so.. how many had the brite idea to get stung?

Chef Reef · #1 09/12/2007, 09:35 AM

have any of you ever been stung by one of your venomus fish? i.e. a lionfish (in my case)... just want to make sure im not the only one..

i had just recently got a fuzzy dwarf lion fish and i cleaned the inside glass and was syphoning the sand, which made it cloudy, *feels the sting coming*.. i was so used to not have to worry about it before and just plopped my hand right back in the water and BAM my hand slid right across his back (my two middle knuckles)... he had moved to the other side of the tank durring the cloudyness... hand went numb and burned for about 2 hours.. felt like a constant bee sting ( just a little stronger)..

anyways whats the worst thing youve been stung by? how long did the pain last and on a scale of 1-10 (10being the highest) how much did it hurt?

mine was about a 3-4 but it last awhile..

JetCat USA · #2 09/12/2007, 11:18 AM

a good many yrs ago i had a HUGE Volitan Lionfish that thought any time you were at the tank it was feeding time and he accidentally popped me a few times while working with my hand/arm inside the tank because of his curiosity, and not out of defense. feels like a bee sting to me, 15 min of sting, a day or so of itch. the wife of the guy who owns the only marine LFS here got stung by a small Antennata and her whole arm swelled up so big it bruised and turned blue.

aiko670 · #3 09/12/2007, 11:22 AM

I got nailed by a fox face years ago cleaning a tank full of them at a LFS I used to work at.

It hurt a lot but worse was the size my hand swelled to.... It was pretty frightning looking...

Chef Reef · #4 09/12/2007, 12:00 PM

im glad mine didnt itch afterwards that would have drove me crazy.. just the numbness of your hand being asleep

travdixon · #5 09/12/2007, 12:57 PM

I went to move a return line inside my tank, and went knuckle first into my long spined sea urchin. I thought I got an electrical shock or something until I looked and saw 6 black spines sticking out of my knuckles and fingertips. The fingertip pain was about a 6, and the knuckles around a 4. Definitely pay more attention now!

SDguy · #6 09/12/2007, 01:48 PM

Bitten by a fangtooth blenny...hurt more than a bee sting...and those teeth are HUGE for such a tiny fish.

ludnix · #7 09/12/2007, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by travdixon
I went to move a return line inside my tank, and went knuckle first into my long spined sea urchin. I thought I got an electrical shock or something until I looked and saw 6 black spines sticking out of my knuckles and fingertips. The fingertip pain was about a 6, and the knuckles around a 4. Definitely pay more attention now!

Are the spines hard to remove (like a porcupine) or were the easy enough to just pull out?

Sheol · #8 09/12/2007, 01:59 PM

Only invert encounters here, but I now know better than to try & grab a Rhodactis ( as well as to not introduce them into the reef tank in the first place!). Total numbness for 15 minutes, but impaired pain reception for 4-5 days. I knew when it wore off too, lots of small paper cuts had been had in that time. Saltwater & OUCCH!

Matthew

seapug · #9 09/12/2007, 03:21 PM

I have a hammer coral that gives me a poison ivy type rash when I brush against it with the inside of my arm. Nothing terribly scary, but still surprising the first time it happened.

Pmolan · #10 09/12/2007, 03:39 PM

Volation stab and Long spine urchin puncture here!!

Hvacow1 · #11 09/12/2007, 03:57 PM

I have had the ol' fox face get me once. My fingers went numb for about an hour, but it didn't hurt to bad. Scuba diving in cabo I dont know what it was I brushed up against. The Local Dive master said "fire coral" now that stuff BURNS! left a scar on my lower leg about 4 inches long, its been there 4 years now!

NitroJunkie · #12 09/12/2007, 03:58 PM

My friend got stung by his lion and boy did it do a number on him. I guess everyone reacts different. I wasnt there but he got stung and pain started in his hand and moved up his arm and then his chest started to hurt and had a hard time breathing. 911 was called , they came and got him and gave him something that fixed him up.

Afterwards an Animal Control Office showed up to his house to do an inspection to make sure he didnt have some illegal animal/reptile. He saw the fish and everything was cool.

IndyReefMan · #13 09/12/2007, 05:30 PM

I got stabbed by my urchin. It wasn't too painful-- I could see the tip embeded in my finger but I couldn't get it out. That was several months ago and my finger is still a little swollen.

rich99rich · #14 09/12/2007, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by IndyReefMan
I got stabbed by my urchin. It wasn't too painful-- I could see the tip embeded in my finger but I couldn't get it out. That was several months ago and my finger is still a little swollen.

I heard that surfers often step on urchins when they're out in the water. To get the spines out, they pee on their foot and the acidity in the urine gets them out. So if this happens to you again, you may want to try to pee on your hand

Mykel Obvious · #15 09/12/2007, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rich99rich
I heard that surfers often step on urchins when they're out in the water. To get the spines out, they pee on their foot and the acidity in the urine gets them out. So if this happens to you again, you may want to try to pee on your hand

So how many hits do ya have to drop for that to work anyway?? (sorry, surfer joke, can't resist making fun of them

)

davefan13 · #16 09/12/2007, 07:29 PM

haha, i saw that on the real world denver. everyone ****ed on brooke's leg.

haha

Sports Girl · #17 09/12/2007, 07:38 PM

I got about 1/4" of one of my long spine urchin's spine in my right index finger. VERY hard to get out, it seemed to just disintegrate under my skin. Felt like a minor bee sting, burned for about 15 minutes, but what hurt the most was the needle I took to it to dig the spine (or pieces of) out. Probably a 2 out of 10.

Scoobaman17 · #18 09/12/2007, 07:50 PM

I have an urchin story for you all, "not a pet though" I was scuba diving on thanksgiving day with my brother for lobster and a swell pushed me into the rocky ledge as I was grabbing a lobster, The end result was this: Several spines down to the skull. One noticeable one for sure that broke at the skull and then continued. My girlfriend picked 5 pieces of spine from underneath the skin with a needle and tweezers the following day.

Musho3210 · #19 09/12/2007, 08:07 PM

ok we have a winner.....

mccrat · #20 09/12/2007, 08:14 PM

Yup, I would say that's the best so far....

Mykel Obvious · #21 09/12/2007, 08:51 PM

The absolute BEST part is the fact he sat there and let them take the picture!!! Bonus Points!!!

(oh, and to stay OT... I've never been bit or stung... yet... planning on adding a Meiacanthus atrodorsalis when I get my tank set up, so who knows what might happen then)

Scoobaman17 · #22 09/12/2007, 09:20 PM

I actually didn't know it was sticking out. I rubbed my head under the water before surfacing, then we get on the boat and my bro says "DUDE, don't move, ""Why?"" Just don't I have to take a picture, .... check this out!!! ...." And thats how it went.

"rich99rich": I doubt I would ever let myself or anyone else for that matter pee on my head though...LOL.

MarineFishGuy · #23 09/12/2007, 10:04 PM

I had a cut on my index finger and was moving some corals around the tank. I brushed against a colony of Palythoas right on the open cut... twice. The sting was minor like a sweat bee, maybe a 2.
However, it swelled up and got red. I was knocked out for about 3-4 hours.
I pretty much fell back on the couch and took a "nap".
When I woke up I had the taste of copper in my mouth and my finger burned pretty bad, about a 6.
I felt groggy for about 12 hours total. My finger was sore for about 4 days (at a 3).

I have since brushed the same colony without a cut on my hand without incident. I do not put my hands in the tank if they have cuts on them now.
I have learned that palytoxin can be very painful (if not lethal) stuff. The odd part is this is a colony that came in on a live rock, I did not buy it. It glows bright green under the actinics, but is otherwise plain looking.
Next time I may try peeing on my hand

(or meat tenderizer)

TitusvileSurfer · #24 09/12/2007, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mykel Obvious
So how many hits do ya have to drop for that to work anyway?? (sorry, surfer joke, can't resist making fun of them )

Hey!! Anyway I haven't been stung yet, but I often pick up seaweed floating next to me in the ocean while surfing. Sometimes there are crabs or whatever and its fun to watch them while waiting for waves. Anyway twice now little lionfish have fallen out of the sea weed! :x

I have been stung by many portuguese man o wars though, THEY hurt! One wraped around my dad and sent him into a coma for a couple days. Hows that for a 10?

SurfnFish · #25 09/12/2007, 11:11 PM

I was stung about 2 months ago while surfing in San Diego, CA. I stepped right on top of a stingray and boy did he get me. On the pain scale, it was definitely a 10, as in worst pain I've ever felt in my life. The pain lasted almost all week. The lifeguard had me keep my foot buried in the blazing hot sand to sooth the pain. After that, I sat in the hot tub for about 1 hr. to sooth the pain. My foot still has a bump on it where I got stung!