Palytoxin: The History, Pharmacology, and How to Protect Yourself

[rbraunberger]

I'm sure a lot of folks have seen this, but I'll post anyway https://reefs.com/2015/09/14/the-dangers-and-myths-of-zoa-toxicity-part-1/ . According to these articles, zoanthids harboring palytoxins aren't really that common in the aquarium trade though they do show-up. Most are pretty dull looking, making them not that appealing to many aquarists.

Still better to treat them all as possible carriers and have the proper protection. Recent media stories have shown this not always to be true, and many people have those with toxins without knowing.

Better to practice safe and responsible reefing than end up needing to find someone to feed your fish for a few weeks while your in hospital

 

[rbraunberger]

Great artical I had no idea zoos where that toxic.

Not all are. The toxic species are not commonly seen, but they are still sold. Better to practice safe reefing to protect yourself and family from possible serious illness!

 

[rbraunberger]

Anyone know of a source/link of known species with photos of toxic coral? Etc. I'm gonna save that photo listed above. Thanks. Following

I have been looking at this a lot since I did the article and there is a lot of conflicting thoughts and ideas in the matter. Many people state that genetic screening or toxicology studies need to be done to tell if a species produces the toxin, while other say you can tell by looking.

I would advise caution in the matter and treat them all as if they produce some form of toxin. This will greatly reduce your exposure risks in the event you ever do bring home one that truly does produce the toxin.

Like I said before...better safe than needing to find someone to feed your fish for a few weeks while your in hospital!

 

[jsker]

Thank you for posting the article.

 

[DMan]

Something to augment your article. It's a little rough but it's still Julian.

 

[sk8elenex92]

I have those suckers. I've had them for ever. There growing up my glass. They suck. Worse then GSP. These things slime like crazy.

Sold as. Arctic Ice Paly

 

[Traxter]

Great questions!

As far as the cleaning question goes palytoxin has both lipophilic and hydrophilic regions. Detergents work on the principle of lipophilic interactions in an aqueous solution, and should be sufficient in trapping the toxin. That being said the toxin is also hydrophilic, and thus water loving. It does exist in an aqueous solution, and some may escape cleaning with a detergent. That being said, keep in mind that the better you clean your tools with friction and soapy water you are removing toxin, and this will lower the effective dose you are exposed too.

The longevity of the toxin and resistance to dry environments is something I looked into, and was unable to find any data on. This toxin thus far has not been seen as a major threat to consumers, and research is very limited. For something that was discovered in the early 1970's, most of the article about it are concentrated around 2010 and beyond. More research is in the works, but this takes time.

Loved the write up, it was a great read. My brother and I had a long discussion on how quickly this would kill someone a while back and I will be sending it on to him. Wonderful first few questions and a quick response. Many thanks for putting this together

 

[rbraunberger]

Loved the write up, it was a great read. My brother and I had a long discussion on how quickly this would kill someone a while back and I will be sending it on to him. Wonderful first few questions and a quick response. Many thanks for putting this together

Your welcome

 

[Desmo996]

Wow, I didn't know. I was aware of some toxins that could bother you a little bit... But man, that's crazy... Awesome and scary. Thanks for the education.

 

[rbraunberger]

Wow, I didn't know. I was aware of some toxins that could bother you a little bit... But man, that's crazy... Awesome and scary. Thanks for the education.

Thank you

 

[AkaiPanda]

Just got some Cotton Candy Zoas today, was already aware of the hazard but love the detailing in this article! Great read.

 

[Cnidoblast]

palytoxin will be destroyed by bleach as the hypochlorite will oxidize all those alcohols to ketones and the free amine to an inactive n-oxide

 

[Deiblerj]

So just came across palytoxins in another post and googled it....did not realize the severity of this. Is this a common toxin to come across? I’m fairly new to reefing and got some frags from my LFS that were on sale....should I be worried? I’ve handled them and haven’t had any side effects or anything.

I guess is this something to be concerned about? Definitely will be doing more research on this!

 

[that Reef Guy]

"Leave fragging to the professionals!"

While I appreciate the sentiment, hobbyists are clearly not going to ask for a marine biologist to come to their house to cut off a frag.

He means Professional Coral Vendors not Marine Biologists.

 

[that Reef Guy]

Awesome info!! Any articles on which zoas contain more severe toxin? And which ones are harmless? Or is it all, zoas?

It is Grandis and Proro-Paly's that are causing these Problems.

People are overreacting and Blaming all Zoanthids.

99.9% of the Zoanthids out there are not causing the Problems.

It is mostly the Proto-Paly's (Texas Trash) that are causing the issues.

Stay away from those and you will be fine.

 

[that Reef Guy]

Although that is probably good advice, references from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that the Palythoa containing large amounts of Palytoxin are visually identifiable.

"Genetic analysis (2) determined that both toxin-containing zoanthid samples were consistent with previous molecular identifications of a highly toxic variety of Palythoa species collected from multiple aquarium shops in Maryland and Virginia, and from three similar aquarium-related poisoning events in New York, Ohio, and Virginia. Both specimens were genetically and visually distinct from the nontoxic or weakly toxic specimens from this case and similar previous cases."

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6431a4.htm

I've been working with reef aquariums for over 20 years and have never (knowingly) fallen ill from Palytoxin, though I work closely with LFS worker who has been affected and hospitalized a number of times. He says it has always been from a visually distinct type of Palythoa which is the same type shown in the photo from the CDC. He will not handle these Palythoa for any reason, and that LFS disposes this type of Palythoa (when it shows up on orders or customers bring them in) and will not sell it.

Exactly.

People need to quit overreacting about a bunch of News Stories that made by People who know nothing about this and are just trying to Scare You and Get Ratings.

People have been Keeping Zoanthids for Decades with no complaints.

Now all of a Sudden there are a Few News Stories and it is Like Mass Hysteria.

It is as if Palytoxin was just created.

No, it has been around for Millions of Years.

 

[that Reef Guy]

I'm sure a lot of folks have seen this, but I'll post anyway https://reefs.com/2015/09/14/the-dangers-and-myths-of-zoa-toxicity-part-1/ . According to these articles, zoanthids harboring palytoxins aren't really that common in the aquarium trade though they do show-up. Most are pretty dull looking, making them not that appealing to many aquarists.

An Excellent Article

 

[that Reef Guy]

A Great Video from Marc Levinson.

 

[that Reef Guy]

Something to augment your article. It's a little rough but it's still Julian.

Excellent Video.

 

[VelocityTech]

It is Grandis and Proro-Paly's that are causing these Problems.

People are overreacting and Blaming all Zoanthids.

99.9% of the Zoanthids out there are not causing the Problems.

It is mostly the Proto-Paly's (Texas Trash) that are causing the issues.

Stay away from those and you will be fine.

Could you include some photos of these types? Very interested, thanks