Mother & Family Poisoned By Palytoxin Coral Defense

This is a definite warning to newbies to fishkeeping who use live coral

The mother was placed in isolation and her family suffered side effects from the coral defending itself and releasing Palytoxin

Mother, 34, almost dies as family are put in quarantine after coral poisoning | Daily Mail Online

I am amazed that fish & coral suppliers do not warn people about this, it might be a rare occurrence but should be taken note of when dealing with live corals in aquariums IMHO

Has anyone here who owns saltwater aquariums with live coral ever been told about this or experienced this?

 

I've been told about it, and I still have zoas in my reef. While I admit I was very nervous at first, you just need to be smart about it. If you read that article, she was scrubbing the coral off something under hot water. The steam will get the toxin into the air so you're breathing it in. This is usually how people get into trouble with it. I accidentally bump my zoas all the time but I've never been poisoned.

 

Hi,
I don't think this is a definitive warning. I'm not saying keeping paly' is not dangerous, but, apart from sensationaialised media reports, you need to understand how palytoxins work.
You need to read the article completely.

"She developed a raging fever less than an hour after she finished scrubbing the coral" - ummm, yeah, it was simply defending itself

My understanding of palytoxin, is that, if kept submerged, it's not a great threat to humans. However, allowed to vaporise (exposed to air) it can be quite toxic.

I kept paly's with no ill-effect. I think this person simply abused the coral, and, to be quite frank, got what she deserved.

That said, I do agree, these corals should be sold with warnings about their toxicity and 'potential' for medical issues

EDIT: ninjad... agree with mimo on this I do

 

This family obviously had no idea that a danger existed...nor did the emergency services that went to help them until the second day when they were called back out and took hazmat trained people with them

The family certainly gived the impression that they had not been warned or told how not to take care of the coral.....which I find very disturbing on the part of the supplier, surely?

 

I kept reef tanks for several years, all containing zoas and palys. It is definitely something to be aware of, but it's also something that comes with good husbandry, responsible ownership, and knowing what one is purchasing. There is some scary terminology in the hobby too, like "boiling the rock" which in reefing has nothing to do with hot water. I heard a similar story about a man who actually put live rock in a pot on the stove and boiled it to try to rid it of some pest anemones, and became very ill from it. I've seen pictures of a fellow hobbyist in my area who handled her palys and then got the toxin in her eye. It can be nasty. Luckily that person did not lose her sight. I also know people who've been running stores that sell coral for years and years with no ill effects to their health.
It's important if you're keeping a reef tank to know the symptoms of palytoxin poisoning, and to educate those around you in case they have to communicate with medical staff in an emergency. A lot of doctors don't even know about palytoxin.
But like someone else said, if you exercise caution then it is relatively safe. Wear gloves when working in the tank or handling coral, (which is a good idea anyway because bristleworms are the pits!) and wash your hands thoroughly afterward, which should be S.O.P. for anyone with fish, reptiles, birds, dogs, cats, rodents, etc. etc. etc. Trying to warn everyone would be akin to having big signs on the turtle tanks with warnings about salmonella, or warning every cat adoption about the dangers of toxoplasmosis, or warning that dogs have the potential to bite. A nice idea but not really practical anyway.

 

In a world where nobody is expected to take responsibility for their own ignorance or their own safety, I'm quite surprised that this danger isn't more widely known and warned against. I'm not sure she "got what she deserved" ..but I'm pretty certain the rest of her family didn't deserve this. As soon as some vocal I-know-what's-best-for-everybody type gets hold of this and runs with it and legislation gets passed, then everyone in the hobby will suffer.

I bought a toaster recently; the instruction manual (!) contained 5 pages of warnings (!!!) about the dangers of toasting bread while in the shower and not touching the red-hot heating elements. Who knew?

 

In a world where nobody is expected to take responsibility for their own ignorance or their own safety, I'm quite surprised that this danger isn't more widely known and warned against. I'm not sure she "got what she deserved" ..but I'm pretty certain the rest of her family didn't deserve this. As soon as some vocal I-know-what's-best-for-everybody type gets hold of this and runs with it and legislation gets passed, then everyone in the hobby will suffer.

I bought a toaster recently; the instruction manual (!) contained 5 pages of warnings (!!!) about the dangers of toasting bread while in the shower and not touching the red-hot heating elements. Who knew?

Yeah those instruction manuals can be tricky. I once bought a small TV that was made in China (of course). It had a remote control and something was lost in the translation of the manual. In the section about the remote it said in big red letters "DO IMMERSE IN WATER". I knew better than to follow that advice but I could see some people following the manual to the letter.

 

This family obviously had no idea that a danger existed...nor did the emergency services that went to help them until the second day when they were called back out and took hazmat trained people with them

The family certainly gived the impression that they had not been warned or told how not to take care of the coral.....which I find very disturbing on the part of the supplier, surely?

This is an ongoing discussion. Does the seller need to warn or should a buyer do his / hers research?. I think the latter at least. And when something like this happens would it be plausible the victI'm would tell he was warned? I doubt it.

 

Why was she scrubbing the coral in hot water in the first place?

 

People vary rarely "deserve" to be hurt, especially if she is telling the truth about not being warned and given that she was just trying to clean her tank and not intentionally torturing the coral. I can absolutely see how she could have done a little research on her tank and never come across that specific information about palytoxin or that she did and it forgot about it.

I will say that my LFS has a big sign that says not to stick your hands in the piranha tank and the shark tank (it's a bamboo shark), and a warning to wash hands after touching any of the livestock, but oddly nothing on any of the tanks about coral toxicity. Luckily, the staff at said store are very knowledgable and would likely warn potential customers if they were looking to buy, but I could absolutely see someone walking out of a store with no clue whatsoever (I mean a lot of people buy fish without having any idea they can't be kept in bowls, no?) Common sense doesn't always extend much further than the human "realm", as then it wouldn't be a "common" sense.

 

She was trying to clean it off of a decoration. Something easily accomplished with the edge of a fingernail. The paly will still release its toxins, but she and her family breathed it in because it was in the air from steam and scrubbing. They are easy to pick off and a quick handwashing takes care of the toxin from your hands. Again...the tiniest bit of research in the age of information could have save them. With normal handling, a handwashing is all that is needed. I've fragged and handled freshly cut frags numerous times.
I'm sure she wasn't intentionally torturing anything, but honestly coral has no brain so it's not like the palys knew the difference. Stimulus = release defense mechanism. I had the same paly from the looks of her picture. It is commonly sold as a "beginner coral" because it's easy to grow and nigh impossible to kill. That explains why three fish died in the tank and the coral did not. My assumption (the mother of all screwups) is it was a mom trying to do the "Nemo" tank for her kids and probably didn't do a lot of research (judging by the looks of the tank) or have any idea what she was getting into.
Common sense is not a flower that grows in everyone's garden.

 

She was cleaning the coral bridge ornament so that they could change from marine to tropical fish, if they bought the bridge as "just an ornament" for the marine fish, then it is surely feasible that she and her husband had no idea of the potential dangers should they later change fish type?

I dare say that many people change fish type and might not have any idea what, if any, risks are involved in cleaning an aquarium ornament....it appears they bought the coral bridge cos it looked nice, not cos it was real coral (they might not even have known that/been told that/been warned of potential issues)

Everyone starts out in this pastime from the beginning and not everyone has the means or facility to research every little detail, many go on recommendation from the fish supplier and get advice from them....and we ALL know that stores don't always give correct information don't we?

I am a bit surprised with those who say she got what she asked for....when there is EVERY chance that she literally did not know the poisoning issue was there cos no-one actually told her and after you buy these things, you generally don't do a lot of research afterwards

 

While I realise the person in this article did everything wrong I must say I'm not keen on keeping zoas and palys. They're a definite no at home as I have cats that are curious about everything that comes out of the tank and puffers that are curious about everything going in - by curious I mean nibbley. Avoiding toxic corals keeps all my naughty pets safe, furry ones and wet ones. None in my reef tank at work either. I have allergies and asthma so can be more sensitive to stuff so a little extra cautious of these things personally and professionally I have to risk assess EVERYTHING including the tank. To be honest I really prefer toadstools and mushrooms out of the soft corals anyway.