Why keep Zoa or Paly corals? Seriously?!

[DustinS85]

I got a Palythoa Green Implosion today, and after reading on Palytoxin, and expert reefers (Including the sticky thread on this forum itself) getting accidental poison issues with these corals It makes me wonder if it's worth the risk. I know all corals have toxins to a point, but why take risks with a toxin these corals have (especially when obvious experts can get poisoned)? I am actually planning on returning this coral for something without Palytoxins.

 

[m0nkie]

well I guess it comes down to risks you are willing to accept.. zoas aren't that bad. Just be careful when you frag them. (gloves + safety glasses). The flower garden it provides looks really nice. I prefer them over hard SPS sticks.

I also have rabbit fish in my tank.. so anytime I stick my hands in, there's a chance I get stunned. risks...

 

[DustinS85]

well I guess it comes down to risks you are willing to accept.. zoas aren't that bad. Just be careful when you frag them. (gloves + safety glasses). The flower garden it provides looks really nice. I prefer them over hard SPS sticks.

I also have rabbit fish in my tank.. so anytime I stick my hands in, there's a chance I get stunned. risks...

I get that. I just am scared of Palytoxin way too much. I returned it and got a trumpet.

 

[Fish Ed]

There's no need to be scared of keeping palys or zoas. Their palytoxin are inside, so unless you squeeze/cut/eat/boil them and the toxins end up going internally then you'll be poisoned. I always wear gloves so touching anything is usually no big deal.
In a normal situation and proper care, you won't get poisoned. I mean most of the time you shouldn't even fiddle around with your corals, it'll mostly just stay in the same place. Frequent fraggers on the other hand has higher risks ofcourse, but still palytoxin poisoning is very unlikely with proper precautions which most fraggers do practice.

Besides, they look nice and are easy to keep. Very nice.

 

[Wonton Soup]

There's really no need to worry about palytoxin at all unless you're handling them a lot and even then it's only certain members of the species with a really strong concentration. Some people seem to have stronger reactions than most but in reality it's not something you should be scared of. Just mindful of. I've handled them directly for years and never had an issue.

 

[racer2438]

I love the variety of different colors, I just started to do frags and I find it fun to do.

Of course I use the gloves, safety glasses the right tools.

I actually look forward to do frags

 

[650-IS350]

Because of the following, not my pictures. But pictures worth more than words, but when you get it right, these are examples of the rationale

 

[cloak]

Wow! :thumbsup:

FWIW though, I've been handling my Zoanthids/Palythoas with my bare hands for a long time now and have never had any problems. I'm not necessarily advocating this, but I think you put yourself at more risk by DRIVING to the LFS to buy these things than you do by fiddling with them. It sucks when you hear that a person has been affected, but these instances are few & far between & everybody seems to freak out. Just be careful. GL.

 

[DustinS85]

Because of the following, not my pictures. But pictures worth more than words, but when you get it right, these are examples of the rationale

I know they are beautiful, but even you yourself said you got hit in eye and mouth and had burning. I read many others on here (numerous in fact) that have their own Paly/Zoa eye burning/etc story about themselves. They then follow it up with "don't worry". I just find (for me personally) the risk isn't worth the reward for myself. I love their look, and agree 100% on the beauty, but that one day I accidentally forget something could be a serious mistake, and cost me my eye, pain, or even worse death.

 

[mattjoly85]

then dont keep them lol if i gave you a poisonous snake or the chance to buy one ,you yourself make that choice no ones forcing it on to you and the hobby as a whole has been spreading the awareness for a few years now

lots of risks come from the ocean.............in fact more than you know ...........whether or not you take these risks is up to you, if your truely worried or at risk then dont keep foreign animals in your house lol

guns shoot people , doesn't mean you have to own a gun right?

 

[DustinS85]

then dont keep them lol if i gave you a poisonous snake or the chance to buy one ,you yourself make that choice no ones forcing it on to you and the hobby as a whole has been spreading the awareness for a few years now

lots of risks come from the ocean.............in fact more than you know ...........whether or not you take these risks is up to you, if your truely worried or at risk then dont keep foreign animals in your house lol

guns shoot people , doesn't mean you have to own a gun right?

Diseases (Vibrio, Mycobacterium, etc) are risks. There is also infections, but Palytoxin is not as predictable as those things. People who weren't expecting an issue has Palys squirt them in the mouth, or eye and so forth. I don't remember where I said anyone was forcing me to buy these corals. I was merely asking people why they take that risk, and why I choose not to. You can take my opinions as an insult (seeing that you are being snarky towards me you obviously took issue with my post), but I am not trying to insult Zoa/Paly owners. Just asking a question.

 

[Piper27]

I think 650IS350 said it best with his pictures. We handle polyps often and are not worried because we know how. The one thing that will get you is that majano or glass anemone hiding in the crevise of a rock that you poke in when its out of the water. When you get squirted in they eye by something like that and need steroids for 3 months before your eye heals then you will understand how bad things can happen at anytime no matter how careful you are.

 

[m0nkie]

I got stabbed by my blue tang today during a tank transfer.. fingers started bleeding pretty badly.. got stun by my stupid Fox face before.. oh boy.. felt like hundred bee stings at once.. at multiple spots together

I recommend elbow length gloves all the time when you reach your hands in the tank. paly or no paly.. any coral poison released inside the water can cause allergies down the line. years later.. you never know these things. also protects the corals from the dirt on your hands

 

[650-IS350]

Best Protective equipment when fragging, handling coral or sticking your hands in the tank.

If you want a dual protection in one this is good.

For hands/arms

 

[Branespikin]

Wow! Loves those pics. Cant wait to start stocking up my tank.

 

[m1k3]

Because of the following, not my pictures. But pictures worth more than words, but when you get it right, these are examples of the rationale

That is what i call salt water porn!

 

[650-IS350]

That's the main reason we keep Z's and P's.

 

[coral acquisition]

I love zoas and handle them with bare hands, haven't had a problem, but when I fragged, I always used gloves and goggles. I think there are more creatures hiding in the rocks that can be as dangerous as zoas.

 

[Poolman21]

Haha this thread is hilarious. I am a die hard zoa guy.

 

[organism]

Why own a car when they're so dangerous? Why own a bike because riding it it's so dangerous? Why walk when you might get hit by a car? Why leave the house at all when so many things outside can kill you?

Dangerous things are generally only dangerous when they're being used or handled incorrectly, you can't baby proof your life... On a side note people have lost fingers from infections resulting from the bacteria in the tank water, I got a nasty infection once, and that's a lot more likely than the zero hobbyists who have died of palytoxin. Your car its infinitely more dangerous than your fish tank.