Most Venomous Coral?

sundog101 · Apr 5, 2015

I took a trip to the Georgia Aquarium yesterday and heard one of the staff talking about a coral they had. She said it was the most venomous coral they had and its venom was stronger than that of the blue ring octopus. I didn't hear her say the name and I didn't recognize it. Here's a picture. What do you guys think?

kodez · Apr 5, 2015

Looks like a palythoa and I have heard that paly's and zoa's have pretty toxic poisons.

Scott tang · Apr 5, 2015

Paly toxin found in palys is the second most deadly Nero toxin known to us it is not as dangerous as in palys it is heavily diluted

afamousjohnson · Apr 5, 2015

Look up Hawaiian folk lore - they have some sweet stories when it comes to mysterious death water holes and paly toxin uses.

64Ivy · Apr 5, 2015

Plain ol' zoas contain palytoxin also. Reason number one why we should never boil old zoanthid infested live rock in order to sterilize it or even frag it without gloves and eye protection. Check around for threads. This stuff is no joke.

sundog101 · Apr 5, 2015

I know palys have toxins, but I thought it only affected you if you ingested it. Can they sting just by touching them?

64Ivy · Apr 5, 2015

No, they don"t sting but from what I've read, touching them then putting your hands in your mouth (nail biters) is not a good idea. And as stated before, fragging them barehanded is definitely not a good idea.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blo...adliest-poison-possibly-available-at-your-lfs

glb · Apr 5, 2015

sundog101 said:
I know palys have toxins, but I thought it only affected you if you ingested it. Can they sting just by touching them?

The problem is they can squirt when you're fragging them, and if that gets in your eye or you inhale it, you can get very sick. In the tank they're not as much of a problem but I'd still wear gloves or wash your hands if you touch them.

joshbbert · Apr 6, 2015

afamousjohnson said:
Look up Hawaiian folk lore - they have some sweet stories when it comes to mysterious death water holes and paly toxin uses.

That's awesome!

joshbbert · Apr 6, 2015

This guy almost killed himself his wife and his dog, some serious stuff don't ever boil them lol bad news http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blo...-poisoning-almost-killed-myself-wife-and-dogs

WindeyD · Apr 7, 2015

Just to be scientifically accurate venom by definition has to be injected so palys/zoas are not venomous at all; poisonous/toxic would be accurate

darrell7456 · Apr 8, 2015

nice to know

syzsounds · Apr 8, 2015

Yes extremely bad things palys if you dont know about them.
1 trip to resus in a blue light ambulance ... weeks off work with breathing difficulty's and 2 years later still having reoccurring chest infections ...
So be bloody careful with em ..
I am ... now lol.

joshbbert · Apr 8, 2015

syzsounds said:
Yes extremely bad things palys if you dont know about them.
1 trip to resus in a blue light ambulance ... weeks off work with breathing difficulty's and 2 years later still having reoccurring chest infections ...
So be bloody careful with em ..
I am ... now lol.

Crazy stuff