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!
Quote:
Originally Posted by 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  ) 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.
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