have you guys read this!?

Its a very true reality... those cute little corals have some of the most deadliest toxins fouind in the sea. Whats even worse is that I know most of us frag them and think nothing of it. I have heard horror stories (never witnessed it myself) about a zoa squirting into your eye when handled and putting people in the hospital.

As with most corals if you plan to handle them, you would do well to use gloves and if you are fragging them, for God's sake put on some goggles. Be sure to wash up afterward and do not wipe your face/eyes/any orifice until you do.
 
zoas aren't the only ones.. best to protect yourself whenever putting your hand into the tank for just about anything. I didn't follow your link beacuse I am sure we already know what it says (pretty old news actually, but always worth bring back up for the new memebers and new reefers).

If you cut a zoa, and put it into your tank, then stick your arm in later with a scratch on it that hasn't healed yet, you could essentially poison yourself. Lots of sea critters carry some pretty potent toxins. It just surprises us with the pretty little ones turn out to be amongst the deadliest.
 
How safe is it if you got some of the water from the tank in your mouth? I have to suck the water through the vacuum pump to get to flow going everytime I do my water change..and always get some water in my mouth...was wondering if that is a safe way to do it?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9810081#post9810081 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kttsf
How safe is it if you got some of the water from the tank in your mouth? I have to suck the water through the vacuum pump to get to flow going everytime I do my water change..and always get some water in my mouth...was wondering if that is a safe way to do it?

I suggest not to do that any longer...It is too risky IMHO. We just don't know the toxicity of our corals as of yet. We know certain Paly's are deadly...not to mention the bacterias that are present in our tank.

Growing up near the reef, my grandparents prohibited us from playing around the liverocks because it is known that if someone gets cut with the liverocks the healing process is so slow, not to mention the excrutiating pain.
 
Well besides the fact it tastes nasty, probably not on the list of things you should be consuming throughout the day. A trick I use to start the siphon is to stick the end inside the tank into a powerhead to push the water from the inside. Works like a charm!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9810310#post9810310 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrMikeB
Well besides the fact it tastes nasty, probably not on the list of things you should be consuming throughout the day. A trick I use to start the siphon is to stick the end inside the tank into a powerhead to push the water from the inside. Works like a charm!

You can also pre-fill the siphon with freshwater, plug both ends with your fingers and put one end in the tank, the siphon starts automatically.

or get a squeezy bulb siphon starter.

V
 
I handled some soft corals, sinularia, capinella, and a few others when a friend came over to pick them up. I ate a few buffalo wings right after without washing my hands well. A couples hours later I felt like I ate a horse, and then my night was over. I wont get grafic. Nobody else got sick. Wear gloves!
 
Re: have you guys read this!?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9809414#post9809414 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 4jlong
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=158663


i had no idea!:eek1:
Hehe... well, not all zoanthids necessarily contain palytoxin. The information is kind of variable depending on the source. And some people think the hazards tend to be overstated.

That said, here's some light reading on zoanthids:

http://www.reefhobbyistmagazine.com/

:)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9810081#post9810081 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kttsf
How safe is it if you got some of the water from the tank in your mouth? I have to suck the water through the vacuum pump to get to flow going everytime I do my water change..and always get some water in my mouth...was wondering if that is a safe way to do it?


brandon, i bought a self priming vacuum from all about fish. it was like $12 and it works great!! you just squeeze this bulb and it starts pumping! i would really recomend buying one :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9810262#post9810262 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hawaiianwargod
I suggest not to do that any longer...It is too risky IMHO. We just don't know the toxicity of our corals as of yet. We know certain Paly's are deadly...not to mention the bacterias that are present in our tank.

Growing up near the reef, my grandparents prohibited us from playing around the liverocks because it is known that if someone gets cut with the liverocks the healing process is so slow, not to mention the excrutiating pain.

Yup, I've been washed (read:gouged) over live coral during dives in Tonga and some of those cuts took forever to heal. Also, if you end up with a small piece of live coral in a cut, it's very, very slow to heal and likely to get infected. Whenever I see reefers fragging SPS w/ a Dremel and no goggles, I have to wonder what would happen if....
(I'm superstitious so I won't be finishing that sentence) -Jim
 
Cool, yeah i always wear goggles with the dremel. I've been thinking about one of those mesh fillet gloves for my left (coral holding) hand also.
 
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