World's 2nd deadliest poison, in an aquarium store near you!

[Oscaror]

Wow! Who would have known? I guess even with gloves and goggles it may kill my parrot.

Note to self: Never frag in my birds room

 

[Reef_Obsessed]

The chances of you getting sick by a zoa are slim to none. I wouldn't and I wont worry about it.

Yeah? Tell that to Steveoutlaw...

 

[Clayalaleona]

There was actually a guy on the FB forums that got sent to the ER recently because he boiled a rock and was having big troubles. He was in a coma and everything. This is not a fun thing, I think we should all start making sure the new guys know that safety is the number one priority when handling corals.

 

[Clayalaleona]

Also, when I fragged a huge colony in my tank I got a metallic taste in my mouth and my heart was beating much faster after. I still dont use gloves but I completely eradicated them in my tank(ended up just getting rid of the rock all together)

 

[reggaedrummin]

I'm glad I read this! I've been in the hobby a long time and my first batch of live rock was covered in palys and zoas. I had no idea what they were and was just excited to see life on my rock. Later I fragged some and handled it recklessly. At some point I heard that they are toxic but it was explained as more of an irritant and just recommended washing hands after working in the tank. I've always been fairly bold about handling my coral. Now that I understand better what I'm dealing with, I realize I've been very fortunate. Much respect!

 

[AcroNem]

I guess I'm kind of resurrecting this thread, being bored at work and all. I also think most Palythoa and zoas carry this to some extent. While others are downright nasty to deal with. The ones I had trouble with (numbness, loss of taste/coppery taste, increased heart rate) were of Palythoa Grandis. Commonly called cinnamon polyps and usually look pretty drab, my toxic (pun intended) green ones tried to kill me while fragging them. Moral of the story, most of them will probably be fine, but why risk it on a "probably"? Just use common sense, sorry for the crappy pic but here are the ones I had my experience with.

 

[Shell]

So is it safe to cut zoa of my over flow to put on plugs or will it hurt everything in my tank?

 

[naso tang]

So is it safe to cut zoa of my over flow to put on plugs or will it hurt everything in my tank?

No you should be fine as long as you either wear gloves or wash your hands after handling. Scraping a few zoas off your overflow will not harm anyone in your tank.

If you mashed up a big colony of palys, that might be different. You'd probably wanna run carbon if you did that for some reason.

 

[Josh King]

I just read this: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blo...-poisoning-almost-killed-myself-wife-and-dogs
Pretty scary stuff! I will definitely take the safety precautions.

 

[Shell]

Josh do you have zoa in your tank now?

 

[Josh King]

Josh do you have zoa in your tank now?

I do. One colony of green zoas.

 

[KWSanders]

but its all natural non GMO poison so how could it be bad for you ???

 

[skydancer]

I have pulled off a colony of green button polyps that invaded my base rock with no ill effects. I used twizers to grab the paly and pull it out of the water. Then used a wet napkin to get it off the twizers. The polyps slimmed a lot, but did not affect anything else. I have a 300g system.
I was very cautious not to touch them at all.

 

[MT. Reefer]

I guess I'm kind of resurrecting this thread, being bored at work and all. I also think most Palythoa and zoas carry this to some extent. While others are downright nasty to deal with. The ones I had trouble with (numbness, loss of taste/coppery taste, increased heart rate) were of Palythoa Grandis. Commonly called cinnamon polyps and usually look pretty drab, my toxic (pun intended) green ones tried to kill me while fragging them. Moral of the story, most of them will probably be fine, but why risk it on a "probably"? Just use common sense, sorry for the crappy pic but here are the ones I had my experience with. View attachment 279549

Good thread to resurrect. Easy for people to forget about until it's too late.

 

[blownvr]

had a scare cutting captain america palys, heard they were one of the worst. liquid got me right in the face

 

[TCB.Reefer]

I have like had zoa colonies become pest in various aquaculture set ups I've had and after the first time my finger tips and lips we numb, I had a buddy of mine frag em.... lol!!!

 

[timkenagy]

That's what happens when you post on RC!

 

[timkenagy]

I worry more about my other animals.. My dogs or my cat getting a stray that may have fallen while fragging than myself.

The chances of you getting sick by a zoa are slim to none. I wouldn't and I wont worry about it.

 

[Beej1254]

Ok so we know the dangers and steps to protect ourselves and others. I really want to frag a couple zoas. So my question is how much more then hand/arm washing should I be worried about? Should I then sanitize my sink and faucet handles? I don't want to put my son and fiancé in danger. Should I immediately wash the towel I use to dry my arms?

I guess my point is what about all the secondary contact points after handling/fragging the Zoas?

 

[Josh King]

Ok so we know the dangers and steps to protect ourselves and others. I really want to frag a couple zoas. So my question is how much more then hand/arm washing should I be worried about? Should I then sanitize my sink and faucet handles? I don't want to put my son and fiancé in danger. Should I immediately wash the towel I use to dry my arms?

I guess my point is what about all the secondary contact points after handling/fragging the Zoas?

I would use gloves and goggles, and yes clean all surfaces with soapy water. Better safe than sorry.