Zoo's toxic, ???????

[sdexcalibur1]

I read somewhere, Maybe here that zoos are really really toxic, Killed a dog or something, poor thing , Do these pose a real problem, My hands usually have some kind of open cut on them from work, and my daughter some times helps me, Should I reconsider getting some, or am I over reacting. Thanks

 

[nitrofish]

I read somewhere, Maybe here that zoos are really really toxic, Killed a dog or something, poor thing , Do these pose a real problem, My hands usually have some kind of open cut on them from work, and my daughter some times helps me, Should I reconsider getting some, or am I over reacting. Thanks

the colorfull ones in most aquariums arn't the most toxic but I have read somewhere that zoanthids are the most toxic of substansaces, more than even venomous snakes.

at least thats what I heard

 

[ScottM]

IMO no, they don't. i have gotten your average zoathind juice in open cuts and it may swell up, worst case get infected but is usally fine.
the ones you should be careful of are the Palythoa species.... P. caesia, P. caribaeorum, P. complanata, P. mammilosa, P. psammophila, P. tuberculosa



from the link
Zoanthids (button polyps): Zoanthids of the genus palythoa [See photo] posses an extremely potent toxin called palytoxin (PTX). PTX is a toxin that blocks cellular Na+/K+-ATPases. Sub-lethal doses of palytoxin have been injected repeatedly into mice bearing tumors, and PTX related effects on reducing tumor tissues have been examined. This toxin has been chemically conjugated to tumor-homing antibodies where the antibody provides a guided missile approach to delivering this lethal warhead. Palytoxin has been reported as the causative agent in mysterious fish death [8].

Interestingly, this toxin is also found in various other marine organisms which live in close association with zoanthid colonies, e.g. sponges (Porifera), soft corals (Alcyonaria), gorgonians (Gorgonaria), mussels, and crustaceans. Additionally, predators of palythoa, e.g. polychaete worms (Hermodice carunculata), a sea star (Acanthaster planci) and fish (Chaetodon species) feeding on Palythoa colonies, accumulate high toxin concentrations in their organs, where PTX is stored in its active form [9].

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/june2002/short.htm

 

[sdexcalibur1]

very interesting reading, thanks

 

[stang8s]

I Think Moe got pretty sice from some zoos, I have heard of others.

 

[skyedolphan]

I have tons of zoos and I also have usually got cuts and such on my hands I hate using the gloves even though I know I should ..I am extra careful though when I play with the zoo rocks my animals and daughters are not allowed ANYWHERE near where I am working and I am most careful about using Bleach to clean up the area and any utensils I use during the process.. I think that as long as you take caution like anything else anything can go wrong ..what you do is your choice but I would not chance letting your daughter help with these guys teach her with leathers and shrooms and les toxic things and at the very least make sure she has protective eyewear on these things are known to squirt and we dont know what danger they possess..

 

[~Flighty~]

I knew of hte danger of them and I still accidently squished one when I had it out of the water and it shot a srteam of liquid across the room. Be carefull! I am slowly getting rid of mine because I have kids and pets and I've been known to be pretty clumsy at times.

 

[Kim]

I have a 3yr old and a 1 1/2 yr old (and 2 dogs, I watch out for them too). I am very careful when I am dealing with zoanthids. I always work with them while wearing some sort of eye protection because they seem to squirt a lot and I make sure my husband is either coralling the children in another room or they are sleeping. I also try to only work with them while they are submerged in water. This helps keep them from squirting everywhere.

I also 90% of the time wear gloves while I am working with zoanthids. I have yet to have any type of reaction to zoanthids but I often will have very mild reactions to mushrooms if I am not wearing gloves. I say this because even though zoanthids are considered so toxic anything in our tanks can cause a reaction in certain people. As soon as they are stressed they release out that chemical slime.

If you are allowing your daughter(I dont know her age in my case they are too young to be near them) to be around the corals while you are fragging them, just make sure you and her are using proper protection. If my daugther were older say maybe 8yrs old I would allow her to do some fragging of certain corals with my supervision (probably not zoanthids though)

I don't over worry about having zoanthids or any other coral being in my tanks. My daughter (3yr old) actually has a 10 gallon nano going which will mainly house zoanthids and mushrooms. I just pick which things she can help me with. And as she gets older she will have an appreciation for the corals and their natural defenses.

 

[Scuba_Dave]

Here is the link to the thread on RC, they thought it "severe" enough to make it a sticky

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=158730

 

[sdexcalibur1]

My daughter is 10, She seems to have an interest in the marine life, But have yet to take an active roll in their survial. i would like her to be more active but you know how 10 year olds can be. She wants to help with tank maintenaince but seems she is never around when I do it. Mostly I'm worried about my cuts on my hands, I never knew about their defenses until I read the article. I don't have any corals yet but soon will be upgrading to full reef tank. thanks for the input
Steve