in response to the bristlewormthing: My own fav pic


http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii254/Keri1980/Untitled-2.jpg

[chandigz]

I still love telling people to try the pee thing. Cracks me up to think of them peeing in there hand for no reason. lol

[Scythanith]

all zoo's are toxic the more colourfull the more toxic. the Giant sun polyp ( Protopalythoa grandis ) was used by Hawaiian natives to tip spears in for mortal combat.



Steve

Do you know of any scientific evidence to support this?

[Pan]

Do you know of any scientific evidence to support this?


.

[Pan]

I knew that some corals are toxic but I had NO idea that zoos were this toxic. I have never worn gloves and was not told I should by any other the LFS. I do and have had swollen glands on one side of my neck that the doctors are watching and the next step is more tests. Could this be from me handling EVERYTHING in my tank wo gloves? I did months of research before we got the tank but I guess I missed this tutorial!!


"zoo's" are only bad for you if you jump in the lions cage...."zoa's" on the other hand...

[BCOrchidGuy]

For stings etc like jelly fish or frogspawn... anything with nematocysts simply wash the afflicted area in water you made contact in, IE tank water if you got stung in your tank. A sudden change in water chemistry can trigger the nematocysts to sting again and again, so if you are going to pee on yourself you'll have to find another excuse.

Douglas

ps this is what we taught when I was a diving instructor and as far as peeing, we'd tell people it was a nice way to stay warm in our cold water just pee in your wet suit.... which is why I used a dry suit.

[justinl]

not all zoos have palytoxin. I believe they only get them when they are exposed to a diet of a certain diatom. Stings from nematocysts are best dealt with by soaking in vinegar as it deactivates the nematocysts; urine only makes them fire more. If you don't have vinegar, just rinse in saltwater.

To me, the least regarded yet likely most serious of all aquarium dangers is the microscopic kind. people tend to ignore the viral and bacterial nasties like vibrio and mycobacterium (yes, a derivative of tuberculosis). in fact, marine biologists have recently found that viruses and bacteria make up a much larger portion of the ocean's biomasss than what was originally thuoght; possibly greater than half the biomass in the entire ocean! infections from the likes of these have led to aquarists having to get their fingers amputated. NEVER immerse an open cut in your tank unless you're wearing gloves and always rinse in warm soap and water afterwards.

[whatcaneyedo]

I was born with a low tolerance to venom and stings. I've had hundreds of immunity boosting shots so that bee stings won’t kill me anymore. So naturally I keep a Volitan Lionfish. lol Watch out for the spines on top, if you're like me they can kill you. Or if you're lucky it will just hurt like hell for a few days.

I wear Coralife Aqua Gloves whenever I'm messing around in the tank and I always try to keep an eye on where the lion is.



http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh109/whatcaneyedo/pic001-3.jpg

[randallino]

Be careful when working on your tanks and handling other pets, children etc. Last year I gave my parrot a bacterial infection by cross-contamination by putting nori in my tank and hand feeding my bird without washing my hands first :redface:. The bird is fine now, but my wallet took and major hit.

[Liv]

Thanks for the info.. I only know of a few things to beware of...I will pay more attention in the future!

[lobsterboy]

great thread Doug

[workn2hard2day]

Yeah, I know wear gloves. It was on the underside of a rock I picked up.
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k38/WORKN2HARD2DAY/217.jpghttp://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k38/WORKN2HARD2DAY/219.jpghttp://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k38/WORKN2HARD2DAY/222.jpg

[Whiskey]

Awesome thread. I thought I'd add this bit of scientific information:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XARb8Cmkac


Cheers :)

[Puff]

all zoo's are toxic the more colourfull the more toxic. the Giant sun polyp ( Protopalythoa grandis ) was used by Hawaiian natives to tip spears in for mortal combat.

Make sure you don't wipe your face with a towel you used to clean up when fragging if you get it on your lips, they will go numb and you will taste nothing but copper for hours, if you actualy injext it... who knows.

Steve


well what in the heck!

earlier in the week i was at my gf's and kept spitting up this nasty metallic/salty taste that would not get out of my mouth. it even got me feeling very thirsty. after taking the dogs out i came home and ran to the bathroom and gargled water. nope, didnt work. then i literally got a bar of soap, jammed it in my mouth and swished it around. DIDNT WORK!!! it took all day to get out of my mouth, it drove me crazy.

the only thing i can think of is that i might have wiped my face with the towel that i had placed a piece of liverock on.

learned my lesson.lol

i now have the sudden urge to go and buy a pair of gloves.

[paddyob]

I have always handled my euphyllia Bare handed and have never had a side effect of any type, nor have i ever heard of anyone else being stung. is it possible that maybe this person might just be sensitive. or allergic like someone could be to a bee sting? not doubting, just surprised to Hear . i do agree about gloves as precaution. who knows what you might find. i just bought some aqua gloves cause I See so many unknown things on my rocks.

[paddyob]

Thats what makes me cautious. crazy unknown, unseen and potential for sickness. i am active in my tank and have not always been crazy about hand washing... but its true that some stuff can get you. one thing i would like to point out,in regards To the hobby, is test chemicals. that is some bad ass stuff. if you dont wear gloves while handling these you could have serious long term effects. those pretty symbols on the bottle are there by LAW. ever wonder why? wear gloves. that covers all!

[aquajeep]

i seem to have high tolerance to stings so i dont wear gloves. puffer fish nip at your hands when cleaning made my finger go numb.scats have venomous spines as i found out after a hit to the arm. and lest but not least.HUMANS CAN CONTRACT DISEASE FROM FISH!! i found out the hard way years ago in Vancouver i worked in a pet store.the doctors couldn't fig out what it was.looked like a cyst on my index finger and slowly crawled up my hand more and more.finally a biopsy revealed fish tank granuola .treatable with tetracycline.apparently common in Florida on workers producing live rock ect. it happens if u have a cut and submerse it in the fish tank.i treated a yellow tang and think he gave it to me.lol.doctors had all their buddys in the room staring and taking pics of my hand.good times:razz:

[Seth72]

I knew that some corals are toxic but I had NO idea that zoos were this toxic. I have never worn gloves and was not told I should by any other the LFS. I do and have had swollen glands on one side of my neck that the doctors are watching and the next step is more tests. Could this be from me handling EVERYTHING in my tank wo gloves? I did months of research before we got the tank but I guess I missed this tutorial!!

Wow....i better do some more research before i get my tank...ive been snorkling all over and did not know that coral could make me sick....stings and stuff like from a lionfish i understand,but i sure dont want anything in my house that can make me sick enough to see a doctor:surprise:

[ZachAttack]

Do you know of any scientific evidence to support this?

all I know about the peeing on your hand thing is that it`s true. I know a friend who got stung by a sting ray in L.A. and then got rushed to the emerg. cause he almost died... the doctors said that if he had urinated on the sting, it would have slowed down and helped neutralize the sting. I guess the bile in your pee fights the poisons

[Skimmerking]

I can remember when ever I swap out a tank, I get a stuffy nose and congested from it. a little bit of UFI For everybody's info that u can drink your urine up to 7 times before your body will reject it. it becomes poison then.

[PoonTang]

MMMMmmm recycled beer :)

[daniella3d]

In the Coral magasine, they mention that to this date there has not been any palytoxin found in zoanthids. So far there is no proof that zoanthids or even what we have in our aquarium that we call paly actualy have the toxine.

I frag my zoa and paly all the time without glove, even have scratches and wounds sometime and I never been sick from a bit of zoa mucus. Wearing eye glasses is important though because they can spit in the eyes and I read that this is not pleasant...although not deadly!



Working at a lfs I am amazed at how many people are surprised to learn about some of the things that could make you at the very least sick (and worse:surprise:) that we keep in our little eco-systems. Im hoping perhaps this thread could become a sticky and be used as a guide for new (and possibly old) hobbyists. People need to be aware of some of the hazards the we commonly keep.

I thought maybe other canreefers could add to the thread if they had a picture of the fish,invert, etc and provide a link to the pertinent information. In thinking about the list of potential "baddies", I realized I have only one thing in my tank at the moment that could "get" me. Not really comforting considering the one thing I have is probably the only thing that could potentially prove to be fatal.

Zoanthids.

A coral touted as being a good choice for beginners and both easy to keep and frag. While all this is true zoanthids contain a deadly substance called palytoxin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palytoxin. Extreme caution should be used when handling your zoas.

-wear gloves
-if you cant wear gloves wash your hands thoroughly after
-do not handle your zoas without gloves if you have an open cut on your hands.
-while fragging your zoas, wear eye protection.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o19/fishytime/IMGP1390-1.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o19/fishytime/IMG_1455_large.jpg

[whatcaneyedo]

In the Coral magasine, they mention that to this date there has not been any palytoxin found in zoanthids. So far there is no proof that zoanthids or even what we have in our aquarium that we call paly actualy have the toxine.

I frag my zoa and paly all the time without glove, even have scratches and wounds sometime and I never been sick from a bit of zoa mucus. Wearing eye glasses is important though because they can spit in the eyes and I read that this is not pleasant...although not deadly!

About 2 years ago I read a report on RC where a guy's dog ate some zoanthus/palythora out of a bucket while he was doing some tank maintenance then died. Maybe later when I have a little more time I can do some searching and find it again. He obviously wasn't a scientist doing research so it wasn't properly documented. But that was proof enough for me.

[daniella3d]

I remember reading that and I think it was some sort of brownish palythoas and the dog drank the water the polyps were fragged in, so it was probably a variety of palythoas that contained the toxine and there was probably a large amount of it. Is that true? not sure as a lot of things we read are just made up.

But zoanthids have never been proven to actualy contain the palytoxine. Palythoas maybe yes, but not the 3 varieties of zoanthids (even what we call paly are still zoanthids) that we use in aquarium.

Of course if you start eating your coral, you might get very sick from most of them. I never ever read or heard anytyhing about people getting sick from toutching zoanthids with their bare hands and I never felt anything from toutching and fragging them with my bare hands, even with cuts and wounds and scratches on my hands. I even once scratched my finger badly while removing zoanthids from totoka liverock and only after one hour of fragging I realized that I was bleeding from that scratch yet no metallic taste in my mouth, no dizinnes, no nosea etc..

I am not saying it cannot happen but we should not be histerical either.

About 2 years ago I read a report on RC where a guy's dog ate some zoanthus/palythora out of a bucket while he was doing some tank maintenance then died. Maybe later when I have a little more time I can do some searching and find it again. He obviously wasn't a scientist doing research so it wasn't properly documented. But that was proof enough for me.

[JonT]

I can add to the Bristle worm photo's.

Found the worm in my bucket of rock while moving the tank to the new place.... Had to wait 20 minutes for a friend to bring me Duct tape (best way to remove the bristles)

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e328/Jammor/125%20gallon%20tank/Oops1.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e328/Jammor/125%20gallon%20tank/Oops1.jpg


And the cause of the problem, tank is 18" wide, and it hasn't stretched out yet in this picture.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e328/Jammor/125%20gallon%20tank/IMG_2335.jpg

[whatcaneyedo]

I remember reading that and I think it was some sort of brownish palythoas and the dog drank the water the polyps were fragged in, so it was probably a variety of palythoas that contained the toxine and there was probably a large amount of it. Is that true? not sure as a lot of things we read are just made up.

But zoanthids have never been proven to actualy contain the palytoxine. Palythoas maybe yes, but not the 3 varieties of zoanthids (even what we call paly are still zoanthids) that we use in aquarium.

Of course if you start eating your coral, you might get very sick from most of them. I never ever read or heard anytyhing about people getting sick from toutching zoanthids with their bare hands and I never felt anything from toutching and fragging them with my bare hands, even with cuts and wounds and scratches on my hands. I even once scratched my finger badly while removing zoanthids from totoka liverock and only after one hour of fragging I realized that I was bleeding from that scratch yet no metallic taste in my mouth, no dizinnes, no nosea etc..

I am not saying it cannot happen but we should not be histerical either.

Being cautious around what we do not fully understand is not what I would consider hysteria. How many people in this hobby do you figure can accurately identify what is a zoanthus and what is a palythora? The vast majority of people that I've encountered just call everything zoos. Anthony Calfo poisoned himself on more than one occasion after handling some kind of zoanthidea and then directly or indirectly touching his mouth.

[daniella3d]

Recycled beer? but no more alcohol. Who wants to drink beer without alcohol? Never mind that, who wants to drink their pee? not me!

MMMMmmm recycled beer :)

[daniella3d]

Yes well, that's common sense to wash your hands before you put them in your mouth after handling any coral, not just zoanthids. This can still happen if one is not carefull and toutch the gloves he or she used and then put the hands in the mouth.

I am not saying it's not dangerous but it's not very dangerous and very low risk. You will not die from just plainly handling zoanthids or other coral but you might if you eat it or drink the water from fragging, so keep your children AWAY from this when you frag but I will not put gloves.

There are some much more dangerous things in our aquarium than zoanthids, like the vibrio bacteria, the fish tuberculose and many other bacterias that could be potentially harmfull, yet those occurences are extremely rare.

Being cautious around what we do not fully understand is not what I would consider hysteria. How many people in this hobby do you figure can accurately identify what is a zoanthus and what is a palythora? The vast majority of people that I've encountered just call everything zoos. Anthony Calfo poisoned himself on more than one occasion after handling some kind of zoanthidea and then directly or indirectly touching his mouth.

[Coleus]

after got sting serveral times by my long spined urchin, now everytime i always watch where he is before putting my hand in.

Got sting by anemone, long spined urchin, bristles worms. Out of three, anemone was the worst, it last for days.

[OceanicCorals-Ian-]

Got nailed by a Foxface Rabbitfish recently, that was not fun I must say......................

[daniella3d]

Interesting. I toutched my rock flower anemones tentacles many times but never felt anything other than the tentacles are sticking to the skin but no sting and no pain. I guess that rock flower anemones do not sting?

after got sting serveral times by my long spined urchin, now everytime i always watch where he is before putting my hand in.

Got sting by anemone, long spined urchin, bristles worms. Out of three, anemone was the worst, it last for days.

[no_bs]

Interesting. I toutched my rock flower anemones tentacles many times but never felt anything other than the tentacles are sticking to the skin but no sting and no pain. I guess that rock flower anemones do not sting?

Just dependes on how sensitive you are to toxins. Everything stings, that's why they stick. Some are more potent than others. I will not let anyone touch my green carpet, he has the nastyest sting in our tank. I work with my hands and it's sting hurts, the harder he latches on the worse the sting. So i can imagine what sensitive people go through. We have seen people with large rashes and lesions from coral stings.

[Zoaelite]

Bristle worms are the only thing that really sting me , have brushed against all kinds of coral including torches & an extremely sticky carpet with no effect.

The last few times I have been really badly stung by a BW the next day I'm highly nauseous and have a killer migraine. Itchy itchy fingers too :neutral:.

[daniella3d]

Well if they sting I am immune to it because I can't feel a thing beside the tentacles sticking to my skin when I pull away. Same result with my duncans as the tentacles often stick to my skin but I don't feel anything remotely painfull.

The people at the LFS when I bought both anemones were handling them out of the water and into the bag with their bare hands, toutching it quite a bit. Did not seem to hurt either of them.


Just dependes on how sensitive you are to toxins. Everything stings, that's why they stick. Some are more potent than others. I will not let anyone touch my green carpet, he has the nastyest sting in our tank. I work with my hands and it's sting hurts, the harder he latches on the worse the sting. So i can imagine what sensitive people go through. We have seen people with large rashes and lesions from coral stings.

[Coleus]

Well if they sting I am immune to it because I can't feel a thing beside the tentacles sticking to my skin when I pull away. Same result with my duncans as the tentacles often stick to my skin but I don't feel anything remotely painfull.

The people at the LFS when I bought both anemones were handling them out of the water and into the bag with their bare hands, toutching it quite a bit. Did not seem to hurt either of them.

Depend on the type of anemone as well, I have three and two sticking to my skin with no problem. The other one, i can feel the sting right away

[The Grizz]

I must has some tough skin for the simple reason the only coral that has ever made me feel the sting is the long tent plate I had.

[Murminator]

Almost thinking of bailing.....:cry:


http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=550031#post550031

[fishytime]

thanks for posting the link Murray

[fishytime]

heres a story from a customer at the shop.....he is a member here but shall remain anonymous:razz::wink:....said member realized or read or whatever that sodium bicarbonate dissolves quicker when you stir it into hot water....he had the idea to do the same think with his bulk calcium additive ......he said the second the boiling water hit the calcium it literally exploded and sent some of the calcium flakes shooting throughout the room!.....he said the resulting heat generated by the mixture nearly melted through the 5g bucket he was using:surprise:......so lesson learned is.....cold water only for mixing your bulk Ca solutions!

[The Grizz]

Oh so true, I have noticed that adding calcium added to cold water causes steam to rise from the pail and the water temp rises quickly.

Good tip Dougster :thumb:

[hound96]

I can attest to the hammer coral's sting..no long effects but wasn't pleasant.

Should also add all species of rabbitfishes to the caution list, I have never been stung (yet!) but I understand the sting from their spines can be quite painful. I'm always watchfull where my rabbitfish is in my tank when working inside.

i got stung by my magnificent foxface a few months ago it got me in the finger and by the next day the pain was up to my shoulder was not one of my more fun experiences

[dacookster]

Anyone ever accidently got aquarium water in the mouth? My aquarium is small and difficult to syphon from so usually I start it manually. Wasn't paying attention a few times and ended up with a mouthful. Anyways, I'm still alive but was wondering if i'm the only idiot to do such a thing.

[abcha0s]

Anyone ever accidently got aquarium water in the mouth? My aquarium is small and difficult to syphon from so usually I start it manually. Wasn't paying attention a few times and ended up with a mouthful. Anyways, I'm still alive but was wondering if i'm the only idiot to do such a thing.

Normally I wouldn't care, but this is a thread about the risks of salt water aquariums.

PUTTING WATER FROM YOUR TANK IN YOUR MOUTH IS A VERY BAD IDEA!

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/sp/feature/index.php

- Brad

[isaac1]

i wouldnt worry about it to much its like anything else realy when it comes down to it, ive handled all my corals and anemonies bare hand and have had nuthing happen, everyone will reacte diffrently just be cautious if you have allergies and have a bottle of benedryll on hand,as for certain worms and fish yes use caution bristle worm stings hurt and i herd lion fish and butterflys and fox faces can pack sum punch aswell as certain box fish and puffers

[Bloodasp]

I wanted to cut my finger when I got stung by my lionfish. Soaked it in water which was as hot as I can tolerate for 2 hours. My finger is still bulging where I was stung and that was 3 months ago, and still tends to hurt from time to time.

[bignose]

I don't know much about lion fish, did you brush you hand past the fish or did the fish sting you?

[Bloodasp]

My fault entirely. That lionfish is very timid, gets excited during feeding time but when it sees me reaching into the tank it avoids the side where I am working. During that time I didn't look into the tank to see where it was before I reached in.

[fishytime]

another close call from palytoxin exposure:neutral:....heed the warnings people!

http://reeftools.com/live/forum/showthread.php?t=1593

[mandyplo]

Wow so glad I read this. Just ordered a bunch of zoas and I probably wouldn't have worn gloves until I saw this thread. Thanks guys for saving my butt once more

[fishytime]

and more palytoxin experiences http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=88064

[MCC]

I once graced my hand across an Elegance coral...it touched my wrist. At first it felt nothing. Then my wrist started to hurt like it was cut and salt water touched it. So i took my arm out and washed my hands/arms like i normally do. After a short while i noticed this long cut along the wrist. It wasn't like deep enough for blood, but it gave me a scar for at least a year after. I think the scarring finally went away as the skin renew itself.

[Goatman]

Not really an aquarium, but I got hit By a blue bottle in Australia....that was painful...very painful...

[noirsphynx]

Zoanthids.
-wear gloves
-if you cant wear gloves wash your hands thoroughly after
-do not handle your zoas without gloves if you have an open cut on your hands.
-while fragging your zoas, wear eye protection.


Wear a mask too if you're using a saw to cut. I use a Dremel with a diamond blade sometimes and I once got poisoned from inhaling the dust produced while fragging.

I've also been skewered(right through my finger, ouch) by a long spine urchin while cleaning a tank so WATCH what you're doing if you have one. I didn't realize it was in there and it was hiding under a black over flow against a black background. Thankfully I didn't get one of the poison spines.

I am often stung by Euphyllia. An orange hammer once stung the back of my wrist and it was very itchy and painful. It produced welts and then black scare marks after the welts went down. Those marks were there for several months and would frequently get itchy still.

[Dearth]

I had my left hand paralyzed for just over 6 hrs when I handled 3 coral juries still out on which one it was but I can tell you it was excruciatingly painfull. I handled a Zoa, mushroom leather, red and green brain coral I treat all my coral with care because I never wanna go through that pain ever again

[whatcaneyedo]

I had my left hand paralyzed for just over 6 hrs when I handled 3 coral juries still out on which one it was but I can tell you it was excruciatingly painfull. I handled a Zoa, mushroom leather, red and green brain coral I treat all my coral with care because I never wanna go through that pain ever again

Your really having a rough start at this. I almost always wear gloves when I have to handle anything in my tank now. A box of 100 blue nitrile gloves sells for $10 and lasts for a very long time. They're pretty tough yet disposable and they don't have any powder inside like the latex gloves typically do.

[Mike-fish]

Unless I missed it somewhere in this thread. What is the treatment for anemone stings. And fox face stings

[AquaAddict]

Hi,

I have had my frog spawns sting me (especially my largest one) and I immediately run hot water (hot as I can stand it) over the rash for as long as I can stand it. This will help prevent some swelling. I can't remember where I learned this. I am guessing this treatment may "kill" or wash out the sting nematocysts that the coral "flings out" at you.

It's been my experience that you don't have to get very close to the coral - a couple of inches will do to ellicite a reaction from the coral.

AquaAddict
PS I sold that large coral in order to have more maneuvering room.

[daniella3d]

well, my allergies seem to be going away as I have less and less skin reaction and itch, but I will try the hot water trick next time, thanks a lot.

[fishoholic]

Unless I missed it somewhere in this thread. What is the treatment for anemone stings. And fox face stings

When I was badly stung by a maxi mini nem I ran my hand under hot water and soaked it in vinegar which helped take the initial sting out. I had red welts and it was itchy for a week but one thing that really helped was an anti itch cream like Benadryl.

[HaZRaTTy]

When you guys state a "Rash" what doesn't your rash look like is there any Folliculitis occurring after the sting/exposure?

[gregzz4]

I was target feeding my Black Long-spined Urchin recently, and, as the saying goes, 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you', except apparently my urchin doesn't know this ...

Instead of feeding him Nori with a feeding prong, I thought I'd try a hand feeding
As he was on the front glass, I figured it would be easy to poke a piece of nori into his general area. I held the nori against the glass with 1 finger and slowly pushed it towards him. He started to get the idea and was crawling up the glass towards the nori (and my hand)
I kept my hand against the glass the whole time, and his spines were checking me out, but nothing major ...
He keeps coming up the glass, finds the nori, and then he suddenly flares out and pokes me on a knuckle :surprise:

I don't know if it was a reaction form him or not, but it hurt at first
I kept my hand in the tank until he grabbed the nori, so my sting was in the water for over a minute
By the time I got my finger to the sink for hot water it was a black dot, like I'd been poked with a pencil
After a couple of minutes of hot water, the pain went away and after a couple of hours the pain was gone

The next day my knuckle was back to normal

[daniella3d]

Mine look like poison oak rash, so I am guessing that my skin reaction is caused by my own body producing istamine rather than by the substance itself since the reaction is too similar to a simple allergic reaction.

This photo is not mine but it look similar to this, with little pimples and red rash around, and it itch like crazy. If I put cortisone cream it goes away in a day or two:

http://byebyedoctor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/poison-oak-rash-pictures.jpg

When you guys state a "Rash" what doesn't your rash look like is there any Folliculitis occurring after the sting/exposure?

[fishoholic]

When you guys state a "Rash" what doesn't your rash look like is there any Folliculitis occurring after the sting/exposure?

Here's pic's of my hand after I was stung

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/1B8E3EF2.jpg (http://s261.photobucket.com/user/Laurie_Morin/media/Snapbucket/1B8E3EF2.jpg.html)

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/EA351AC4.jpg (http://s261.photobucket.com/user/Laurie_Morin/media/Snapbucket/EA351AC4.jpg.html)

[RipCurl]

Hi! I'd appreciate any advice on how to remove some of my Zoas or at least slow them down from reproducing so quickly. I'm not really a big fan of them any longer.If anyone would like some, we can swap live rocks.

[gregzz4]

Hi! I'd appreciate any advice on how to remove some of my Zoas or at least slow them down from reproducing so quickly. I'm not really a big fan of them any longer.If anyone would like some, we can swap live rocks.
You should post this in the 'Coral' section
This thread is not relevent to your dilemma

Go to Reef, and find the Coral sub-thread at the top left of the page

[Coral Hoarder]

i thought it was palys (paly toxin) zoas iv never had a problem with

[strider]

I had read this before on different forums but just ignored it like most people thinking it can't be that bad.
I had 2 scrapes on my hand and I went to pick up big frogspawn coral that had fallen down next to Anenome. I don't know if one or both got me but that was painful lesson. It hurt for days. The cut where the skin was off from didn't heal fully for a month.
learned to listen to other hobbyist when they tell u something.

Bought the 20$ coralife gloves the same week .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cujo#31]

Oh and I forgot the fourth hazard of keeping corals...
My wife finding out how much money I have sunk into this already and will in the future....THIS may be the most painful of all the hazards..

OOOOHHHHH MAN! U SAID IT BROTHER! My wife has gone "wifezilla" on me a time or two.My only defense is there are far worse things I could be doing with my spare time and (lack of LMAO) spare cash

[cbrine]

In my EMS education and Dive training (rescue diver and Divemaster cert) both talk about treating jellyfish stings with warm salt water or distilled white vinegar to neutralize the sting. Then using salt water and baking soda mixed into a paste and smeared all over the site then scraped off to help remove stingers.
Calamine lotion, Benadryl (the liquid oral stuff can be smeared topically as well) and ibuprofen can help decrease the after effects of stings/pain.
(http://www.aabana.de/Health/Health-2-Jellyfish/health-2-jellyfish.html)

Of course always seek medical assistance as a CYA...

and have to be careful with nitrile gloves, due to their permeability can only be worn for so many minutes before they start to break down and decrease effectiveness as a barrier device (will have to ask the clinical educator I spoke with for the AHS documents on this). I believe for medical purposes, we are told to change our gloves after 8 mins as they are not effective at protection (especially when dealing with contagious bodily fluids). Double gloving does not prevent/decrease this process either.
(interesting right?!)

[HaZRaTTy]

Depending on the type of gloves you use they are said to be good for approx 20 minutes. If you double glove that cuts your time in half due to the heat, moisture and increased tension.

Remember all our gloves have micro tears and through moving stretching and heat these slowly fracture and become bigger. Always good Practise to wash hands after.

[navbc]

Thanks for the great info I will differently get some gloves

[monocus]

try the gorilla gloves.you can get them thicker than most nitrile gloves

[clermont]

Not an animal living in our tanks but watch out for electricity....Got a pretty good scare the other day when I stuck my hand in the tank and I could feel it. Not a strong shock more like an irritant and then the breaker blew in the house. Looked in my sump after and a heater was filled with water so it must have failed because I had vinegar bathed my return pump and was moving rock around in the sump and must have damaged it. Thinking I will get a volt meter to test water prior to sticking my hands in the tank going forward.
A GFI (believe that's what there called) would be very beneficial to every reef keeper as well.
Maybe its common sense that electricity and water don't mix but its something I stopped thinking about after the couple years I have been in the hobby.