Marine aquarium cautions

[fishytime]

Working at a lfs I am amazed at how many people are surprised to learn about some of the things that could make you at the very least sick (and worse) that we keep in our little eco-systems. Im hoping perhaps this thread could become a sticky and be used as a guide for new (and possibly old) hobbyists. People need to be aware of some of the hazards the we commonly keep.

I thought maybe other canreefers could add to the thread if they had a picture of the fish,invert, etc and provide a link to the pertinent information. In thinking about the list of potential "baddies", I realized I have only one thing in my tank at the moment that could "get" me. Not really comforting considering the one thing I have is probably the only thing that could potentially prove to be fatal.

Zoanthids.

A coral touted as being a good choice for beginners and both easy to keep and frag. While all this is true zoanthids contain a deadly substance called palytoxin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palytoxin. Extreme caution should be used when handling your zoas.

-wear gloves
-if you cant wear gloves wash your hands thoroughly after
-do not handle your zoas without gloves if you have an open cut on your hands.
-while fragging your zoas, wear eye protection.

[sphelps]

I would have agree and also recomend gloves!



I was stung by a large euphyllia (hammer coral) in my tank last year, as a result I suffered from a severe skim rush and infection that I'm still fighting off. I use to think people over reacted about this subject but it true, trust me.

It's also very hard to receive proper treatment for coral stings when you don't live near the ocean and it takes a long time to get an appointment with a dermatologist.

[Underwater]

Here are a few-but I am sure there are more out there:

http://www.ehow.com/how_9376_identif...jellyfish.html (and other stings)

http://www.e-med.co.uk/diving/dive_q...php?sub_cat=67 (first aid at the end of the response)

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/ven...a/aa042798.htm (about fish)

HTH-
~M

[FitoPharmer]

i heard someone loosing their dog to zoa's, so that is defiantly a big one. i cant remeber if it had ate a frag or licked someones hand that was fraggin zoa's.

[Patrice]

A year ago, while I was cleaning a tank, there was some kind of "smoke" that came out of a rock when I moved it. I have no idea that was. Anyway, it was painfull.
It's hard for me to explain this in english. At first, it was just painfull but after 20 minutes, it was like my hand got scrubed on a hard surface. I immediately washed my hand but it did not stoped. The "scrubbing effect" of that smoke have last for about 20 minutes. I was a little worry let me tell you. That was weird and I would love to know what that was.

[fishytime]

Urchins are another one to be careful with. http://saltaquarium.about.com/gi/dyn...2Ftopic158.htm

Again best handled with gloves.

[rocketlily]

This has been known to happen to many saltwater addicts

[fishytime]

Perhaps the second most important hazard.

[J.Lloy]

Don't forget Bristleworm Sting. I picked up a rock and the underside had a worm lodged in with its bristles out. Ended with about 500 little spines across three fingers. They swelled a bit and were sore but I could feel the effects for a month. Getting the spines out also were not easy.

[debbaDEEra]

I knew that some corals are toxic but I had NO idea that zoos were this toxic. I have never worn gloves and was not told I should by any other the LFS. I do and have had swollen glands on one side of my neck that the doctors are watching and the next step is more tests. Could this be from me handling EVERYTHING in my tank wo gloves? I did months of research before we got the tank but I guess I missed this tutorial!!