A man accidentally poisoned his family by cleaning his fish tank.
Man accidentally poisons family
Chris Matthews, 27, unknowingly released toxic fumes into the air after he removed a pulsing xenia coral from his tropical tank and caused his girlfriend, mother, sister and dogs fell ill with flu like symptoms the day after.
He told the Metro: ''We woke up the next morning feeling groggy but initially put it down to flu. It was when we noticed our two dogs had similar symptoms that we knew something wasn't right.
''I knew about palytoxin, which can kill you if ingested, and that coral can cause things like rashes if you don't handle it carefully but I had no idea taking the pulsing xenia out of the water could make the toxin airborne''
The family and pets were treated at a local hospital and no one was fatally harmed.
And Chris isn't put off keeping fish in the future.
He said: ''We've put more safety precautions in place, making sure we properly ventilate the room, but I love having fish and it's something that both sides of my family have always done.''