lionfish poison

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macman7010

Aquarium Advice FINatic
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Nov 15, 2004
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i just got a red volitan lion fish for my 40 gallon tank (dont worry its only home till I am done setting up my 80 gallon for salt water) and wondered just how poisuneous these guys are. I have read differing articles, some say a bee sting others say your dead. He is really small about 4 inches??
 
If your alergic to bee stings then yes you can be in some serious trouble if you dont use your eppi pen right away or seek medical attention.

The sting will be extremly painful in the area hit. Regional swelling can occur and like I said if your alergic to bee stings then general swelling all over the body can occur. Should the swelling occur around the throat/mouth then the airways can be blocked and thus suffication is possible.

This is not something to take lightly if you have adverse reactions to bee stings.
 
another consideration is the size of the person stung, a young child 50-60lbs will be affected much differently than 180lb adult
 
I knew someone who was stung by a dwarf. He went to the hospital, and they put heat on it. He said by the time he got there he was burning from the shoulders down. He's not small either about six feet close to 180 or so. So be careful when you're doing tank maintenance.
 
The fist thing to be done when you get hit is to run as hot of water as you can stand under the sting for several minutes.
 
It hurts a fair bit, but immediately immersing the stung part (usually a hand) in as hot water as you can stand for 30 minutes will do a lot to break down the protein chains in the venom.
 
*Just thinking here*
Would amonia help? I mean, I know it helps with a jellyfish sting. Or are they 2 different types of stings?
 
Different I believe. The venom from the fish is a simple protein base. The added heat from hot water helps break down the protein chain and decompose faster than normal. I've never been stung, so I don't know which hurts more, the venom or the scalding water :D
 
I got stung by an adult lion ,when I first got him I did not know much about fish, this was 12 years ago
All my fish would come right up to my hand while I was working in my tank as they were use to me and I would hand feed them
Well the lion came up to me and I didn't know they had venum so I let him come right up to my hand and sting me
Boy did my hand swell up ,I didn't go to the doctor or anything but after I told someone that knew fish they told me I was lucky because some people have died
 
Just curios, but what it it feel like say in comparison to a bee or hornet sting?
 
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