Palythoa cowboy

[McMullen]

I've got a ton of these nuisance palys growing in various corners and cracks in my tank. When I perform WCs I get small scissors and go to town. I also bare hand a few just cause. There is no point to this thread other than to calm some of the Paly Toxin paranoia. I've been ripping these out like this for years. My hands get coated with nasty slime, no big deal. Happy reefing!

Maybe important to note. I don't boil them or squirt them in my eyes or mouth. I also don't wash my hands after handling, just rinse inside the tank and wipe off with a towel.

 

[TheEngineer]

I'm not sure what your intention is here. You want people not to take care when handling something potentially harmful because you haven't had a bad experience?

 

[McMullen]

Just the other side of the coin.

 

[TheEngineer]

What is the other side of the coin?

 

[McMullen]

Ummmmm it's my post. There are a handful of anecdotal stories where the message is to where a hazmat suite (slight exaggeration) when working inside tank. The other side of the coin (thats a metaphor) is my anecdotal story of lots of contact with these "poisonous" devils with no ill effects.

 

[TheEngineer]

There is nothing anecdotal about the toxicity of palythoa toxin.

Roundup is supposedly safe to eat according to its manufacturer. I wouldn’t take a swig of it.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with people taking appropriate precautions when handling something potentially harmful. I don’t think there’s reason to go overboard either. Is there a recent specific thread you are referring to that promoted your post which advised extreme measures?

 

[._Z_.]

Curious why these are considered a nuisance to you? I’ve got a couple of these in my first tank, should I be concerned they’ll spread like wildfire? I’ve heard of Xenia and GSP being considered weeds to avoid, but not these ones.

 

[Ghxst]

FYI, not all pallies have it. Good luck with the cowboy life!!

 

[Ghxst]

Curious why these are considered a nuisance to you? I’ve got a couple of these in my first tank, should I be concerned they’ll spread like wildfire? I’ve heard of Xenia and GSP being considered weeds to avoid, but not these ones.

Every tank is different. Ugly pallies spreading can be called a plague, if they were attractive it would be called a cash cow. I wouldn’t mount any coral on your main rock work you are not in love with.

 

[TheEngineer]

Curious why these are considered a nuisance to you? I’ve got a couple of these in my first tank, should I be concerned they’ll spread like wildfire? I’ve heard of Xenia and GSP being considered weeds to avoid, but not these ones.

Some can grow really fast and grow over top of other corals and smother them. There's a really nice (in my opinion) paly called Texas Trash. It grows insanely fast and also happens to have pretty high levels of palythoa toxin.

 

[McMullen]

Curious why these are considered a nuisance to you? I’ve got a couple of these in my first tank, should I be concerned they’ll spread like wildfire? I’ve heard of Xenia and GSP being considered weeds to avoid, but not these ones.

They'll be everywhere! They also sting and burn my sps.

 

[McMullen]

There is nothing anecdotal about the toxicity of palythoa toxin.

Roundup is supposedly safe to eat according to its manufacturer. I wouldn’t take a swig of it.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with people taking appropriate precautions when handling something potentially harmful. I don’t think there’s reason to go overboard either. Is there a recent specific thread you are referring to that promoted your post which advised extreme measures?

The stories themselves are anecdotal.

A healthy respect for tank inhabitants is great. I knew I would take heat for a post like this. People love the toxin hysteria, but these seem very few and far between. The stories are also "usually" vague.

Yes, "seem few and far between" could be lack of reporting. This post is simply my attempt at a counter balance.

Reef responsibly not hysterically.

 

[ChiCity]

I think some people are just fickle, and so are more susceptible to a physical overreaction to something like palytoxin...
Some cases could also be chalked up to hypochondriacs.
Some people are just immune, simple as that.

But to tell people to not take precautions is just irresponsible.

 

[DSC reef]

The stories themselves are anecdotal.

A healthy respect for tank inhabitants is great. I knew I would take heat for a post like this. People love the toxin hysteria, but these seem very few and far between. The stories are also "usually" vague.

Yes, "seem few and far between" could be lack of reporting. This post is simply my attempt at a counter balance.

Reef responsibly not hysterically.

Can you determine which paly species are toxic by looking at them? Your mind will change when you get that one paly you handled, didn't wash your hands then touched your eye. Update this thread after the ER visit.

 

[McMullen]

I cannot, no.
Perhaps

 

[Tahoe61]

Better safe than sorry seems apropo.

There is always going to be that person or persons that miss interprets your intent and pushes the envelop.

 

[Texas Reefer]

Some can grow really fast and grow over top of other corals and smother them. There's a really nice (in my opinion) paly called Texas Trash. It grows insanely fast and also happens to have pretty high levels of palythoa toxin.

I'm trying to eliminate that very devil from half of my rockwork as we speak. Would you like some? I've got a bit left. Lol. I wore gloves and goggles as I chipped half my rock away into a trash can outside. Texas Trash was smothering quite a few nice zoas, Red Planet, Duncan...
I had a bit of a headache afterwards, but I'm prone to headaches...

 

[TheEngineer]

The stories themselves are anecdotal.

A healthy respect for tank inhabitants is great. I knew I would take heat for a post like this. People love the toxin hysteria, but these seem very few and far between. The stories are also "usually" vague.

Yes, "seem few and far between" could be lack of reporting. This post is simply my attempt at a counter balance.

Reef responsibly not hysterically.

What is anecdotal about these 10 cases from Alaska reported on by the CDC?
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6431a4.htm

You're taking heat because you are advocating for unsafe practices for no particular reason. No one loves hysteria and I'd be surprised if you could find a recent conversation about the subject on this forum where someone was in hysterics about it.

A counter balance is not your own anecdote. You yourself admit you couldn't point to one paly versus another that does or doesn't have high levels of toxins. How are you providing anything of substance? I'm 100% in support of constructive conversations that challenge norms. Those conversations include some factual basis, not just stories about their one experience.

 

[TheEngineer]

I'm trying to eliminate that very devil from half of my rockwork as we speak. Would you like some? I've got a bit left. Lol. I wore gloves and goggles as I chipped half my rock away into a trash can outside. Texas Trash was smothering quite a few nice zoas, Red Planet, Duncan...
I had a bit of a headache afterwards, but I'm prone to headaches...

I mistakenly put some in my tank. They still pop up from time to time and get zapped.

 

[McMullen]

@TheEngineer, what are you zapping them with. My method is futile, though it feels good to squeeze them between my thumb and finger and rip them off the rock. Though, the other 149 laugh at my efforts.