Zoas - Toxic?

[Reefer]

Been reading a thread on here and someone stated that Zoas are toxic, are they? how toxic? and how if at all could a person get poisoned?
I have some in my tank I think i need to know!!!
thanks

[SteveS]

lethal m8, brb with a link

steve

[SteveS]

here you go, palytoxins...lethal


http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=158663&highlight=dead+dog

steve

[Pinkfish]

Yep they are Fatal ....

" they contain toxin called palytoxin and 4 milligrammes is enough to kill a human " - quote taken from Dec06 / Jan06 Marine World issue pg 42.

Mike

[callum_parsons]

how do u frag them then whilst trying not to die

[Gillybaby]

You should always wear gloves when handling zoas, better safe than sorry ;)

[brian waller]

You should always wear gloves when handling zoas, better safe than sorry ;)


Hi all, you should also wear a face mask.


brian.

[Pinkfish]

how do u frag them then whilst trying not to die

Wear saftey gear Strongly suggested, then when you have the Zoa you want to frag then cut a slither of rock say 3mm from under the Zoa and then reattch it.

If not possible to get a slither as Zoa is on a shell then you have 2 options

1. Try and slice it off the shell or whatever its attached to.
2. Place a rock or something next to the Zoa and in time it will spread.

CLEAN EVERYTHING WELL AFTER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! blades ect.

Mike

[callum_parsons]

nah sod that maybe when i have had more experince

[Cudders]

Only ever heard of one dog that died from eating some zoos, never anyone in the reef comunity that I've come across.

As I understand it not all zoos are toxic but maybe wrong. I think it's blown well out of proportion. If they were really that lethal they would be banned from selling them.

Just need to take basic precautions. Gloves are a must for any handling of anything in the tank IMO

Cudders

[Reefer]

Blimey, alarming really, wasnt told when i bought em!

[berns]

man this subject is pure scare mongery lol

yes zoas/palys contain wat we would call mild toxins and i mean mild.

99% of known zoas/palys have nothing lethal to us, i regular wear gloves but always forget lol, ive been squirted loads, and you dont see reef shop owners dropping like flies do you lol

but there is the 1% that may have something extra strong to coarse us problems and currently there are a couple of known varieties which should not be handled without gloves.

its always best to play safe and use rubber gloves and even goggles cause we not all the same and are sensative to different things and even mild toxins may course a rash on some lol

[flobajob]

Some zoas contain palytoxin which can be deadly, even in small amounts. As has already been mentioned, there was a guy on a certain large American reef forum that was fragging zoas in a bucket and his dog put his head in the bucket, and the dog then died fairly soon after (in a matter of hours). I have also heard of people falling ill with headaches and nausea after swallowing some tank water.

Basically, avoid swallowing any tank water, and wash your hands after they have been in the tank and you should be fine. Just be aware that there can be nasty stuff in the water that you wouldn't want to ingest.

[reefaman]

dam. i heard somone say always wear gloves whilst handling zoas... but i thought that was for corals safett ..not ours! iv handle mine quit a bit..whilst settin into position and fragging...

still its probably blown a bit outa proportion... deadly!?

[mikk1301]

i have read that someone squished one against the glass and ended in hospital near death,but it is not all zoas,but i couldn't tell you which are or are not poisonous.also some recommend wearing goggles a guy got sqirted in the eye on the "darkside" damiano iirc and his eye was a right mess for a few days.regards mikk

[Londonreef]

Most corals are toxic just the various different degrees of toxic.

I once had my lips go numb after fragging xenia ( no I wasnt eating it) I just splashed so water and wiped my face with my hand which I was in the process of cutting xenias.

my lips went numb after a couple of seconds and it lasted circa 5 to 10 minutes.

Mike

[reefaman]

wow..dont know if its me but i think i sometimes feel a tingle with some corals... i have a piece of rock with 6 different coloured zoos on pink green bright,green with orange middle. and sereral other colonies of bright green ones. and some others with quite long stems/bodies.ANY DEADLY ONES??. i feed my tank live phyto evry 2/3 days they seem to like it ..along with the pulse coral.

[cl0wn]

i have read that someone squished one against the glass and ended in hospital near death,but it is not all zoas,but i couldn't tell you which are or are not poisonous.also some recommend wearing goggles a guy got sqirted in the eye on the "darkside" damiano iirc and his eye was a right mess for a few days.regards mikk

remember that thread on rc, wasn't it a zoa eating nudi? did have a very nesty reaction. fragged a few and never suffered any side effects, well, won't when my hands grow back. seriously just take sensible precautions, gloves a minimum.

[Jannahefe]

When i plan on running zeo after the summer travel i will have a frag tank plumbed to the main tank. In the frag tank there will be many zoas and palys from my zoa tank. Will these be fine or even benefit from zeo?

[RCB]

True...the species Palythoa toxica produces the deadliest animal toxin known to science, however, as said here, most species are nowhere near this toxic but do still contain palytoxins..

As suggested already, care when handling, and especially fragging, these little beauties is to be recomended !!!