Zoanthid Warning.

[krp]

I was doing a search on some zoos I got from a friend yesterday and read the same thread about the guy who lost his dog also.
I'm new to saltwater and I was quite suprised when I found out that these things could potentially be that toxic. You would think that LFS's would mention this to noobies when they purchase these so they could take precations when handling them.
Its good to have resources such as this board for noobies to learn stuff that the LFS's somehow just forget to mention.
I gotta go and move my new zoos to a different spot on my rock that I like better

 

[snailheave]

about 2-3 weeks ago i was stung by my ritteri anemone. now my arm itches with red spots the moment i put my arm in the same tank with the anemone

 

[kablamo]

you developed an allergy!

 

[nomad]

You don't have to have cuts, chapped skin is also a problem, and little breaks in and around the cuticles could be a problem. One of the reasons we need to be aware of this toxin is that is we don't wear gloves and have a bad reaction, we can tell the doctors about the toxin and its effect. I suggest printing out the above info and keeping it in your tank notebook for just such a situation (which will hopefully will never happen), but then at least you willl have something more than just your 'poor ignorant mind' babbling at the doctor. Believe me, I know how they can not listen to a person--it almost killed me (having nothing to do with SW tanks).

 

[bronco300]

Trying to scare me out of Zoanthids huh? I think not my friendddd, HA HA....j/k..... to be safe i shall buy some latexgloves, will just regular gloves like that work that you can get from the store or do you need something else? I must get Zoanthids....poison or not.......but another question...so basically whether or not if you even working with the zoanthids, they could have put out that poison into the water, which still could be very harmful, right? or is it just with contact of the inside of them when fragin that we need to be concerned with? just double checking because i would hate to die :joy: And would it be a rule of thumb to make sure not a single other person sticks a finger in the tank? or is that like a one in ten million chance type thing?

 

[shoreliner11]

Originally Posted by Bronco300
Trying to scare me out of Zoanthids huh? I think not my friendddd, HA HA....j/k..... to be safe i shall buy some latexgloves, will just regular gloves like that work that you can get from the store or do you need something else? I must get Zoanthids....poison or not.......but another question...so basically whether or not if you even working with the zoanthids, they could have put out that poison into the water, which still could be very harmful, right? or is it just with contact of the inside of them when fragin that we need to be concerned with? just double checking because i would hate to die :joy: And would it be a rule of thumb to make sure not a single other person sticks a finger in the tank? or is that like a one in ten million chance type thing?
The zooanthids release the toxin to deter predators. So if they are extremely stressed from physical touching or even being cut like others said above, they can release a toxin. Like promisetbg said, Palythoa sp. pack the greatest punch but other zooanthids do have the potential to harm you. IMO if you are careful when moving things around your tank and you don't go stick your finger in your mouth promptly after touching the zooanthids you will probably be fine. In general it isn't a good idea to have lots of people sticking their fingers in your tank but I always tell people to wash their hands after putting their hands in the tank anyhow. After all, saltwater dries out your hands

 

[promisetbg]

Good points....,if you do get stung by any coral/anemone. using white vinegar on the stinging area will help neutralize it from nematocysts{stinging cells}.In some cases it is even advisable to run a disposable razor over the area.{throw away that razor}Even torches,fire coral,anemones as mentioned{especially carpets},and many others have the potential to sting.Best sloution...wear gloves

 

[keonia]

Question.. as kablamo stated that in one case a dog died from drinking the water... does that mean that the tank inhabitants are immune from this toxin?
a couple of days ago, I posted a concern about my green brittle hoovering all over my zoo's for the past week. Is there a potential for toxin to be released within the tank? my green brittle is still eating and moving around.

 

[shoreliner11]

Originally Posted by keonia
Question.. as kablamo stated that in one case a dog died from drinking the water... does that mean that the tank inhabitants are immune from this toxin?
a couple of days ago, I posted a concern about my green brittle hoovering all over my zoo's for the past week. Is there a potential for toxin to be released within the tank? my green brittle is still eating and moving around.
Most marine organisms do not eat them because they are instinctively known as toxic. There are exceptions to this (zooanthid eating nudibranchs), but unless ingested I believe the toxin does not effect other tank inhabitants. Even though I'm not entirely sure of the brittlestars native area, zooanthids in one form or another are pretty common in almost all temperate to tropical oceans. So it is unlikely that the brittlestar is not familiar(in an instinctual sense of course :thinking: ) to try and take a bite out of them. I don't claim to be an expert but I would imagine that although the toxin may reside in and on the tissue of the zooanthid, for it to release the toxin, it would need to be under considerable stress. It would be very energy costly for the organism to constantly secrete the toxin. I doubt that the brittlestar would induce a response by walking/staying over them. Regarding the dog, just think how much toxin there could have been in a small bin after 10 min of cutting and whatnot. I imagine the concentration was farely high (even though it only takes a minute amount). Hope this helps a little.
Aaron

 

[promisetbg]

Marine animals posess a good slime coat.

 

[keonia]

Hey Aaron,
thanks for your response. I finally realized why my green brittle does that... she's trying to steal the food from the zoo's. I feed my zoo's mysis & brine. !!!
I spot feed the green star but she such a piggy. Opihura said some where that the star may die if not cared for (in a period of about 6 months - I think) well, My star is definitely (don't think so) not going to die!! I have to watch her because she'll just hoover all over the zoo's. THe zoo's don't quite gulf the mysis down so the star has time to steal it!
Keonia

 

[kablamo]

The reason most of our tankmates are ok sharing space with zoos, is natural selection.
At least in the same area, any members of a species that might like to eat zoos :notsure: ends up dead, with some exceptions (such as those who are immune and LOVE eating them

). Those that prefer eating other things to zoos have a much higher chance of survival because they don't have a taste or an inclination to eat dangerous foods anyway.
Now if you have an aquarium full of great barrier reef species, then an animal from the indian ocean might readily devour some zoos from the great barrier reef, as he wouldn't "recognize" this as the same as the zoos from his home.
:cheer:
HTH