Poisonous topfins

I know a Sea Barbel's spikey fins can cause severe injuries if pricked by one of these, but in my haste to get my 10" Pleco back in water when it jumped out, I picked him up with my (bare) hands and got a blood drawing prick from the top fin....

Now it's not painful, but should I cut my finger off or get anti serum or will I even live??:bigsmile:

 

I think your best option would be to amputate your entire hand. By now the poison has moved from the finger and slowly moving up your hand. If you wait too long you will have to take your arm off.

JUST JOKING.

Give it a good wash with Dettol, and keep it clean with some germicide type cream. I've actually found using hydrogen peroxide to be the absolute best cleaning agent on open wounds. When you put it onto the wound if it fizzes, then it's cleaning dirt. But it stings like hell. The dirtier the wound, the more it stings! If you notice any swelling or abormal behaviour, seek medical advice.

 

Once You have disinfectected the wound, put a blob of zambuk on it and rap closed with a bandage/plaster. Zambuk is a herbal ointment and draws out most infections,etc .

 

A good handful of catfish species have even just a small amount of toxin in their top fin. I'm unsure how much a pleco has, or how much it will affect you, but I'm sure if you follow Zoom's and Norgin's advice, you'll be fine.

On a similar note, some Corydoras species can leave a burning sensation if their dorsal fin penetrates the skin; some people are more sensitive than others.

 

Dont think the pleco is poisonous, you should be ok, but as the guys said disinfect and you should be fine after that, just check to see if the barb has not broken off in your skin as well, could give u a nasty infection

 

From experience BEWARE of a loaches barb just below his eye

 

It's possible that they can cause severe damage to humans. One of the gentlemen who worked in my lfs was nicked by a C. sterbai fin. As a result his thumb swelled up and he had to undergo two surgeries before the condition was cured. It was touch and go for a while.