Possible zoa poisoning

[daniella3d]

No gloves for me I just put cortisone cream and be done with it. It takes a few days and it's gone. I would not be able to use gloves as my aquarium is 24" deep and most of the time I get water all the way to my armpit. I would need a space suit.

Thing is when I first got into contact with poison oak I was full of pimples and was going nuts with the itch. Second time there was nearly nothing...third time only one pimple, and now nothing. With the aquarium I hope it's going to be the same thing and go away with time.

I do beleive that most of the palytoxin stories that we hear in these forums are actually allergic reaction to something else in the aquarium, especially when people read about palytoxin and they manipulate those corals knowing about it still and then start to feel the symptoms.

Originally Posted by canadianbudz604

mainland Danielle3d, I too get a "sting?" From frogspawns. But I watch my brother move all sorts of stuff and no problems. Jason604 I guess you will be wearing gloves next time huh?

[jason604]

Originally Posted by 11purewater

OP are you able to get a reaction from just smelling the tank water or handling live rock or other corals,(sneezing or rash).Those zoa's have been readily available for many years and have been handled by the vendor and customers alike without issue.some people have a hypersensitivety to salt water tanks and it's residents no matter what, unfortunately ,and you may be one of them.

Nope I'm perfectly fine with saltwater. I actually drank quite a bit while acclimating for the first time n I was fine just a long salty after taste lol. I touched the water in my tank all the time with no gloves. The zoa incident I had was without touching anything else but the zoas with tiny bit of the water in its bag directly with my gloves then touch the tip of the tubing I used to acclimate n put my mouth stupidly on it.

[11purewater]

I hope it was a one off event,only one way too find out!get the antihistamines ready,and quit drinking the tank water!There's some nasty things happening in there when the light go out!

[Madreefer]

Yet again another newbie gets an owwie when touching a coral.

This topic comes up quite often. If people actually clicked on some of the stickies on the site when they say they've done so much research on the hobby we wouldn't have to argue about this issue every few months. Better to build on to that thread than creating a bunch of different threads.

[canadianbudz604]

Don't put ur lips on foreign items lol

[jason604]

Originally Posted by mseepman

You should get yourself one of these too...great little device and pretty darn cheap.

http://innovative-marine.com/auqa-gadget/accu-drip.html

No more "sucking" for siphon to drip acclimate.

where can i buy this thing? i hate suckign on the tube lol

[asylumdown]

I'd have to agree with Levi on this. Mostly because I would never try to get in to a debate about whether you should or shouldn't take general precautions against unknown health hazards in your tank. It's usually where threads on 'I was Paly-Poisoned' end up going. I think it's an obvious common sense thing to say and do, but more importantly taking the conversation there is a red herring logical fallacy in the context of specific cases of suspected paly-poisoning.

The OP of this thread wasn't talking about a mysterious ill brought about by some unknown in a tank that may or may not have possibly been allergies. No, there was a very specific claim made about a very specific poison, with photographs of the 'accused' species provided for scrutiny, therefore I think it's completely fair and valid to address that claim specifically. Contesting that there was in fact any poisoning at all does not mean that someone is suggesting care need not be taken with their livestock and personal health, nor is it a personal attack on the person making the claim, which is how I see a lot of people interpreting such criticism, it's simply contesting that there was any poisoning in the first place based on the specifics of the claim.

While an expert does have some responsibility to not offer advice that could lead to harm, I think they also have a responsibility to challenge what are in fact very serious claims about something they care about when the evidence supporting that claim is weak or contradictory. In the absence of formal, peer reviewed hobby 'journals', forums have become the number 1 source of disseminated information on this trade. You do a search for just about anything aquarium related and the first page of google results will be links to RC, Canreef, and all the other major forum boards, so I think the 'experts' have a responsibility to make sure the best information is out there to be found. Paly-toxin has become something of a hobby boogeyman, and leaving the myriad claims of poisoning unchallenged when in fact there very likely has only been a few 'true' cases presents the impression to a newbie/lay-person that this hobby is much more dangerous than it is, gives a bad name to a whole family of animals that are for the most part model tank denizens, and, as Levi mentioned, waters down the real risks.

Stating in bold letters that something in your tank nearly killed you is an extraordinary claim, and should be backed up with extraordinary evidence. Paly-poisoning is an incredibly severe, acute, and specific condition caused by a specific agent, and it doesn't appear that any of those agents were present here. It is also toxic in such vanishingly small quanitites that it's hard to believe that there is a such thing as being just a 'little poisoned' when it comes to paly-toxin. That's like saying there's such a thing as being a 'little poisoned' by ricin, or cobra venom. It is not a bee sting. The OP also made several comments that I think suggested an alternative and far more likely cause of the reaction. I am in no way suggesting that experience wasn't 'real' or valid, just that palytoxin probably wasn't the cause.

Should everyone take general precautions when handling livestock in their tank - yes. Does that fact elevate all claims of play-toxin above the point of scrutiny and (constructive) criticism - no.

[slakker]

Well stated asylumdown... whether the OP did or did not get paly or zoa poisoned is quite irrelevant as there simply isn't enough evidence to show cause and effect. I don't doubt the OP was actually ill, but the diagnosis is simply a anecdotal correlation.

However, the fact that it can happen doesn't change the need for proper care and methods in handling these corals.