d.french
Reef enthusiast
no reaction from anything yet but seen another guys arm swell up from touching frogspawn or hammer coral and torch corals.
Handling things that go in the tank
- Thread starter jb61264
- Start date
Rcpilot
Reef enthusiast
I wear gloves now. I didn't in the past, but my wife got me some gloves for Christmas.
I got squirted by a zoa once. Missed my eye by about an inch. Made my face numb and gave me a headache for about 2 days. When fragging zoas, I wear a full face shield to protect my eyes now. It's a very nerve racking experience to learn the hard way. I didn't know if I'd pass out of go to sleep and not wake up or have a heart attack. We're dealing with one of the most dangerous organic toxins in the world-- and most doctors won't have a clue what to look for in a blood test or how to treat it if they happen to stumble onto it. Getting paly toxin in your bloodstream and taking a trip to the ER is no guarantee you will live through it.
I printed out a little info on paly toxins and I keep it in the stand, under my tank. That way if one of the kids, or anybody in the house, should happen to get sick from contact--at least I can bring it with me to the hospital.
It's not just zoas. Bristle worms are sorta dangerous when they get large. I heard of a snail thats dangerous too, and they come in as hitch hikers. Mantis shrimp can split you open. I don't know if gloves would help or not, but you might as well wear them anyway. There's all kinds of stuff in our tanks that can hurt you.
I got squirted by a zoa once. Missed my eye by about an inch. Made my face numb and gave me a headache for about 2 days. When fragging zoas, I wear a full face shield to protect my eyes now. It's a very nerve racking experience to learn the hard way. I didn't know if I'd pass out of go to sleep and not wake up or have a heart attack. We're dealing with one of the most dangerous organic toxins in the world-- and most doctors won't have a clue what to look for in a blood test or how to treat it if they happen to stumble onto it. Getting paly toxin in your bloodstream and taking a trip to the ER is no guarantee you will live through it.
I printed out a little info on paly toxins and I keep it in the stand, under my tank. That way if one of the kids, or anybody in the house, should happen to get sick from contact--at least I can bring it with me to the hospital.
It's not just zoas. Bristle worms are sorta dangerous when they get large. I heard of a snail thats dangerous too, and they come in as hitch hikers. Mantis shrimp can split you open. I don't know if gloves would help or not, but you might as well wear them anyway. There's all kinds of stuff in our tanks that can hurt you.
putter
Reefing newb
Fatman, the gloves I use go to the armpit as it is, only thing that will help from there is, and upper body condum!!! These corals only spit toxins when fragging right? I don't need to get into full protective gear just to handle them do I? I certainly wear the gloves, but never even thought of wearing a face shield of any sort!
Different Corals and different marine life forms have different defenses. Look at the Australian crocodile guy Steve Irwin (or something) that was killed by a sting rays tail barb. I have not heard of many divers wearing chain mail suits because of that. I in general worry more about my causing damage to the reef tank and its inhabitants and its bacteria than I do them harming me. Researching what you put into your tank is wise though. In general the soft corals have more chemical defenses than hard corals. There are few fish in reef tanks that are more than irritating unless you happen to be one of the few who experience severe reactions. It is like bee stings are just an irritant to most people. There are little bitty octopus that can kill you quite dead though, as well as some deep water fish. I do not know anyone keeping sea snakes in their home tanks. It would not be wise. Probably the safest way to look at it is if the sea form looks delicate and defenseless it is probably the one to most look out for, hence the undulating soft corals. Others sting, jab, bite and swallow. They poison. Face mask no, but safety glasses or lab goggles are recomended for propagation, usually before gloves are recommended. Most propagation people try just to handle the base of colonies for the protection of the corals. Gloves commonly are not used outside the tank. If you have open cuts or even scratches the gloves should be worn, and in general gloves are a good safety item that could outweight the clumsiness they can cause. But necessary I would not go so far as to say that. More so necessary to protect the tank, corals, fish and otherlife forms from you and what could be on you.
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Alexander
Reef enthusiast
rc I believe your thinking of cone snails. the larget ones will harpoon youe fish and kill them and if they get you you have a better chance of dying than living. I had one in my 180. I don't think it was the larger fish eating kind... but either way it could have messed me up pretty bad. out came the tongs! that was nerve racking
yote
In Memoriam
I'll vouch for that one.Never reach down and pick up a lionfish thats flopped outta the net and hit the floor.
SSalty
Team Liquid Force
That stuff is scary. Good to know that about Zoas.
Doc
I don't work for anybody
hmmm, OK, you all have effectively terrified me from ever wanting to rearrange my tank. Hell, I go bare in there all the time and so far, I ain't dead. Now I am rethinking having zoas in my tanks at all
-Doc
-Doc
Alexander
Reef enthusiast
just don't run across a cone snail doc... it scared the hell outta me
Doc
I don't work for anybody
shoot, I don't even know what one looks like to be scared of it. For all I know, I have been playing with them for 3 years and would have no idea
-Doc
Alexander
Reef enthusiast
kinda like a nassarius but without the tail end and all different colors. they have a probuscus just like a nassarius that searches around, but then a tooth that harpoons out to kill prey. they can range from small to the size of a human fist
Doc
I don't work for anybody
hmmm, yup, never seen anything remotely close to that in my tank, thank the maker!!!
-Doc
yote
In Memoriam
Having zoas wont hurt you,as long as you respect what your dealing with.Its kinda like working with electricity.The poeple that are gonna get hurt are the ones thats scared of it,and the ones that aint scared of it and dont respect it.You just gotta be carefull and keep in mind that they can hurt you if your not mindful.
Doc
I don't work for anybody
so you mean that I should alter my plans of cutting off zoas for my dinner salad for the family?
-Doc
No...just make sure you use gloves and goggles when you're dicing them up ;)
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Hahaha! I remember that panicked phone call! That was a long time ago, huh? I think I was still married at the time...
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