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Sad

diana a

diana a

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
Very sad.

"This rare toxin which is most often found in soft corals and dinoflagellates has been definitively identified in zoanthid corals found both in the homes of collectors and for sale commercially."

I wonder if that is true about it being in dinos?
 
E

eholceker

NJRC Member
diana a said:
Very sad.

"This rare toxin which is most often found in soft corals and dinoflagellates has been definitively identified in zoanthid corals found both in the homes of collectors and for sale commercially."

I wonder if that is true about it being in dinos?
Click to expand...

So palytoxin is a well known thing but you almost have to inhale or eat to get sick. Me personally I am highly allergic to euphyllia. Just putting my bear hand in my tank causes me to get 3rd degree blistering rash on my arm. One time it got so bad I had to go to the ER and get my wedding band cut off as my hand blew up. Everyone should be wearing gloves when working on their tank. Safety first.
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Vice President
Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
I agree about wearing gloves. I don't and if I mess around to long my arm gets irritated.
 
E

ericrodriguez

NJRC Member
It would be nice to have some types of Zoanthids identification so we don’t get this types and vendors do not sells them as well..
 
E

ericrodriguez

NJRC Member
That’s sad men now some one else will or could take care of his children. And it’s not the same love...
personal opinion though.
 
M

mickeysreef <*))))<

NJRC Member
run quality carbon and make sure you change it out when the water in your white bucket looks yellow. brightwell purit is on my radar as well. they are billing it as next level carbon, even removes heavy metals. i'll be switching when my matrix and rox are gone
 
DEL

DEL

President
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
Moderator
it's always confusing when I read these stories. they don't give details what exactly happened. I'm guessing maybe since it's Texas, it was during the storm last week and they had no power, therefore things didn't make it? was the person scrubbing rocks? did they just leave the tank with dead things in it for days? how stocked was the tank? so many questions. it would help if someone knew them and had a picture of the tank and what was in it.
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
eholceker said:
So palytoxin is a well known thing but you almost have to inhale or eat to get sick......
Click to expand...


I'm sorry, but this is not true. After putting a second pair of clowns in my tank, and World War III immediately breaking out, I attempted to net and remove the two new clowns. In the process my hands were hitting into Zoa colonies. A couple hours later I broke out in welts where my hands hit the zoas, and the following day, spent the day in bed because of general malaise...I felt like death warmed over. The following day I was OK. So it can be absorbed through skin, and if you're fragging, wear safety glasses because it can be absorbed in the eyes from them "squirting." I won't mention names, but a long time member also put a zoa covered rock outside in the winter (freezing), and a couple days later went to move it (with bare hands) and had a similar reaction to what now are dead zoas. So handle with care. Any time I know I'll be handling zoas, I wear gloves.

An example of skin absorption: Palytoxin poisoning after dermal contact with zoanthid coral - PubMed
 
erics210

erics210

Secretary
NJRC Member
I agree, do to the situation and location.
I am sure he was either trying to scrape off corals or rock, or salvage dying corals, or just letting the entire tank stew in a pot of unhealthy condition.
Sad, BUT you have to know what you are dealing with when you sign on.

Sadly, I do not follow my own advice. I always tell new reefers who swing by.
1. Acclimate and dip new corals. (I do dip, but no QT yet)
2. If you frag corals, wear gloves and eye protection, wash hands after.
3. If you super glue frags, dip in salt water outside the tank prior to introducing them into the reef tank to eliminate that glue film that looks like floating fishfood to unsuspecting fishes. (I do this)
4. Always wear gloves when putting your hands in the tank.
5. Lastly, when bringing home new corals, there was a HUGE Sale!
 
E

eholceker

NJRC Member
redfishbluefish said:
I'm sorry, but this is not true. After putting a second pair of clowns in my tank, and World War III immediately breaking out, I attempted to net and remove the two new clowns. In the process my hands were hitting into Zoa colonies. A couple hours later I broke out in welts where my hands hit the zoas, and the following day, spent the day in bed because of general malaise...I felt like death warmed over. The following day I was OK. So it can be absorbed through skin, and if you're fragging, wear safety glasses because it can be absorbed in the eyes from them "squirting." I won't mention names, but a long time member also put a zoa covered rock outside in the winter (freezing), and a couple days later went to move it (with bare hands) and had a similar reaction to what now are dead zoas. So handle with care. Any time I know I'll be handling zoas, I wear gloves.

An example of skin absorption: Palytoxin poisoning after dermal contact with zoanthid coral - PubMed
Click to expand...

Not to really question you but how do you know you we're poisoned with the world's most deadliest toxin and not stung by the coral. If palytoxin was easily absorbed into the skin reefers would be dropping like flies.
 
W

Wilson

Being a safety guy, my instinct was to look for an SDS. Didn't think I'd find one, since it's an organic excretion but hey, what do you know.. it has commercial applications, and thus a Safety Data Sheet.. under section 14, it says Proper Shipping Name : Toxin, extracted from living sources, solid, n.o.s. So I'm thinking we're referring to the same stuff here.

Of course, this is the processed version being sold as film from Japan, but as an extract, I would assume the natural state exhibits similar properties.

Screenshot_20210224-142010_Drive.jpg
 
DangerDave

DangerDave

NJRC Member
I dunno the right answer but I touch these things all the time without issue. I just cut up about 50 frags of zoas and palys last weekend. I would usually wear gloves (if I never get bristleworm bristles stuck in me again it’ll be too soon) but I was out of them. I understand there’s a danger, but maybe a bit overblown? I don’t eat them, and don’t boil any rocks, so that probably helps.

Is tank dilution and carbon enough to handle the toxicity? I threw a rock with 50 or so yellow death palys in my sump, they slowly withered away. No reaction from me. I do run a small reactor (std brs size) of carbon that I change every couple/few/when I remember weeks.

Someone’s gotta have the answer, anyone in the club has to have real knowledge on this?
 
C

curt

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
redfishbluefish has been around awhile. Did you see his above post? There's been a few people over the years that have had a bad reaction to the stuff.
 
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