Toxins Making Me Sick?

[57vert]

Hey Folks,

So I've been working on getting my 90 gal. "landscaped."

By the way, is there a term form moving your liverock around to make it more aesthetically pleasing?

The first day after having had my arm in the tank several hours emptying the tank to move it, and then putting stuff back in, a couple hours after I was done I got what I would call flu like symptoms. My muscles ached, I had the chills, then in the middle of the night I woke up sweating to death. Next AM, a little sore, but fine. Then last Friday I went to move around the rock some more, and had the same thing happen, although way less severe.

I've tried to do research around on this, but not finding much. I did not, to the best of my knowledge get stung by anything. At least if I did, I didn't feel it.

The tank is pretty much empty. When I picked it up there was one pajama cardinal, and a brittle star. I couple mushrooms, but lots of majano anenomes. Some macro algae. Really, not much to mention.

The only thing I can think of is that I got a little tank water in my mouth when I siphoned out the tank. But didn't do any siphoning Friday.

Am I absorbing something through my skin having my arm in the tank for a long period of time?

The previous owner had the tank set up I think about 7 years.

Anyone had a similar experience?

[renogaw]

it's called aquascaping

and yes, it's possible that you're having a reaction to the bacteria in the water, on the rocks, etc.

corallife has these almost shoulder length gloves that can protect you from stuff in the water. also, if you suck up salt water while syphoning make sure you don't swallow it, but spit it out and more if possible.

[renogaw]

on a side note, when you start dealing with corals make sure you wear latex gloves (or the blue ones if you're allergic to latex) because some corals, such as zoos and palythoas, can have a very dangerous toxin in them that modern medicine doesnt have an antitoxin to them

[mr pink floyd]

if it was palytoxin(zoas) you'd be dead by now..... thats how bad they are. i never wear gloves, and never had a reaction to anything, so i guess im lucky.

if you are having problems those gloves would be a good idea. good luck

[57vert]

Originally posted by mr pink floyd
if it was palytoxin(zoas) you'd be dead by now..... thats how bad they are. i never wear gloves, and never had a reaction to anything, so i guess im lucky.

if you are having problems those gloves would be a good idea. good luck

Did I mention I was writing this from "the other side"? I guess it was the palytoxin

[kynan]

You need to watch out for open sores, cuts, etc when you have hands in there, rinse frequently with fresh water, no soap.

You could be talking about "fish handler's disease" scary stuff you can get when fishing. All related to bacteria as someone else said.

[renogaw]

i didn't say it was palytoxin, i just warned that when fragging corals to worry about it.

[justincognito]

There are any number of bacteria and toxins that you can have a reaction to.
Some people are more sensitive to certain toxin than other. The majano anemones can cause problems if your sensitive to there toxins.
I've had a number of run ins with bacteria and toxins, some were definitely a suprise.

[amcarrig]

Coulda also just been a bad taco at lunch or something

[PL-Reef]

Originally posted by amcarrig
Coulda also just been a bad taco at lunch or something

there is no such thing as a bad taco!

[amcarrig]

[seacraze]

Any new update on this?

[fishieness]

Originally posted by PL-Reef
there is no such thing as a bad taco!

satan gave me a taco and it made me really sick
the chicken was all raw and the grease was mighty thick
the rice was all rancid and the beans were so hard
i was gettin' kinda dizzy, just eatin' all the lard

anyone else know that song? no? beck? no? okay....
i would also like to hear if anything else happened at any other time...

[57vert]

Originally posted by seacraze
Any new update on this?

No reoccurance since then. But in that tank I have been using heavy duty latex gloves.

The point is taken though that it may not have been the tank at all.

[seacraze]

I am so glad to hear that, everytime my son helps me with the tanks he always gets spotlike rashes - There is something in the tanks that he is sensitive to. - I don't do a lot of aquascaping but I am going to invest in the gloves too - its just not worth taking any chances.

[rexdenton]

Gloves are always a good idea. That said, the risk, as depicted here, is probably overstated, unless there is an idiosynchratic allergic reaction to the handling-always a risk!.

If anyone has ever clammed, they are familiar with the itch and the rash of trematodes. Thankfully, those microscopic buggers cannot really do anything to people except make people itch. (This, I think, may be widespread in the hobby.) As always, the extent of anyreaction may vary from person to person.

[Emg2]

I usually get hives all up my arm any time I stick my hand in my sw tanks. It doesn't happen with the fw tanks at all.

It goes away pretty quickly after I rinse up....which I ALWAYS do after messing around in there.

[renogaw]

Originally posted by rexdenton
Gloves are always a good idea. That said, the risk, as depicted here, is probably overstated, unless there is an idiosynchratic allergic reaction to the handling-always a risk!.

i'd like to know which risk you think is overstated

[rexdenton]

Exposure to palytoxin (a very potent sodium pump inhibitor in soft corals) should be low, owing largely to the large molecular weight of palytoxin, especially from the dermal route. (Now, if you were stabbing yourself with the stuff...)

[renogaw]

Originally posted by rexdenton
Exposure to palytoxin (a very potent sodium pump inhibitor in soft corals) should be low, owing largely to the large molecular weight of palytoxin, especially from the dermal route. (Now, if you were stabbing yourself with the stuff...)

what happens if you're cutting a zoo off a rock, and the razor blade cuts into the skin, and the juices squirt onto your cuticle area and you recently just ripped a cuticle off?

or, what if it squirts into your eye? or squirts onto your hands, and you sneeze and wipe your nose with that hand?

i've never heard someone downplay the danger of palytoxin before...

[rexdenton]

Downplay toxins? I did not downplay a toxin.
I did say that the **RISK** of poisoning is low from transdermal exposure. Any cut carries greater RISK, even if picking mushrooms (amanitae), or weeding nightshade (atropine) from your garden (deadly poisonous), trimming the rhododendron (grayanotoxin, deadly poisonous), pruning the hemlock (cicutoxin, deadly poisonous), or, based upon your occupational description, working around septic and human pathogens found in household drains and plumbing (hepatitis B, C, vancomycin resistant Stapholococcus areus, resistant mycobacterium tuburculae, flesh eating disease, etc.) or even the surface of your own skin (staph) all of which arguably, carry risk of exposure to toxins as does casual dermal contact with any of the aformentioned toxic organisms, including soft corals.

[57vert]

My arm itches every time I stick my arm in the tank. I've got a 75 gal. tank, and it's more on my upper inner arm where the skin is soft and tender. But I always just consider that a reaction to the salt content.

I grew up by Monterey, CA. Went to the beach and surfed a lot. The itch on my arm is the same as the salt itch from being in the ocean, minus the chaffing sand. So now instead of just wiping my arm dry, I rinse with cold water, and no itch.

[ctreefer]

Originally posted by 57vert
My arm itches every time I stick my arm in the tank. I've got a 75 gal. tank, and it's more on my upper inner arm where the skin is soft and tender. But I always just consider that a reaction to the salt content.

I grew up by Monterey, CA. Went to the beach and surfed a lot. The itch on my arm is the same as the salt itch from being in the ocean, minus the chaffing sand. So now instead of just wiping my arm dry, I rinse with cold water, and no itch.

That's a beautiful area. I remember when my wife and I went to visit San Francisco I made it a priority to swing by Half Moon Bay at low tide to check out the tidal pools. Man that's cool stuff. Itch or no itch.

[57vert]

It is a beautiful area. Unfortunately, in high school you're more interested in the bikinis than the tide pools.