Blue Tang Sting

kjord97

kjord97

Member
So, my friend in our local club got pricked by the barb on the tangs tail during his tank tear down. I would say he has been handleing tanks for 10+ years, so he is pretty cautious. Well from his explantion, the prick was 5 times worse than a lion sting and his hand swelled up like a catalope. After several hours on the phone calling around to professionals back on the west coast where he came from, he finally made the trip to the ER. A couple of shots in the fingers and some antibiotics, he appears to be doing better. He had severe burning pain for about 7 hours before it started to reside.
Anyone know what kind of poison is on the barb? I do know the blue tangs skin is poisonious, wonder if he got some transfer?
So word of advice, be careful around those surgenfish.
 
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dragonzim

Active Member
Tangs are not venomous. e may have gotten cut by the bard on the tangs tail, but something else is causing the inflammation.
 
kjord97

kjord97

Member
The skin of hippo tang is very poisonous if ingested. I am thinking that the barb stuck him and maybe some skin got into the wound. Open wounds and your tank water are a receipt for infections.
 
reefmate75

reefmate75

Member
i dont belive they are venomous as my sailfin tang dropped one of his spurs into the side of a kole tang missing the inteston chamber by only 1/8" and the fish recovered fine and went on his way acting normal
 
t316

t316

Active Member
Originally Posted by DragonZim
http:///forum/post/2544955
I like how they say that "the spines may be venomous" but dont list any type of research to back that up.
Agreed Dragon. I don't see anything here that points to anything specific. I have never heard of this being a problem. I can buy into the fact that cuts or open wounds can allow bacteria to enter the blood stream causing some of these problems. But as far as Tangs (the one's we keep), I don't foresee any attacks or "stingray barb" encounters.
 
kjord97

kjord97

Member
Well from the personal experience dealing with this issue, the tang used it tail and spines as a defense during the break down of the tank. The tang pricked my buddies hand, caused a little bit of blood, and then a severe bee sting feeling. With in 2 hours his hand swelled up 3-4 times normal size. Usally see this in an allergic reaction. Trip to the ER and some antibiotics, he is now back to semi normal after 7 hours of pain. Now a day later, everything is back to being normal and the spot where the tang hit him is now just a little red spot.
Also found this sentence from another poster after tons of digging:
The blue tang is of minor commercial fisheries importance, however it is occasionally utilized as a bait fish. The flesh has a strong odor and is not highly prized. This fish may cause ciguatera poisoning if consumed by humans. However, blue tangs are collected commercially for the aquarium trade. An unwary human who tries to handle the blue tang risks the chances of being badly cut by the caudal spine. These spines, on both sides of the caudal peduncle, are extended from the body when the fish becomes excited. The quick, thrashing sideways motion of the tail can produce deep wounds that result in swelling and discoloration, posing a high risk of infection. The pain can last for hours, until eventually subsiding into a dull ache. It is believed that some species of Acanthurus have venom glands while others do not. The spines are used only as a method of protection against aggressors. Having one in an aquarium and cornering it will most likely result in injury.
Off subject, reefmate 75, how are your mated maroons doing, my have eggs in the nest of anenomes every 3 weeks right on time. Turns into some great food for the tank. My have been mated for 4 years.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
From fishbase.
Paracanthurus hepatus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Family: Acanthuridae (Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes), subfamily: Acanthurinae picture (Pahep_u0.jpg) by Randall, J.E.
Image of Paracanthurus hepatus, Palette surgeonfish, Palet-doktervis, Ffiyán, Hugupau asut, Maasiyes, Masiyes, Montador, Paletkirurgfisk, Blue tang, Blue surgeonfish, Blue surgeonfish, Hepatus tang, Palette surgeon, Indo-pacific bluetang, Wedge-tailed tang, Flagtail surgeonfish, Wedgetail blue tang, Chirurgien bleu, Simusimu, Nanyôhagi, Voularg, Leter enam, Leter enam kecil, Debam, Dengkis, Chankatayan, Kimakimaga, Acaraúna-preta, Barbeiro, Cirurgião, Palettkirurgfisk
*Distribution map of Paracanthurus hepatus, Acanthuridae, Palette surgeonfish, Palet-doktervis, Ffiyán, Hugupau asut, Maasiyes, Masiyes, Montador, Paletkirurgfisk, Blue tang, Blue surgeonfish, Blue surgeonfish, Hepatus tang, Palette surgeon, Indo-pacific bluetang, Wedge-tailed tang, Flagtail surgeonfish, Wedgetail blue tang, Chirurgien bleu, Simusimu, Nanyôhagi, Voularg, Leter enam, Leter enam kecil, Debam, Dengkis, Chankatayan, Kimakimaga, Acaraúna-preta, Barbeiro, Cirurgião, Palettkirurgfisk
AquaMaps | Point map |
Order: Perciformes (perch-likes)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
FishBase name: Palette surgeonfish
Max. size: 31.0 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 2334)
Environment: reef-associated; marine; depth range 2 – 40 m
Climate: tropical; 24 – 26°C; 30°N - 30°S, 32°e - 170°w
Importance: aquarium: commercial; price category: medium; price reliability: very questionable: based on ex-vessel price for species in this family
Resilience: High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months(Preliminary K or Fecundity.)
Vulnerability: Low to moderate vulnerability (32.29), based on Lmax and K (Ref. 59153)
Distribution:
Gazetteer Indo-Pacific: East Africa, including the Mascarene Islands (Ref. 37792) to Kiribati, north to southern Japan, south to the southern Great Barrier Reef, New Caledonia, and Samoa.
Morphology: Dorsal spines (total): 9 - 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 19 - 20; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 18 – 19. Bright blue, yellow and black in color (Ref. 3145).
Biology: Occur in clear, current-swept terraces of seaward reefs. Observed in loose aggregations 1 or 2 meters above the bottom; juveniles and subadults typical in groups near isolated Pocillopora eydouxi coral heads and when alarmed hide themselves tightly among the branches (Ref. 9710). Engybenthic (Ref. 58302). Feed on zooplankton (Ref. 9710, 48637). Relatively uncommon and highly localized (Ref. 1602, 9710). Very popular and hardy aquarium fish. Anterolateral glandular groove with venom gland (Ref. 57406).
 
wangotango

wangotango

Active Member
Originally Posted by DragonZim
http:///forum/post/2546438
Hmm, learn something new everyday!
Me too. I knew they had barbs, but I didn't know they could be poisoness. I can't imagine that it would be worse than a bea-sting though.
-Justin
 
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dragonzim

Active Member
Originally Posted by WangoTango
http:///forum/post/2546759
Me too. I knew they had barbs, but I didn't know they could be poisoness. I can't imagine that it would be worse than a bea-sting though.
-Justin
My guess is that it would be something along the lines of a lionfish sting. Still not something I'd go looking for...
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Acanthurus pyroferus mimic surgeon fish without venom gland
Paracanthurus hepatus Blue tang with venom gland
Prionurus scalprum Scapel Sawtail with venom gland
Zebrasoma flavescens Yellow Tang without venom gland
 
kjord97

kjord97

Member
Well thank you very much for the surprising data.
Took 3 days, but his hand is back to normal and all swelling is gone.
 
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