Reef tank poisons/dangers?

[xdestry]

I have been reading lately about poisons in the reef tank from zoas and getting bitten by some random hitchhikers in the tank. I was wondering realistically how worried I should be about this and whether i should use gloves every time I reach in the tank? I can't imagine the majority of people actually wear gloves.

[zeebies]

I've never NOT worn gloves. Why take a chance?

[masonicman]

I only wear gloves when I turkey base (blow) the rocks or vacuum the sand bed. My skin gets irritated from the stir up/cloudy water. Other wise then that I don't if it's just a quick coral position fix, spot feeding, fragging or equipment removal.

[billdogg]

I've impaled myself on urchin spines that have been in the sandbed, dug any number of vermitid snails out of my fingers, had several run-ins with fire worms, shocked myself senseless (literally) while cleaning a powerhead, but my most memorable has to be my introduction to palytoxin courtesy of my zoanthids and palythoas. I had never given much thought to the possibilities before my upgrade from a 60g cube to my current 120DT. My arm spent a good 30 - 45 minutes in the old tank brushing against them while preparing for the move. When I was done, I noticed a mild burning sensation and what looked like a mild sunburn. I even joked with my wife that if I stopped breathing she should warn the EMS that it was probably Palytoxin posioning. I washed up and we went to dinner. The burning got worse but was bearable. Went to bed that night with my arm stinging and some puffiness. When I woke up the next morning, my arm was ON FIRE! I went immediately to the Urgent Care. When I told them of the problem and showed the nurse my arm, I was taken back to a room more quickly than I thought possible. The Dr called Poision Control, who asked him "Is the patient still alive?" Obviously I was. I was put on high dose steroids and pain meds.

Here's a picture of my arm ~ 1 week afterwards
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/billdogg_photos/120g%20build/02.jpg (http://s289.photobucket.com/user/billdogg_photos/media/120g%20build/02.jpg.html)

I'll have the scars as a reminder for the rest of my life.

I still don't wear gloves for many tasks in the tank, but if I have anything to do near the zoas/palys, I have a nice pair of gloves courtesy of Dr's Foster & Smith that go all the way to my shoulder!

[xdestry]

Ouch billdogg that looks really painful, I'm glad you are okay after all those run-ins! I am planning to have a zoa rock but am now reconsidering since it seems that would be a little bit too much poison in one place haha. I'll be looking for a good long pair of gloves for sure. Does anybody else have any other suggestions as to what else might be dangerous in your average reef tank?

[mcozad829]

Foxface & rabbit fish pack a punch as do lionfish. Stonefish are really dangerous but your not likely to find one in your average aquarium or lfs.

[Metal Man 1221]

I've impaled myself on urchin spines that have been in the sandbed, dug any number of vermitid snails out of my fingers, had several run-ins with fire worms, shocked myself senseless (literally) while cleaning a powerhead, but my most memorable has to be my introduction to palytoxin courtesy of my zoanthids and palythoas. I had never given much thought to the possibilities before my upgrade from a 60g cube to my current 120DT. My arm spent a good 30 - 45 minutes in the old tank brushing against them while preparing for the move. When I was done, I noticed a mild burning sensation and what looked like a mild sunburn. I even joked with my wife that if I stopped breathing she should warn the EMS that it was probably Palytoxin posioning. I washed up and we went to dinner. The burning got worse but was bearable. Went to bed that night with my arm stinging and some puffiness. When I woke up the next morning, my arm was ON FIRE! I went immediately to the Urgent Care. When I told them of the problem and showed the nurse my arm, I was taken back to a room more quickly than I thought possible. The Dr called Poision Control, who asked him "Is the patient still alive?" Obviously I was. I was put on high dose steroids and pain meds.

Here's a picture of my arm ~ 1 week afterwards
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll227/billdogg_photos/120g%20build/02.jpg (http://s289.photobucket.com/user/billdogg_photos/media/120g%20build/02.jpg.html)

I'll have the scars as a reminder for the rest of my life.

I still don't wear gloves for many tasks in the tank, but if I have anything to do near the zoas/palys, I have a nice pair of gloves courtesy of Dr's Foster & Smith that go all the way to my shoulder!

Ouch! Reminds me of when the former LFS owner dropped a fairly large urchin onto his leg. I think he had to pull out between 3-5 splines.

[Crooked Reef]

Look at it like this. Nurses doctors and paramedics all wear gloves when they touch patients not only to protect themselves, but also to protect the patients from whatever contaminants they pick up throughout the hospital. You wearing gloves will not only protect you from whatever is in your tank, but keep any contaminants from your skin off of corals. That being said I truthfully rarely wear gloves unless I am messing around with zoanthids and I think they may tear or frag.

[Metal Man 1221]

That doesn't seem like a very good comparison. There is a much higher risk to you if you are elbows deep in someones chest, vs. your tank.

I think the biggest hazard from tanks, other than palytoxin, is allergies. If you notice that you may be allergic to something in your tank, then yes, gloves a probably a good idea.

[sponger0]

I wore gloves when I startedi n the hobby. But I havent since.

But if you have any allergies from bees or anything like that, highly recommend gloves

[anbosu]

I don't wear them as often as I should. The loss of touch sensitivity makes it difficult for me to work in the tank sometimes. I have had many bristle worm stings as a result though and they are usually annoying for a few days afterwards.

[Crooked Reef]

There is no risk to you if you are elbows deep in someone's chest if they don't have some sort of communicable or infectious disease. There is definitely a risk to the patient though. In a medical setting it is called universal precautions. You treat everyone as if you or them can transport a minor illness to each other. It is a better safe than sorry type of thing. Just like with your tank, there is a chance that you will get nailed by a bristle worm or even a paly that hitchhiked in that you don't even know about. You could also have some chemicals under your fingernails that can harm a tank and not realize it. It is also a decent comparison because if you know you are dealing with a situation where you could get something in your eyes that can be harmful you should wear a face shield. In a reef, palytoxin, in a medical setting vomit or blood.

[Kaman8]

I start using gloves because my fish start biting at my hand and if I work to long in the tank without gloves my skin get a little allergic. Wearing gloves is always safer.

[ClownsRCoo]

What gloves does everyone wear because simple gloves that only cover the hands wont do anything since the water still contacts your arms and gets inside the gloves. So which ones should be worn?

[kevin_austin]

I have the gloves from Drs. Foster and Smith, but I haven't been using them. I think that picture may have convinced me to change my approach. :)

Also, does anyone have the annoying problem of peppermint shrimp attacking their fingers? Are they trying to tear off my flesh or just eat some dry skin? They are extremely persistent, even when I try to bop them on the head. I have the same problem with cherry shrimp in my planted tank.

[Crooked Reef]

They are just cleaning dead skin cells off of your fingers. My peppermints and my skunks do it.

[whosurcaddie]

The only time I wear gloves is when I'm handling Zoa's any other time I'm not to worried about it. Zoa/Paly toxin though... not even once.

[Kaman8]

What gloves does everyone wear because simple gloves that only cover the hands wont do anything since the water still contacts your arms and gets inside the gloves. So which ones should be worn?

You can buy shoulder length gloves