Rock covered with green button polyps

Myself, husband and dogs got Palytoxin poisoning Thanksgiving from scrubbing a rock that had been out of the tank for months. Lesson learned!! I bought an up and running Red Sea 250 max that had many green and brown buttons in it. Have gotten rid of most of the brown mainly by trashing rock/taking to lfs. I have one rock that I would really like to keep but I know it has at least a few brittle stars living in it. I thought about just dropping the whole thing in bleach and recycling the rock but I don’t want all the other creatures to pay. I know this is a little harsh but I can’t kill polys fast enough without compromising my tank. Can I do a quick RO dip to chase them out of rock and put them back in tank? Do you think they would survive? Thanks for the help.
 
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Oxylebius

Well-Known Member
Palytoxin is nothing to ignore. If you have rocks with palys on them and you want to get rid of the palys you need to do some serious internet searches on how to protect yourself (and family) from the toxic chemicals released by these corals.

You will find all kinds of advice online. My recommendation is to do as much reading about it as possible before attempting anything further. And heed the advice given on how to protect yourself. I'd also be as conservative as possible with that advice.

You can start here:
https://masna.org/masna-education/palytoxin/
https://ornamentalfish.org/new-advice-issued-to-prevent-palytoxin-poisoning/
 

saintsreturn

Well-Known Member
I second Oxy on this. I was fortunate that one made it to my tank in a way i could break off the piece and just toss it out.

Not sure on the cleaning process though. Good luck
 

Uncle99

Well-Known Member
I keep a few of the real colourful Palythoas, but respect them.
They are safe provided their "juice" does not enter your blood stream.
This can only happen through eyes, nose, mouth, ears or broken skin.

Some have great colours, all have a direct feeding response.

The only reason I put this out there is that lately, Palythoas have been getting a bad rap, and many are being destroyed.

That's Ok, but if aquarists want to keep some, just don't eat, boil, smash, crush them, and use gloves if you are going to move them
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