Well I can officially say I have been stung by a rabbit fish

[Garage1217]

Glad I read up on them before purchase!! I went to put him in the tank and he started flipping violently in the net, as a reaction to that I put my hand over the net so he did not flop out on the floor and BAM, he put one spine into the base of my left index finger. I did not even know it happened for about a minute. They say... It feels like a bee sting. BSWTHBBTACOS. Maybe if the bee was the size of a VW! Felt more like someone took a red hot ice pick and stuck it into my hand! Good grief, talk about different kind of hurt! Definitely hurt more than a scorpion sting without question. Within about 20 minutes my whole arm hurt, into my shoulder.

Ran my hand under super hot water for awhile as recommended and that mellowed out the pain. Just a little swollen now and red, most all the pain is gone so no worries.

Anyways, be careful with those rabbit fish! They pack a punch!

[Sugar Magnolia]

Yowzers!!! Get thee to a doctor if you are still feeling the effects later.

[Garage1217]

Appreciate the concern. I think I am ok, pain is mostly gone but wow...

[Yogre]

I figured those little buggers packed a wallop. My foxface is fearless, he'll swim right up and start eating from the algae clip before I can move my hand. First time he shanks me I'm gonna depth charge him.

Thanks for the reminder about these critters, glad you're feeling OK. As Sugar said, if you have any sort of delayed reaction/infection see a doc.

[Garage1217]

All good, Did not die as far as I can tell An experience I will not forget, that is for sure and I have been bitten or stung by many critters. As far as sharp, searing pain.. that topped the list next to an open flame against the skin.

[Lmart]

Wow,

I have been stung by a scorpion befor (foot) and it felt like stepping on chards of glass, then it throbbed for a few days. Can't imagine how bad the rabbit fish sting was!

[doonan75]

Been stung as well hot water does help a lot, but mine was instantaneous pain that just got worse and worse. It's almost like you can feel the pain spreading along the nerves up to the shoulder. After the pain went way my fingers felt tingly for a few days. I've also been stung by our local scorpions and it doesn't remotely compare. I've also been bitten by a widow spider(down here we have brown and black I was bit by the brown variety) while the initial pain from the foxface was worse the widow hurts much worse in the long run when the cramping starts, my quads were the worst effected. BTW hot water does nothing for widow venom but valium sure makes it better.

[Garage1217]

That was the only good part compared to being stung by say a scorpion. The pain was only for a good solid vivd hour and trailed off after that. Other stings can hurt for awhile. The rabbit fish sting was just piercing. It was a few seconds before I thought I could have been stung.. then I was examining the area on my hand and I saw a little bit of blood come to the surface... still nothing. then a light throb which quickly turned into WHOLLY CRAP OUCH!

I had the same thing you described, it started just in the area and then worked its way up my arm and into my shoulder, but the center of the pain / the most pain remained in my hand which swelled up just in that area. All of my fingers felt tight and so did the joints in my wrist and fingers. I did not get the tingles later though.

Here is a pic of the little offender. Will try to get a better pic later. His coloration is AWESOME. Very vivid blues and scribbles on his head. He is also quite large, between 6 and 7" Not a small fish by any means. Largest in my tank, that is for sure.

[rcmania]

Originally Posted by Yogre

My foxface is fearless, he'll swim right up and start eating from the algae clip before I can move my hand. First time he shanks me I'm gonna depth charge him.

[Garage1217]

Ha! Mine is fearless as well. My purple tang was the man of the tank before the rabbit. The tang tried to bully him right away and the rabbit had none of it. The rabbit raised all his spikes and just stared at the tang as if to say "make my day punk" and just hovered as still as could be staring him down while the tang tried to figure out what to make of him. Now the tang does not bother him and all and sort of tags along with him like he is his buddy. The second the rabbit gets annoyed and raises his spikes, the tang disappears like lightning. Other than that, the rabbit bothers no one.

[doonan75]

My foxface is a jumper if the lights are off any shodow or movement near the tank and he's airborne. Lights on and he's fine but will hide if he doesn't recognize someone. He stuck a clownfish a few years ago(clownfish deserved it he was evil) he pretty much was paralyzed for 24 hours, I put him in a glass cup in the tank and hoped for the best and he survived but learned to stay away from the foxface.

[AndyH5512]

Wowsers. Glad you are OK. I have to know, though, what does "BSWTHBBTACOS" stand for? I am sure it is about as nice as anything the rest of us would exclaim in the same scenario.

My fox face eats from my hand as well. I am leary with how excited it gets over food that one day it will spike me by accident. Let's hope not after hearing this.

[evsalty]

Rabbits and Lions...the only fish I will NOT use my hand to transfer.

Glad to hear you are ok.

[JNicho]

Just for future reference, a soak in vinegar will normally alleviate the pain pretty well.

[StephLionfish]

Never been stung, but I admit I should still be more careful around my Lion.. Earlier today, I was trimming macro, and he was about an inch from me. If he had been blown into the current that was right beside us, he would've nailed me right on the soft under part of my upper arm.

Glad you're OK.. That picture is funny. Like he's been caught. Notice the Tang is running for dear life