What corals can’t kill my family?

[SharkRacer]

It seems at every turn this hobby get me in trouble with my wife!

I was just about to take the plunge and begin stocking my tank with zoas and palys, when I came across the infamous horror stories about palytoxin.

I have two boys, 7 and 8 years old. While they are respectful of my tank and it would be very unlikely to ever mess with my corals, I simply don’t want to risk them (or my wife) any harm. I don’t mind something that can sting (if provoked), but I’ve ruled out having anything that could be deadly.

With that said, what corals are non toxic and “safe” for kids? Will I be safe with:

Leather Toadatools?
mushrooms?
LPS like Duncan’s and Trumpet coral?
SPS?
Xenia?

 

[Lavey29]

Uh zoas and palys have been in the hobby for many decades. There are only a few sub species that can be labeled as potential corals with palotoxin. You can also get struck by lightning if you are outside.

 

[SharkRacer]

Uh zoas and palys have been in the hobby for many decades. There are only a few sub species that can labeled as potential corals with palotoxin. You can also get struck by lightning if you are outside.

Yeah I get what you are saying but I’d be more likely to get killed by my wife if she sees any of those stories on the people going to the ER or having their eyes melted out when a zoa squirted them.

 

[Lavey29]

Yeah I get what you are saying but I’d be more likely to get killed by my wife if she sees any of those stories on the people going to the ER or having their eyes melted out when a zoa squirted them.

I hear you and my wife would assuredly do the same. One thing that makes this hobby special is involving your family with picking out corals and fish so it's good that you look out for them. Really all the other corals you mention are harmless. Yes some can sting a little like a torch coral. Leather corals put toxin in the water as a defensive mechanism but it is handled by running carbon.

 

[Gtinnel]

The only coral that I am aware of that is potentially deadly is zoa/palys. Even most of the ones in the hobby are harmless.

 

[Spontagious]

I think you should be fine with zoas just make sure you don’t buy palys, specifically with palytoxins like captain America palys.

 

[AydenLincoln]

I’m going to say the same thing I tell everyone who is worried about it. There are a million scenarios/things that can kill us daily just by getting in the car we take a risk. And coral is at the very bottom of the list of things that are likely to kill you. Just don’t go boiling or eating rocks/coral and if you ever frag them safety measures have to be taken! If you are truly worried you can go with a rock only fish tank or wear gloves while handling them.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I admit to having limited knowledge with corals, but aside from zoas and palys, the only other technically dangerously toxic corals that I’m aware of are gonis (Goniopora spp. - flowerpot corals), and I’ve never heard of someone actually dying or being poisoned by them.

As mentioned, though, the odds of you being poisoned by these corals are incredibly low, and almost all cases of poisoning from these corals have been the result of highly questionable decisions by home hobbyists (such as scrubbing zoas off a rock with a toothbrush with no PPE in a poorly ventilated area, or literally boiling the rocks with the zoas on them) - for these toxins to affect you, they have to enter your body in some way (like by fragging them and touching your eyes without thoroughly washing you hands first, or by you somehow aerosolizing it and inhaling it), and as long as you wear PPE and don’t make pretty obviously poor choices, the odds of that happening are slim.

With zoas and palys specifically, some of them contain the toxins, others don’t. Some of the species are known to contain palytoxin, and others not. Some of the ones that are known to contain it don’t contain it consistently (meaning one zoa could be toxic while another zoa of the same species/kind is not). Additionally, the level of toxicity varies from one toxic specimen to another. Anyway, all of that said, while the odds of you being poisoned by one are low, you should treat all zoas and palys as if they’re toxic just to be safe.

So, zoas, palys, and gonis aside, pretty much any other coral should be totally fine for your wife to learn about, as they don’t typically (some people have allergies to specific corals or I wouldn’t add “typically” to this statement) have potentially lethal toxins (she might take issue with some of the ones that can sting painfully though, such as Fire Corals).

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Fun fact... Some people are allergic to things in their tank and don't have any idea until they stick their hands in one day an have an anaphylactic reaction.
I have a friend (who actually owns a very successful coral business) who has been in the hospital several times because of this... Once they figured out what was going on, he's worn gloves, eyewear, etc any time he touches coral or puts his hands in a tank.
(And this wasn't just zoas/palys).

Bottom line, just do your due diligence and live your life

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

The only coral that I am aware of that is potentially deadly is zoa/palys. Even most of the ones in the hobby are harmless.

Unless you have cuts on your hands... Then there's lots of stuff in the tank water that can be really bad...
(And then there are the people like me who clean their skimmer barehanded, lol!)

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Sorry @SharkRacer , I'm not trying to minimize you and your wife's concerns. You're being responsible parents. But just like any dog *could* bite your face off, the vast majority won't...

 

[Tiki_Reef]

Unless you have cuts on your hands... Then there's lots of stuff in the tank water that can be really bad...
(And then there are the people like me who clean their skimmer barehanded, lol!)

Guilty as well

 

[Tired]

Most zoanthids, and pretty much anything that's not a palythoas or goni. Except if there's something bacterial that gets in a cut. 7 and 8 should be old enough to understand "don't touch the rocks in this tank without thick gloves, in case something is sharp and cuts you". Oh, and "don't eat any of this", as I'm sure a lot of corals are potentially risky if eaten.

Wanting to avoid one of the strongest toxins in the natural world is entirely reasonable, low risk or no. Though I think it is neat to look at a coral and think "huh, that has enough toxin in it to kill probably half my neighborhood". Same way it's neat to look at a venomous snake behind glass and know it's venomous.

 

[Tiki_Reef]

I am on board with a lot of people on here, lol we mix electricity and saltwater then we stick our hands in it, I would be more worried about getting zapped than I would be worried about palyotoxins that's just my thought. I also clean my skimmer bare handed though so there is that

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Guilty as well

Oh, I've actually done much worse... when I moved my tank to my new house, against the advice of others I planned to rinse and reuse my sand. After a very long day which included getting scratched up by my psycho cat when putting her in the carrier, I was out back at 11pm rinsing buckets of very dirty sand, stirring it by hand of course! Talk about a serious infection waiting to happen! Luckily I didn't suffer any I'll effects

 

[Tiki_Reef]

Oh, I've actually done much worse... when I moved my tank to my new house, against the advice of others I planned to rinse and reuse my sand. After a very long day which included getting scratched up by my psycho cat when putting her in the carrier, I was out back at 11pm rinsing buckets of very dirty sand, stirring it by hand of course! Talk about a serious infection waiting to happen! Luckily I didn't suffer any I'll effects

Lol I use to use a empty plastic water bottle to dump the waste water from my Hanna checkers after testing well needless to say I set the water bottle I was drinking out of next to it, you can guess what happened next. Still here.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Lol I use to use a empty plastic water bottle to dump the waste water from my Hanna checkers after testing well needless to say I set the water bottle I was drinking out of next to it, you can guess what happened next. Still here.

I'd be more worried about drinking the reagents than drinking the saltwater!

Of course, none of us has EVER gotten tank water in our mouths... Lol! (Not to mention lake water, river water, beach water...)

 

[Tired]

Aquarium water can have a concentrated amount of pathogens compared to nature, so best to avoid that as much as possible. Or at least use quite a lot of mouthwash.

 

[ajm83]

I'd be more worried about drinking the reagents than drinking the saltwater!

Of course, none of us has EVER gotten tank water in our mouths... Lol! (Not to mention lake water, river water, beach water...)

Could be worse, my other hobby is mountain biking and i got dog toffee flicked up from the front wheel into my mouth once

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I'd be more worried about drinking the reagents than drinking the saltwater!

Of course, none of us has EVER gotten tank water in our mouths... Lol! (Not to mention lake water, river water, beach water...)

Spent this past thursday draining my 120g and figured my teeth were gonna fall out with all the saltwater I tasted (had to start a siphon a few times)!

To the OP, I get it but if your worries are frankly extreme about poisoning from mishandling corals, either don't bother with 'poisonous' corals or the hobby may not be for you.

Like many said already, take reasonable precautions and you'll be fine. I'm personally more worried about being electrocuted (again) or stung (again) by a rabbitfish than I am with handling some palys/zoas.