Are these too dangerous to keep?

[HAMMERofGold]

Hi all!

A fellow reefer I trade with gave me two small frags of Palys I've never had before. He said they were called green apple palys and red death palys.

I have lots of zoas, I frag them up often, and I know how to take the proper precautions when fragging (mask, gloves eye protection, etc). That said, I generally stay away from Palys out of caution for the more seriously toxic breeds.

Luckily, I've done a good job (so far) of keeping these two isolated on their plug, and not growing onto the rockwork, so I could easily crack off the frag disk and dispose of them right now - but my time is running out.

I am wondering if anyone knows whether or not the palys I recieved fall under that "super toxic"/ "stay away from"category. Or do you guys think they are safe to keep in my collection.

Would love to hear your input! Thanks all!


Red death

Green apple (less worried about these)

 

[tehmadreefer]

Zoas aren’t the issue, it’s the paly’s that are more toxic.

 

[Strawberry]

From everything I’ve read, you should take the same precaution with all of them, as they all have the palytoxin. No one wants to find out which are more deadly. I think the best bet would to be treating all of them as though they’re lethal and wearing the right PPE.

 

[HAMMERofGold]

Thanks for responding, I agree with both of you. I know that palys are more dangerous than zoas, and I do take all the necessary precautions. I've never had any issues fragging my zoas in the last 5 years. But the stories around palytoxins from certain palys worries me.

My question is specific to the two species of Palys I picked up. (pictured in OP).

I've read this article several times https://reefs.com/2015/09/14/the-dangers-and-myths-of-zoa-toxicity-part-1/

And have been trying to make the ID call myself to see if these fall within these most dangerous species.

I am curious what the community thinks or if anyone was personally familiar with these species and could chime in. My buddy who I got them from said hes never had any issues with them, but they are the only Palys I have in my tank right now.

Should I take them out?

 

[Strawberry]

Thanks for responding, I agree with both of you. I know that palys are more dangerous than zoas, and I do take all the necessary precautions. I've never had any issues fragging my zoas in the last 5 years. But the stories around palytoxins from certain palys worries me.

My question is specific to the two species of Palys I picked up. (pictured in OP).

I've read this article several times https://reefs.com/2015/09/14/the-dangers-and-myths-of-zoa-toxicity-part-1/

And have been trying to make the ID call myself to see if these fall within these most dangerous species.

I am curious what the community thinks or if anyone was personally familiar with these species and could chime in. My buddy who I got them from said hes never had any issues with them, but they are the only Palys I have in my tank right now.

Should I take them out?

I’d keep them if you like them. Just be careful! Foxfaces are also venomous but people love them. Not a big deal as long as you know the risks and take the right precautions!

 

[Josh_boss]

Hi all!

A fellow reefer I trade with gave me two small frags of Palys I've never had before. He said they were called green apple palys and red death palys.

I have lots of zoas, I frag them up often, and I know how to take the proper precautions when fragging (mask, gloves eye protection, etc). That said, I generally stay away from Palys out of caution for the more seriously toxic breeds.

Luckily, I've done a good job (so far) of keeping these two isolated on their plug, and not growing onto the rockwork, so I could easily crack off the frag disk and dispose of them right now - but my time is running out.

I am wondering if anyone knows whether or not the palys I recieved fall under that "super toxic"/ "stay away from"category. Or do you guys think they are safe to keep in my collection.

Would love to hear your input! Thanks all!


Red death

Green apple (less worried about these)

The green play for sure ! I have a friend who didn’t use gloves while fragging, got play toxin in his cut on his finger and been into the hospital for 3 days. Admit and discharge, admit discharge, admit discharge. He said he felt like he was dying, heart palpitations, head rush, MAJOR ANXIETY. he completely stopped reefing because when he looked at it or even accidentally touched his salt water he would get panic attacks. So the answer to your question is YES YOUR PALYS ARE VERY STRONG IN THEIR TOXINS!!! But with the right protection you should be fine. BTW he still gets anxiety for no reason since!

 

[ScottB]

Personally, I know 4 people who have gotten sick from paly toxin exposure. They were all "modestly" careful, but without full PPE. All had flu like symptoms, one a grossly swollen eye, another a grossly swollen finger, but only one went to the ER.

To me, paly's don't warrant the hassle or risk. So many more attractive corals out there than palys IMO.

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

Never had a issue fragging palys been doing it for years, I wear gloves and sometimes glasses. I know a old reefer who used to frag a lot of palys and he smoked cigs when I asked him if he ever had any paly toxin and this is what he told me, sometimes he’d forget and just lit up a quick cigarette after fragging and the first few times he did that his fingers and lips got numb but over time he built up immunity to it and never felt it again.

 

[HAMMERofGold]

The green play for sure ! I have a friend who didn’t use gloves while fragging, got play toxin in his cut on his finger and been into the hospital for 3 days. Admit and discharge, admit discharge, admit discharge. He said he felt like he was dying, heart palpitations, head rush, MAJOR ANXIETY. he completely stopped reefing because when he looked at it or even accidentally touched his salt water he would get panic attacks. So the answer to your question is YES YOUR PALYS ARE VERY STRONG IN THEIR TOXINS!!! But with the right protection you should be fine. BTW he still gets anxiety for no reason since!

Wow, thank you for letting me know! This is what I was afraid of. I know there are risks in this hobby and responsible ways to mostly avoid them, but I'm generally a coward on that front. I tend to stay away from anything that could put me in the ICU at my local hospital. My maroon clownfish probably has the highest lethality I'm willing to toy with (and even the maroon tests my limits sometimes haha).

I really appreciate everyone chiming in, this has helped me to decide on REMOVING them.

Of course I will see if my LFS wants them first, but if I am to dispose of them, any ideas of how best to do that? They are both isolated on their plugs, so taking them out of my tank is easy. But what do I do after that? Ziplock bag and then outdoor trash? Dig a hole and bury them far from water? How do I remove of them responsibly if I have to?

P.s. If you live in near Northern VA and want them, they're yours lol

 

[Josh_boss]

They are nice palys but not nice enough to mess with. If you can’t find it a home then place it in the outside garbage. It’s not that crazy that the paly will harm you from gasses coming out the rubbish lol just throw it away if no one wants it