what is the best way to handle zoos ?

[crázy clowntang]

I hear that zoos are toxic but how would you handle them? what if you need to put your hand in the tank¿what then?What about when you acclimate them when you first buy them? you would most likely touch them when putting them in the tank. sorry if i ask to many questions but i have never had any type of coral before.

 

[jasper24]

Wear gloves. They make gloves for working in / around the tank. Any etailer has them.

 

[msman825]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9240379#post9240379 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jasper24
Wear gloves. They make gloves for working in / around the tank. Any etailer has them.

the only way to go, wear safety glasses too,, you dont wont them shooting you in the eye either

 

[sambo123]

you probably should wear glasses and gloves, but its not 100% necessary, I used to, but I never fell like putting gloves on when I am fraging a rock, always seems to get in the way

Zoanthid flesh is toxic, by simply touching it nothing will happen, but If you ever frag them, you can get their flesh on your hand, and if it gets in your eyes, mouth, ect it can be dangerous.

It really nothing to worry about, just wear gloves if you frag, but if you just want to adjust a zoa rock or place your hand in the tank you dont need to wear anything

If your a beginner you probably wont want to frag either, so you have nothing to worry about, zoas are easy to keep and grate corals for beginners

good luck

 

[saltman123]

I usually use a pair of gloves and eye glasses when fragging. If I am just moving them around, I will usually just use a glove if I remember.

Better safe than sorry.

 

[crázy clowntang]

What is fragging? Is that when you cut them down after they have grown a certain size and you dont want them spreading in the tank ? Can you wear latex gloves with no powder to handle zoos? Thanks for your replies.

 

[GVR-4579]

well i havent heard of this toxin before, glad i checked in on this one. I guess i dont cut mine up either tho.

 

[saltman123]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9248555#post9248555 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GVR-4579
well i havent heard of this toxin before, glad i checked in on this one. I guess i dont cut mine up either tho.

It is almost scary if you read some of the stories about their toxins.

 

[sambo123]

dont just stop fragging b/c they are toxic, just be a little precautious

 

[crázy clowntang]

Can anybody tell me what fragging is? Do i need a grenade or what lol

 

[sambo123]

Fragging is basically cutting a peice of a coral of of the main colony then let it grow on itself to make a new colony. For instance, if I had a 300+ polyp zoanthid rock that was overcrowding my tank, I could get a knife and carefully cut underneath an area of a couple of zoanthids on the rock. I would now have a small clump of zoanthids with a thin rock layer attached under them. I could then superglue the underside of the frag to a small rock and place it back in my tank. Fragging allows you to prevent overcrowding your tank and instead of killing the frag you can easily trade/ sell it to other traders, so you can get a broader selection of small coral peices in your tank.
All corals have different methods of fragging, this link show you the best way to frag zoanthids, http://zoaid.com/articles003.php
Zoaid.com also shows the the different types of zoos as well.
Fragging also isnt as hard as it looks, in fact its almost addicting, most reefers have a whole tank just for frags to grow out in so they can be traded/ sold. Good luck, you can learn more about fragging corals in the Aquaculture forum.

look at some of these links:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=588631
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=605983
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1034886