An Adelaide home has been quarantined after a "very peculiar incident" in which the cleaning of coral in a fish tank sparked a chemical reaction that led to a family being hospitalised.
Emergency crews were called to the Aldinga Beach home at about 2am on Tuesday after a couple and their four children became unwell.
Country Fire Service SA Hazardous Materials specialist Sam Quigley says it is believed spores released from coral in a fish tank, when it was cleaned hours earlier, caused a chemical reaction.
The family was taken to hospital and their home quarantined, with authorities yet to enter as they try to work out how to handle the incident.
"We're on a bit of a fact-finding mission as this is a very peculiar incident to us as well," Mr Quigley told ABC radio on Tuesday.
The CFS is speaking with marine biologists with expertise in coral to seek their advice on cleaning up the spores.
"It's a very unusual job for us, we haven't come across something like this in South Australia," Mr Quigley said.
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