Palytoxin is serious business.

[Deezill]

This is why I only have 2 heads of zoas and I am not doing Palys in this build period. I hate to worry about toxic stuff in the tank. I know there are other items that could be toxic but let's remove some of the obvious. I want a Foxface but scared of getting stung. I hope you get well soon.

 

[Deezill]

I agree.
funny thing.... I bought a blue ring octopus back in the 80's knowing the dangers. LFS I bought it from told me I had to pick it up when it came in. they wouldn't be taking it out of the bag. I get there and the bag has imprinted on it "DANGER" complete with skull and crossbones to the right and left.
why is it paly's don't come in a typical bag when palytoxin is one of the most toxic known?
just wondering.

I agree dangerous items should be labeled. Great post.

 

[Kris 2020]

I’ve never had an issue with handling palys or zoas. (Autocorrect hates this sentence by the way. Wants to be plays and zoos).maybe I’ve just been lucky? Been on the hobby awhile now.

 

[h2so4hurts]

+1 for aiptasia. I react very badly to their stings. I've started wearing gloves when I cull caulerpa in my sump. One aiptasia sting and my hand swells up and hurts for days.

 

[sp1187]

This is why I only have 2 heads of zoas and I am not doing Palys in this build period. I hate to worry about toxic stuff in the tank. I know there are other items that could be toxic but let's remove some of the obvious. I want a Foxface but scared of getting stung. I hope you get well soon.

foxface sting about the same as a wasp and it's purely defensive. mine hides whenever my hands are in the tank.
more likely to get in a car accident on the way to the LFS than get stung by a foxface in your tank..

 

[Deezill]

foxface sting about the same as a wasp and it's purely defensive. mine hides whenever my hands are in the tank.
more likely to get in a car accident on the way to the LFS than get stung by a foxface in your tank..

You know I really really do want a foxface. I might have to let just one be the exception to the rule.
They are very beautiful fish. A small one would do great in my 210.

 

[Kris 2020]

Saltwater is absolutely filthy. Researchers have found up to ten million viruses in a single drop of seawater. I couldn't find data for bacteria, but there are likely hundreds of thousands of those also.

Corals also produce many substances and toxins completely unrelated to palytoxin.

Considering the animals you were handling weren't even palythoa, it is much more likely that one of the above was the culprit.

I don't know why our hobby has such a fascination with palytoxin. It's dangerous, to be sure. It's not the only dangerous thing in our tanks, not by a long shot. The personal protective equipment you should be wearing anyway because of the other dangerous things in our tanks would protect you from palythoa toxins, if any are even present.

Legionella would be an example of a bacterium that can thrive in reef aquaria.

 

[Ippyroy]

foxface sting about the same as a wasp and it's purely defensive. mine hides whenever my hands are in the tank.
more likely to get in a car accident on the way to the LFS than get stung by a foxface in your tank..

My NSLFS is about 5 hours away in the mountains. The risk might be a little closer to equal.

 

[Deezill]

My NSLFS is about 5 hours away in the mountains. The risk might be a little closer to equal.

LOL

 

[littlebigreef]

Most people are not going to be affected by merely touching them and its a bone of contention with me as to the seriousness of the risks to the average hobbyist. I've cut 10's of thousands of zoas barehanded and never had an issue though touching. That said, I have gotten utter chaos juice in the eye a time or two and it does suck. The average zoa doesn't present a risk to most hobbyists. The bigger death palys, texas trash etc where you can actually see them secreting the juice when they've been fragged are the ones you have to watch out for. That said, and to the OP, I do know some people are more sensitive stuff in the aquarium than others. If handing a zoa led to this serious of a reaction you'll probably want to be careful about handing nems and other critters.

 

[Fishbird]

This was my thought also. I know zoas can be a problem but I really thought the toxin came from Palys hence the name.

Palytoxin has been found in Zoanthus, Protopalythoa, and Palythoa. It was first isolated in a palythoa species.

Studies on the origin and distribution of palytoxin in a Caribbean coral reef

In coral reefs of the Caribbean Sea (Colombia) palytoxin (PTX) has been detected in zoanthid species of the genera Palythoa and Zoanthus by assaying t…

www.sciencedirect.com

 

[fishguy242]

all true have done..yes 4x vietnam zoas ,wash hands,wash hands with bleach,wash again..treat all w caution!!
be safe all burns eye like heck go to doctor, will give drops ,helps tremendously
funny bit 1st time ,he said what...and had to google..lol .ps side note watch open cuts and scratches with all corals!!!!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I think caution should generally be used when working in a reef.

 

[JulianHuntToronto]

I sometimes think I can do crystal meth, but then I think, hmmm, better not. TBH I agree that there are all sorts of nasties in the tank. Sometimes after working in it, the skin sloughs off my hands, not pretty. Scientifically it is very hard to differentiate between Zoas and palythoas without dissecting them and using a microscope.