I had a puffer die l;ast night because he was found stuck to the intake of the powerhead. Sad as it is, I was very careful to wear gloves to remove him because his skin was broken and he was puffed out. I still somehow got a little water on my hand and right on an open wound, very small wound though. Now i'm panicking, I washed it 3 times with anti-bac soap but I'm scared I will be poisoned. I read you can only get poisoned if you eat it but I need comfort to know i'll be okay. Please give me facts and don't be an a**hole and tell me to panic just to be a jerk. This is a serious question
2007-06-29 06:21:07 · 4 answers · asked by ouch 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Oh I should also mention, it's a 100 gallon tank, the puffer was a very small green spotted freshwater puffer and my other fish (cichlids and a blue lobster) are fine (i'm thinking if the water was poisonous they'd be dead right?)
2007-06-29 06:24:19 · update #1
Deep breath and a sigh of relief. You have nothing at all to worry about. The poison in a puffer comes from a deep internal organ and is only a problem if ingested.
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/wilderness_pufferfish_poisoning/article_em.htm
MM
2007-06-29 06:25:08 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The toxin (tetrodotoxin) can be in the internal organs or skin. But on the positive side, puffers don't make this themselves, it comes from a bacteria found in their natural diet. If the puffer's been in captivity for a while, it may have next to none of the toxin present.
Given the potency of the toxin, and that symptoms usually occur within an hour of exposure, if the fish are okay after being in the tank with the dead puffer, I doubt there's anything for you to be concerned about.
2007-06-29 06:32:49 · answer #2 · answered by copperhead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As explained by the earlier posts, you will be fine with regards to the poison from the buffer.
But if you have an open wound and it get contact with aquarium water, it's aways advisable to clean the wound well with anti-bac soap which you did. I have read of instances where people get nasty infection from such incident when they though lightly of it and didn't clean the wound as they should.
Anyway 99.99% of the time nothing will happen, but if you do get a reaction like pus on wound and running a fever, it's critical to know that tank water could be one of the cause (especially planted tank ).
2007-06-29 06:47:17 · answer #3 · answered by dragonfly_sg 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't panic!! You'll be okay just take deep breaths, and sit and relax... It's all going to be fine!!! Trust me it happened to my friend before!!
2007-06-29 06:28:11 · answer #4 · answered by MaYdAy PaRaDe <3 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋