Bites and Shellfish Allergies

[Bigpapa]

I am posting a pre-bite question, if there is another thread for this please by all means move this. Anyway, as some of you know I am setting up my tank now for my first octo. As far as the bite probability: I am allergic to shellfish, specifically the iodine. I am guessing I must be nuts to try octo husbandry?

 

[shipposhack]

Octopus and shellfish aren't very similar. You can get your octo to bite you if you want to find out if you are allergic when you get it, but I wouldn't recommend it . I didn't know people were allergic to iodine.

 

[Bigpapa]

Yeah, alot of people are allergic to "shellfish" but the actual part or reason for the allergy is the iodine that is created in them. My concern is that the inking that an octo does is iodine right? as well as the diet of an octo being so much shellfish-its bite and toxin might contain some of the same elements. If I have just a forkfull of crab meat I would end up in the hospital or a whole lot worse..

 

[Tintenfisch]

Actually, cephalopod ink is made of melanin - see Nancy's more in-depth treatment of the subject here.
I have never heard of an iodine component.

 

[Bigpapa]

Thanks Tintenfisch, I did not know that and thought I had read somewhere about iodine being a part of it.

 

[Jean]

I'm allergic to iodine (although not seafood, I just don't like it!) and react to topical iodine such as betadine, I've never reacted to the animals we keep be they fish, seastars or whatever. I HAVE reacted to octopus bite but it was a quite different reaction to the one I get from iodine. Solution.......wear gloves!!! And I tend to handle our midget octopus with a fine mesh net......it's really better for them too.

Cheers

J

 

[Bigpapa]

TYVM Jean, I had guessed I will probably be investing in cloves, just wasnt sure if they can bite through them I guess.

 

[Jean]

They probably can (definitely if you use fine latex) we use fish handling gloves,

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=60501

which are tougher and more "bite resistant" although we try to avoid handling the cephs as much as possible as it's not really good for their skin.

J