A warning about toxicity. A MUST read.

[reef]

Hey musicmaker, so I do not have to go back and read this enrtire thread. Was the sceintific evidence post, in this thread, regarding the toxicity? Was there a link to some external formal research that we can referance? Thanks in advance. Oh yeah let me back the moderators comments on the tag comment. Nobody needs little non constructive wise remarks and from a fellow Packers Fan besides. We are all on the same team here.

 

[greenfishies]

palytoxin death squad...don't mess with me man I have some zoos here and I'm not afraid to use 'em...just don't eat them or frag them near your kids..

 

[DouglasTiede]

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Thanks for the info!

 

[TheCoralNabber]

very interesting.....guess I'll snag some gloves from work before I move around my zoes again.

 

[jols]

whoah.. and to think that i was touching them with my bare hands just a while ago! and i have an open wound about 1 inch long..

will rubber gloves do? wont they release something dreadful in the tank?

 

[musicsmaker]

There are places that sell rubber gloves. You should be able to get elbow or shoulder length ones from your local veterinarian. Some online vendors sell them also.

 

[fussoverthis]

Shoulder gloves

Shoulder gloves

Order shoulder gloves here These are 39" long polymer -- so not bulky -- and they stretch.

 

[spamin76]

Is there any evidence that the zoos are what actually killed the dog? Did the do an autopsy verifying that he didn't die of suffocation, diverticulitis from swallowing the rock, dehydration from excessive salt water consumption? If this guys dog died from the palyotoxin which is so potent wouldn't the dog just have about keeled over on the spot? Or could it have been a hypersensitivity reaction?

I have handled zoos, even fragged zoos hundreds of times, with skin breaks and I have not keeled over yet.

This sounds a bit like mass hysteria with minimal evidence.

 

[musicsmaker]

Is there any evidence that the zoos are what actually killed the dog?

No, but that's not what this thread is about.

 

[spamin76]

It took the dog 12 hours to pass away - if the palytoxin is the culprit why didn't it take 5 minutes?

Palytoxin
The crude ethanol extracts of the Palythoa toxica proved to be so toxic that an accurate LD50 was difficult to determine. More recently, the toxicity has been determined to be 50-100 ng/kg i.p. in mice. The compound is an intense vasoconstrictor; in dogs, it causes death within 5 min at 60 ng/kg. By extrapolation, a toxic dose in a human would be about 4 micrograms. It is the most toxic organic substance known!

 

[spamin76]

I was just curious - I will agree that palytoxin is poisonous - I am not going to try to dispute that - I just think that there is really not a lot of evidence that zoos are dangerous - have there been any studies indicating that zoos contain palytoxin? In what amounts? I know some polyps - palythoa contain noticable and perhaps dangerous amounts of palytoxin, but even related genuses like protopalythoa do not contain it in noticable amounts as far as I know - does anyone know otherwise? Much less zoos which are more distantly related.

 

[musicsmaker]

The idea here is not to throw away all your zoa's. It's to raise awareness that some do contain this stuff, so that those who wish to can take necessary precautions. Wash your hands when you're done, don't lick (or eat) them, and that sort of thing. Wear gloves if you feel so inclined. Here are some semi-recent threads about palytoxin in the reef chemistry forum:

Is Palytoxin (produced by zoanthids) removed by skimmers?

what exactly is palytoxin?

More people (myself included) should wear gloves when messing in the tank, and for more reasons than palytoxins. There are other things that can put a hurtin' on you in there. Check out these threads, and be sure to look at the pictures:

Another...your tank can be dangerous thread.

Medical/Injuries from Reefkeeping

Again, threads such as these aren't intended to cause hysteria. They're only there to inform.

 

[spamin76]

From these threads it sounds like palytoxin is a widely occuring chemical in a lot more than just zoos, it sounds like many, many, many other organisms might contain it too from what Randy said. It also sounds like it is probably not found in high concentrations in most anything but palythoa. Interesting information though, I will keep it in mind.

 

[reefez]

Just frag them underwater with gloves on. It's not rocket science. Just got to be smarter then the Zoas

 

[elephen]

The daddy long leg spider also has a very potent toxin, but it's not able to deliver it to humans, only its prey. I'm guessing however a Zoo is set up to utilize the toxin, means it normally can't hurt a human. [/B]

Actually, daddy long leg spidres are NOT toxic or poisioness at all! I have read a few scientific articles and watch an experiment on TV where they tested that theory. They extracted 'venom' from multiple daddy long legs and tested it, they are about as poisioness as a blade of grass (lol)... AKA, not poisioness at all. That is just something people have believed for years for some reason, urban legend

 

[Shoestring Reefer]

Wow, I didn't know grass was so poisonous. I guess that's why they recommend you where long pants when you mow the lawn.











Just kidding.









It's the daddy long legs in the grass that make the grass poisonous. :lol:

 

[Ti]

Funny.
I cut my hand at work today and yes it bled.
On the way home from work I decided to stop by the lfs.
I bought my 1st zoanthid.
I acclimated it for 1.5 hrs.
By the my tank lights had cycled off.
but anyhow, so I was bare handed with the cut when I handeled it today, THEN i go here and I read this thread.
Page one had me freaked, but after a few posts I noticed people doubting it.
Anyhow, it's 6hrs later now and my arm isn't numb or anything yet.

 

[musicsmaker]

I think you're going to be fine.

 

[ch0de]

Sooo.. .. .. .. here is my new outfit for working with my zoo's

 

[mathwick]

that stuffs really scarry thanx for the warning