Journal Had a serious anaphylactic reaction – could it be from my aquarium?

[Akshay]

Hey guys,

Wanted to share something that happened recently and get your thoughts, because it was pretty serious and I’m trying to figure out what caused it.

So on Sunday, I was doing some light maintenance on my main display tank — nothing major, just basic cleaning and trimming a few plants & Water change

After that, I had breakfast. My cook was supposed to make idli (it’s a savory Indian steamed cake made with fermented rice + lentil batter), but something was clearly off with the batter. It was store-bought (same brand I’ve used before), it normally rises in 15–20 minutes but this time it didn’t rise even after almost an hour

So she gave up on idli and made a dosa ( which is a type of fermented crêpe) from the same batter instead, which I ate.

After eating, I did feel slight palpitations, but I didn’t think much of it.

About 15–20 minutes later, I went to clean my Corydoras tank. Within literally 2–3 minutes of starting, things went downhill very fast — I had a full-blown anaphylactic reaction:

heavy swelling of face, lips, tongue, difficulty breathing , things got serious very quickly

Thankfully my wife is a doctor — she rushed back with a nurse, gave me emergency meds (IV steroids etc.) in the car, and took me straight to the ER. By the time we got there, I had gone into anaphylactic shock and my BP had dropped dangerously.

Ended up spending a day in the ICU.

I’m fine now — swelling is gone, vitals are normal, just a bit of dizziness left from all the meds.



Now I’m trying to figure out what actually triggered this.

My main suspicion is the breakfast — that batter clearly wasn’t behaving normally, and maybe something went wrong with fermentation.

But at the same time, the reaction started right when I began working on the Cory tank. I’ve heard that Corydoras can release toxins under stress, so that’s also in the back of my mind.

For context:

• All my tanks are very well maintained
• No major algae, fungus, or visible issues
• I’ve handled tank water countless times before without any problem
• I have never had any allergic reaction to any food like peanuts , infact apart from a little dust allergy I am have never had any allergic reaction to anything till date

So just wanted to ask:

Has anyone here ever experienced (or heard of) anything like this being triggered by a freshwater tank? Especially Corydoras?

Or does this sound much more like a food-related reaction to you?

Would really appreciate any thoughts — just trying to narrow this down before I get back to normal routine.

Pics of both the tanks are attached

 

[Kwyet]

The Cories aren’t a new addition are they? I’m assuming not, so I think the food mix is more likely, especially since there was something clearly wrong with it. However, I’m NOT a doctor, and I know sometimes you can develop new allergies to something with repeated exposure. I’m glad you’re feeling better!

 

[Akshay]

The Cories aren’t a new addition are they? I’m assuming not, so I think the food mix is more likely, especially since there was something clearly wrong with it. However, I’m NOT a doctor, and I know sometimes you can develop new allergies to something with repeated exposure. I’m glad you’re feeling better!

No , not new , have had them for almost 2 years now , tho they were in a larger community tank earlier, were shifted to this 30 gallon 2 months back ( s they kept uprooting the carpet)

 

[Pepere]

My index of suspicion would be aimed at the food.

Onset of symptoms 15-20 minutes post ingestion is well within the norm for food allergies.

People with true food allergies have to be very cautious with prepared food items from stores. You can no longer rely on simply buying the same brand you have always used before as the food giants are constantly jiggering ingredients when they find a cheaper one.

My daughter and grandson both have extensive food allergies. No dairy, no eggs, no squash, no cruciferous vegetables, no peas, legumes, beans, no seed oils…

My daughter had a favorite brand of margarine that was a remarkable taste substitute for butter.. then bought a new one and broke out in hives and significant GI. Looked at ingredients and they started incorporating pea protein.

Then similar happened upon eating some potato chips. Lays switched to sunflower oil…. Then she found all the potato chips and frozen french fries now have sunflower oil….

Poor boy loves chips and french fries…. I bought a stove top fry pot with basket and corn oil and have been making my grandson French Fries and Potato chips for treats he can eat.


My daughter has resorted to mostly just buying ingredients and nothing boxed, canned or frozen prepared…. No more margarines, just drizzle on some avocado or olive oil…. Makes her own condiments from ingredients too….

We keep benadryl and primatine mist inhaler at hand. Primatine mist is inhaled epinephrine…

 

[*Ci*]

I don’t believe that corydoras can secrete a poison strong enough to almost kill a person … but a fermentation gone wrong can. I gave up home fermenting (kombucha, cabbage and other vegetables) after a severe bout of food poisoning due to trace molds.
Did anyone else eat the suspect food?

 

[hamfist]

Sounds very much like the food. I have never heard of anything like this being aquarium-generated.

If you've had, and worked with, the Corys for 2 years already, you will have been amply exposed to anything that they produce, so I would count them out as a source.

 

[Koan]

Has anyone here ever experienced (or heard of) anything like this being triggered by a freshwater tank? Especially Corydoras

Hi Akshay

I'm so sorry this happened to you!

I am a fish veterinarian. Yes Corydoras and Hoplisoma catfish have toxin glands in their skin and yes you absolutely could have reacted to them

As your wife will tell you, sensitization can happen quickly or slowly, whether it was secondary to a food reaction or specific to your repeated exposure to these cories would be difficult to tell.

In addition to keeping an EpiPen at a minimum I would recommend using shoulder length protection gloves when cleaning your cory tank going forward.



(A vet trick to using these gloves: procure a set of surgical hemostats or mosquito forceps

and use them to clip the glove to your shirt, up at the shoulder, so it doesn't fall down )


Please be extremely careful going forward! You may want to consider rehoming your cories instead


Here are several papers talking about the toxin glands in Corydoras and Hoplisoma catfish

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.27.701968v1.full/

A Proteomic Analysis of Corydoras Sterbai Secretions and Tissues - ProQuest

Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.

search.proquest.com

https://www.biologie.hhu.de/fileadmin/redaktion/Fakultaeten/Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche_Fakultaet/Biologie/Institute/weitere_und_ehemalige_Dozenten/weitere_Dozenten/Prof._Dr._Hartmut_Greven_i._R/2006_07_Kiehl-Rieger-Greven-GfI-Bd_5_111-115.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hartmut-Greven/publication/256441979_Axillary_glands_in_the_armoured_catfish_Corydoras_aeneus_Callichthyidae_Siluriformes/links/004635229727a6cfdb000000/Axillary-glands-in-the-armoured-catfish-Corydoras-aeneus-Callichthyidae-Siluriformes.pdf

 

[Akshay]

Thank you so much!
yes am getting an epi pen
I didnt even know thesà

My index of suspicion would be aimed at the food.

Onset of symptoms 15-20 minutes post ingestion is well within the norm for food allergies.

People with true food allergies have to be very cautious with prepared food items from stores. You can no longer rely on simply buying the same brand you have always used before as the food giants are constantly jiggering ingredients when they find a cheaper one.

My daughter and grandson both have extensive food allergies. No dairy, no eggs, no squash, no cruciferous vegetables, no peas, legumes, beans, no seed oils…

My daughter had a favorite brand of margarine that was a remarkable taste substitute for butter.. then bought a new one and broke out in hives and significant GI. Looked at ingredients and they started incorporating pea protein.

Then similar happened upon eating some potato chips. Lays switched to sunflower oil…. Then she found all the potato chips and frozen french fries now have sunflower oil….

Poor boy loves chips and french fries…. I bought a stove top fry pot with basket and corn oil and have been making my grandson French Fries and Potato chips for treats he can eat.


My daughter has resorted to mostly just buying ingredients and nothing boxed, canned or frozen prepared…. No more margarines, just drizzle on some avocado or olive oil…. Makes her own condiments from ingredients too….

We keep benadryl and primatine mist inhaler at hand. Primatine mist is inhaled epinephrine…

e gloves existed , found them on Amazon , have ordered them.

I don’t believe that corydoras can secrete a poison strong enough to almost kill a person … but a fermentation gone wrong can. I gave up home fermenting (kombucha, cabbage and other vegetables) after a severe bout of food poisoning due to trace molds.
Did anyone else eat the suspect food?

Yes, but she didnt have any adverse effect , but since this was an allergic reaction ,i am guessing each person will react diffrently than the other

 

[Koan]

gloves existed , found them on Amazon , have ordered them

If you use these, bear in mind that the toxin glands in Corydoras and Hoplisoma are associated with spines in their fins, which can theoretically puncture a thin glove. They also release the toxin into the water.

Be extremely cautious not to tear the glove, or splash yourself, and do not handle your cories by hand

Turn the glove inside out from the shoulder as you take it off, so you don't contact the water.

 

[Pepere]

Woul

I am a fish veterinarian. Yes Corydoras and Hoplisoma catfish have toxin glands in their skin and yes you absolutely could have reacted to them

d you get an anaphylactic reaction to exposure from them and not show localized reaction from the point of entru as well?

I used to be a paramedic years ago and attended a few cases of anaphylaxis from bee stings and such and would see profound reaction at the point of contact in addition to the systemic affects also noted.

Those experiences is what would skew my index of suspicion to a food induced reaction instead of the corydoras.

 

[Koan]

They shed their toxins into the water, the point of entry is any abrasion in all of the skin that got wet, any mucous membrane that was splashed or contacted with a wet hand.

 

[Pepere]

They shed their toxins into the water, the point of entry is any abrasion in all of the skin that got wet, any mucous membrane that was splashed or contacted with a wet hand.

Do you not get local erythema and swelling at point of ingress?

 

[Akshay]

Do you not get local erythema and swelling at point of ingress?

No, no swelling on the hands at all, just a little rash at the elbow, but this tank is a shallow tank so my elbow never entered the water