when small fish attack
Well, quite a while ago, when I was much smaller and teenage mutant hero turtles were all the rage, I went on a short break with my family to Jersey.

It was decided that we would all go down to one of the beaches; in this case, a particualy nice little "bay" which you get to by climbing down quite a few (steep as I remeber) stone steps.

So after messing about in the sea for a little while, I spot a silvery fish darting about in the shallows, so queue me bounding about trying to catch it. Well, suffice to say I didn't manage it. What was strange was it simply "disappeared"; this should have sent alarm bells ring, but being young and inexperienced, I thought nothing of it. That was until two minutes later there is a horrendous pain in my foot.

That little fecker of a fish was a "weaver fish". They have an interesting habit of buring themselves in the sand. Infront of its dorsal fin is another fan shaped fin which just poke out of the sand; the formost spines in this fin are like hyperdermic needles, and one of which, when stood upon, injects the unexpecting victim with venom.

I had to walk up all those damn steps to get to the lifeguard (which was an insane arrangement by any means - why the hell was he not on the actual beach?) and submerge my foot and most of my lower leg in REALLY hot water for 20 minutes to neutralise the poison.

I did not go back into the sea for the rest of the holiday.


Length? It was [---- THIS ----] big, honest!
( theoriginalsteve <this space intentionally left blank>, Thu 1 May 2008, 10:05, 7 replies)

should've
just peed on it

your foot, not the fish

although the fish would probably deserve it
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 1 May 2008, 10:36, closed)

.
I thought peeing on it was just for Jellyfish?
(cmouse is pondering about life in other jobs, Thu 1 May 2008, 10:39, closed)

pee
Peeing on it works for everything. Even fixes flatmates hangovers.
( enoughblueskyforsailorstrousers, Thu 1 May 2008, 10:52, closed)

if it doesn't neutralise the posion
it will at least give you something else to think about.

and I'm pretty sure it does neutralise the poison.

got to be pretty unlucky to be got by a weaverfish. I've been surfing for years and only know one close associate who has been got.

admittedly you were chasing the bastard, and so got what you deserved
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 1 May 2008, 11:29, closed)

Urine will not affect a weaver fish sting, as (a)the ammonia would not breakdown the poison (as far as I'm aware) and (b) it is actually injected into you, washing the wound with urine wouldnt get to the poison. It must be brought up to a higher temerature for it to breakdown. Peeing on jellyfish stings helps as the ammonia neutralises the nematocysts that are still stuck to the skin I think. I can't remember exactly...
( theoriginalsteve <this space intentionally left blank>, Thu 1 May 2008, 11:57, closed)

@ Mime
'bottom picking cures nail biting'

Hilarieux!
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 1 May 2008, 12:05, closed)

ahhh
the weaver, i was wondering when i would see a post about one ofthem.

The only time ive seen one was when i was crab fishing, and my bro caught one.

they are only smally about 4 or 5 inches long, but as you say bury themselves in the sand/silt.

all the marine lakes near me have warning signs posted about them, and as a reason you normally have to wear old shoes or protective footwear if you use the lakes.

And yes, hot water is pretty much the only way to stop the venom gettin worse. Probably the only venomous fish im aware of in the uk coastal waters
(Dan dan dan They tik urh jerbs!!!, Thu 1 May 2008, 12:58, closed)