A reef tank could cause any type of health problem?

[RyvBoy]

I was wondering if a reef tank could cause health problem.

I read about the toxicity of some corals or fishes.. or what about the bacterial presence?

thank you

[Tastee]

As far as humans are concerned salt water is a natural antiseptic, killing most of the things that cause us problems. About the only specific risk I am aware of is Palytoxin, which can be released from some marine critters, particularly Palythoas and can easily become airborne. It is only released under certain circumstances, mostly related to dying animals. Understanding the risk and applying appropriate safeguards is quite effective as I understand it. Personally I have not been exposed to this.

There is a risk of open wounds in the tank being exposed to bacteria, e.g. scratching your hand on live rock. As SW is naturally antipathetic to most of the bacterium that cause humans issues this is a fairly low risk, but not non-existent.

i spend much more time worrying about the damage the things we do causing my tank issues than the reverse!


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[ThRoewer]

Vibrio would be the biggest bacterial risk but it would be a greater hazard to the inhabitants of the tank.

The majority of poisonous fish are only a health risk if you eat them.
Some fish have poisonous spines as purely defensive measure: Lionfish, Stonefish, Rabbitfish,... you got to be careful when handling them or putting your hands in the tank.
...and then there is of course the blue-ring octopus, if you are crazy enough to keep one - I saw them in stores and wondered how they could be so reckless to sell such a dangerous animal without even a warning note.

[RyvBoy]

Thank you so much!

that's interesting

[Anemone]

Well, there's Mycobacterium marinum, which is more common than Vibrio.

Anemones can cause skin reactions/rashes.

And palytoxin, as was mentioned. This is probably the most serious concern.

Kevin

[j.falk]

Reef tanks are well known to be the root cause of reef aquarium addiction.

When to see a doctor:

Talk with your doctor if you think you may have a problem with reef tank addiction. Thinking and/or talking about reef aquariums, saltwater fish, corals, etc...is a common symptom of a reef addict. You may feel embarrassed to talk about it — but remember that medical professionals are trained to help you, not judge you. It's easier to tackle the problem early before it becomes an addiction and leads to more-serious problems.

[j.falk]

Originally Posted by Anemone

Anemones can cause skin reactions/rashes.

Yes they can. Nothing like seeing your skin bubble up/blister after getting stung by an anemone.

[Sk8r]

Wear gloves.Those nitrile exam gloves you can get at the supermarket or Costco will be enough to protect your fingers. Your arms will be exposed, but usually sensitivity starts with stings to the fingers, which encounter most problems. I've known one aquarium store owner who developed serious skin issues after many years of hands-in-tank multiple times a day---and there are many things that sting, to which you can develop so much sensitivity you can't tolerate the water itself. Also, it costs an animal to sting you, meaning they lose spines or the like and have to repair the damage, so it's better for the animals if you wear gloves, which will not trigger a sting or damage your corals.

There ARE some venomous creatures we commonly keep, like rabbitfish, lionfish, and so on. Be aware. I had a rabbit once, and when working where I was apt to provoke it, I wore not only rubber gloves, but leather gloves underneath the rubber: I've seen a rabbit-sting mark, and it looked fair to cost a guy his thumb. Black and not-good. Sea mat is another. We have a sticky up top of the forum on the hazards: read it before you buy. Wear glasses or goggles when 'fragging' a coral, meaning taking a sample off to grow a new coral. Live coral in the eyes is not a good thing. Again, reasonable precaution.

The good news is, I've kept tanks from long before they ever issued warnings, I do wear gloves, I do recognize that getting 'finned' by any fish is not good, and I have had no problems in decades of doing this. So reasonable caution is enough unless you want to go in for the few species that really can do you harm.

[hkgar]

Originally Posted by j.falk

Reef tanks are well known to be the root cause of reef aquarium addiction.

When to see a doctor:

Talk with your doctor if you think you may have a problem with reef tank addiction. Thinking and/or talking about reef aquariums, saltwater fish, corals, etc...is a common symptom of a reef addict. You may feel embarrassed to talk about it — but remember that medical professionals are trained to help you, not judge you. It's easier to tackle the problem early before it becomes an addiction and leads to more-serious problems.

There is no known cure. A major symptom is the desire to always want a larger tank.

[Oldreeferman]

Google White Mamba exam gloves. They are powder free & 8mil thick, thickest on the market & come in all sizes including XL and XXL which is hard to come by at the store. This is what i use at work and in my reef tank when moving rock etc they simply will not tear or break, I just put a rubberband on my wrist to keep water out or sweat from entering my tanks water as sweat builds up fast in nitrile gloves. Never run hot water on liverock if Zoos or Palys are present instead just soak the infested rock in a bucket of COLD water diluted with 20% bleach, this will neutralize the toxins safely overnite then remove the rock & powerwash it with COLD water..... not hot ever. Most palytoxin issues are due to getting the mucus in a cut or an opening in the body, eyes, nose, mouth, etc & hot water is the most direct & dangerous way of inhalation contact. Cold water will not steam. The cleanup crews at a suspected paly site use bleach & cold water to neutralize so i strongly recommend doing same if you want to keep that particular pc of rock & not get sick doing it. Ive read a mountain of info on safety & clean up issues due to this & all go back to this same data. If fragging a zoo or Paly protective face & hand gear & a windowfan sucking fumes OUTSIDE next to the fragging station. Better safe then sorry. I used to recycle precious metals with nitric acid so i know well how to deal with extremely toxic fumes and palytoxin is right up there with nitric if its inhaled.

[TDChu]

Worms can cause some pain too.