nate

Woke and went to move a few things in my tank which has a lionfish in it. He usually is pretty calm so I keep an eye on him and all is good. Well tody a tank was swimming too close to him and he got spooked. Swam right my hand, I didn't even see it happen. When they say it feels like 100 bee stings its true. I feel like an absolute for this happening. The only thing I am worried about besides is the venom poisoning my other fish.

lalynya

well I really dont like bee stings too much so I can only imagine..he just wanted to share his love with you the only way he knows how

Drea

Woh, Nate. Gotta do gloves, or something next time? If you get a reaction, taking Benedryl may help you, if you get itchy spots. Are you going to google info, about the venon/other fish?

MissMTS

Oh my gosh that is aweful! I can't even imagine how badly that would hurt. I don't think the venom would poison the other fish. Yeah, definetly invest in some gloves.

nate

Yeah I looked up some info onthe venom. As long as I am not allergic I am fine. I got woozy, but that was aid to be "normal". If it gets worse I am going to the doctor. They said to run your hand under water as hot as you can stand. So I did, I dont know which hurt worse.

Bonochick

Exactly what I was thinking. Yikes!!!!!!!

sirdarksol

Ouch. Wooziness probably is from the pain more than anything else. Pain messes with blood pressure. Blood pressure messes with consciousness.
Glad you're doing okay.
Drs Foster and Smith sell some pretty heavy-duty gloves for relatively cheap (I think around $10). If they're what I think they are, they should hold off nearly anything any of us have in our tanks, short of moray eel jaws. Best part is, they go up to the shoulders, which means you can have your whole arm in the tank and not have to worry.
This has the added advantage of limiting the amount you contaminate the tank when you reach in.

mostanganyikatank

That sounds sore, but a small price to pay for keeping such a beautiful fish, I would love one.

susitna-flower

Nate, the problem with all this is that you wouldn't know IF you are allergic until you get hit! So just watch out if you have ANY problem swallowing....call 911 Of course 2 hours ago, you are probably ok, or you are laying on the floor! Keep us up with how it all goes, I think this is a good informational wake up for many who keep "cute, pretty pets"! , I'm not talking about you, but so many LF stores sell fish to people who don't know the risks.

≈ D ≈

sirdarksol

Those are, indeed, the ones. I work with similar gloves (smaller versions, made for working with food), and seriously, only fish with strong jaws are going to be able to do anything to a person wearing these things.

Susitna's got a good point. Thankfully, at least in this case, many pet stores have begun warning their clients about the dangers of fish like this, due to the fact that a lack of warning can provide the basis for an effective lawsuit (not that I think it's right, but it happens). Still, I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't think about the fact that these fish can be dangerous.
Aside from that, there are fish like the above-mentioned moray eel, the rockfish, and jellyfish, that people might buy because they look cool. A sting from a lionfish is likely to just hurt. Moray eels and rockfish could take a finger off or do tendon damage, while the wrong kind of jellyfish could be lethal.
In this case, it seems like nate knew his fish, and merely missed that the fish was agitated. While I think it was a silly mistake, it's the kind of mistake I would make after I got used to my fish, so I can't condemn him for it.
But there are people who buy their fish (or other pets) without research, and can end up in a world of hurt for it.

nate

I love my lion he was just being himself. I dont condone him at all. Lions are my favorite fish I knew he was dangerous from the second i bought him. I am just happy I was not allergic. He seems to be swimming with a smirk tho. Ha Ha

≈ D ≈

More than likely he is

susitna-flower

Glad to see you on nate, how are you feeling now?

I hope the rest of your Valentines day went better than the start!

nate

The hand is doing good, I wrapped it up. Me, my gf, and my parents went out to dinner, which got the bite off of my mind. And my dad walked into the house with a 790G tank reicipt.

sirdarksol

Glad you're doing okay.
790g That's more tank than I'll have even after I get my 200g up and running.

Sabi

whew man what a present!
Glad you are feeling better, i like lionfish as well.

nate

The price tag was crazy hefty... Close to 6 grand custom built. We are putting it in our family room