Zoanthids toxin

[Talon]

I just read an article on msn this morning about Zoas putting off a palytoxin that can be dangerous and has hospitalized multiple people. I knew they had some poisonous property but didn't know it was that bad. I will not endanger my family with my hobby. Anyone know more about this?


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[Sniperhank]

Palytoxins can be serious business...but the severity of the toxin varies to each type of zoa or paly. I've forgotten about this now and again and rubbed my eye after moving a zoa frag and it been red and sore like you were to have pink eye. Obviously it gets much more serious than that, just like you read. This is why we say not to boil rock to solve issues as if there were palys on there it would then put this toxin into the air and can be quite deadly.
That aside, having zoas and palys in the home aquarium isn't dangerous in the slightest. Besides the boiling rock bit, you have to be in contact with these polyps to get the stuff on you. If you wash your hands afterwards it is a null issue.

 

[Mebbid]

Palytoxins can be serious business...but the severity of the toxin varies to each type of zoa or paly. I've forgotten about this now and again and rubbed my eye after moving a zoa frag and it been red and sore like you were to have pink eye. Obviously it gets much more serious than that, just like you read. This is why we say not to boil rock to solve issues as if there were palys on there it would then put this toxin into the air and can be quite deadly.
That aside, having zoas and palys in the home aquarium isn't dangerous in the slightest. Besides the boiling rock bit, you have to be in contact with these polyps to get the stuff on you. If you wash your hands afterwards it is a null issue.

+1 I agree 100%

 

[dylan p]

Just wear gloves when your handling them and eye protection if your fragging them and don't forget to clean up after.


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[Beej1254]

Just yesterday I was messing around in my tank and tried to remove a Zoa from a power head(same Zoa I thought was dead awhile ago...) but I ended up tearing it some. I continued to work in the tank and at some point rubbed my face with part of my arm..then that side of my face turned red and started to swell. All I had to do was carefully wash the area and not get anything in my eyes and it cleared up very quickly.

Zoas are beautiful and easy to care for as long as you handle them properly you'll be fine. And you should always wash your hands/arms after being in the tank anyway.

 

[Mebbid]

Honestly, just think about it for a second. Zoanthids / Palythoas are the single most common types of coral around. How many aquarists have you heard die from them?

Some have gotten sick, yes. But just teach your family not to eat things out of your tank and it will be fine

 

[TheTodd]

I read on another site that there is going to be a bit on Good Morning America tomorrow (8/18/15 Wed) about this. Apparently they got the guy that did the infamous article for Advanced Aquarist (boiled rock, almost killed his family), a doctor and (unfortunately) the Tanked guys. The "hype" is apparently from an article the CDC put out last Friday 8/14/15...

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


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[Mebbid]

I read on another site that there is going to be a bit on Good Morning America tomorrow (8/18/15 Wed) about this. Apparently they got the guy that did the infamous article for Advanced Aquarist (boiled rock, almost killed his family), a doctor and (unfortunately) the Tanked guys. The "hype" is apparently from an article the CDC put out last Friday 8/14/15...

Suspected Palytoxin Inhalation Exposures Associated with Zoanthid Corals in Aquarium Shops and Homes — Alaska, 2012–2014


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I have palys that look exactly like that

 

[TMRC Exotics]

I read on another site that there is going to be a bit on Good Morning America tomorrow (8/18/15 Wed) about this. Apparently they got the guy that did the infamous article for Advanced Aquarist (boiled rock, almost killed his family), a doctor and (unfortunately) the Tanked guys. The "hype" is apparently from an article the CDC put out last Friday 8/14/15...

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


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Count on the idiots in main stream media to fear monger over simple hobbies that pose little risk to individuals while simultaneously ignoring the volatile aspects of this world which threaten our lives daily. All via government ran media. Didn't know we were in Pyongyang. (Sorry rant over)....

 

[Autumnsky]

Good for everyone to know and remember, they are possibly dangerous. I didn't think about gloves to just pick up and rearrange placement on a few frags, but I knocked a rock off which hit the colony and my hand started to go numb after having one that similarly looked like those but there were three other types also on the rock. On the bright side prices will likely go down for a couple/or few weeks.

 

[TheTodd]

It was actually a good piece this morning. Not the alarming, end of the hobby type of drama that many people predicted it could be. Thankfully the Tanked guys was just a clip from their show, not them trying to "educate" the masses.


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[Mebbid]

On the bright side prices will likely go down for a couple/or few weeks.

I wish, this isn't really a secret in the reefing community. If anything it could drive sales for people looking to poison someone...

 

[Sniperhank]

This is only one of those 'pull on the heartstrings' stories. As Mebbid said, anyone in the reefing community is aware of this toxin and with any type of research into what they are doing and/or keeping will be no stranger to any of the 'dangers' in the hobby itself. That is why when my wife told me that there was a story on the news about my saltwater hobby I laughed and said 'Yes, I heard about that "person"'...of course there was a grand insult to the intelligence of that person that went along with that, but that is the point. Just in our small community here we always scream to the high heavens about the toxins and to NEVER boil live rock because of the CHANGE that a zoa or paly had been on it at some point.

 

[TheTodd]

I think that there is still a lot of ignorance out there, so I would never assume everyone knows. It was a big enough deal that the CDC reported on it. That was last week. The guy on GMA was from several years ago. He was the only one GMA could track down because he had done the article for AA and they found that.


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