Some facts: about Palytoxin:
1.
Recent research indicates that Palytoxin is not created by the Palythoa itself, merely taken up and utilized by it as a defense. It currently appears to be a product of
Ostreopsis dinoflagelletes, which are one of the common strains in reef aquariums.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26714047/
2.
Palytoxin is not only found in Palythoa. Some species of Palythoa readily take up the toxin and use it in their protective mucus, but it has been identified in many different kinds of corals including zoanthids, leathers, sinularia, lobophyton, gorgonia, favia, and montipora. It has also been found in coralline algae, cyanobacteria, marine sponges, cnidarians, and ascidians (sea squirts). It’s even been found in some seafood:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0041010110004101
3.
You can’t easily tell which specimens are safe and which aren’t. Since the toxin isn’t manufactured directly, Palytoxin levels can fluctuate widely in individual coral specimens. This is a huge reason why people get lax, because they’ve “never had a problem before.” If they’re lucky, they never will. Luck plays a much bigger part than common sense, because as discussed below even using common protective measures is often not sufficient.
4.
Palytoxin is very hardy and it takes impossibly small amounts to cause illness. As the second most potent biotoxin on the planet, and it’s estimated that only 3 micrograms of palytoxin is all it would take to kill a healthy adult.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6510251/
5.
Even experts are vulnerable. Julian Sprung was poisoned when he transferred a rock with Palys from one tank to another. He noticed it felt slimy but thought little of it. He nuked three tanks by the time it was over. He talks about it here, although we know more about it now than when he gave this lecture a decade ago:
6.
Deaths are rare, but poisonings aren’t. People have reported getting sick and didn’t realize it was related to their aquarium because they assume only handling Palythoa carelessly can make them sick. Most exposures don’t require hospitalization and mimic other illnesses such as the flu. Since doctors have generally never even heard of it, it’s possible that palytoxin deaths have occurred and been misattributed as heart attacks.
7.
Poisoning can cause long-lasting symptoms. In one reported case the victim had to relearn how to talk. Eye exposure can lead to loss of vision. Heart and lung damage are reported. Long term effects in milder exposures really aren’t known because so little research exists.
8.
There is no antidote. Treatment is intended to keep you alive until the effects wear off, and may include assistive breathing devices or pacemakers.
9.
Palytoxin can be absorbed through the skin, eyes, or mucous membranes. Many people falsely believe that they’re safe as long as they don’t boil rocks or otherwise expose themselves by inhaling it. In fact, in many of the worst cases that have been documented the people used commonly recommended safety procedures. One man was partially blinded despite using safety goggles, gloves, and washing his hands. Another sent his entire household to the hospital when he put a month old sun-dried frag an inch across in a bucket of vinegar to sterilize it. The vapors poisoned everyone inside the 2200 square foot two-story home in a matter of hours, including their pets.
The biggest problem is that people routinely handle and frag Palythoa without having any issues. A small number of people are very cautious but still end up very sick. You could have a polyp which has never been a problem in your tank for years and then on another occasion it may contain enough toxin to poison a preschool. And since the source of the toxin isn’t actually the Palythoa at all, it’s possible to be poisoned by something as simple as a dinoflagellete outbreak. This is likely one reason why inverts and other tank inhabitants die during a dino outbreak.
Someone recently commented on a post here about his experience with Palytoxin:
https://www.reef2reef.com/posts/13894958/
