Reaching into a tank?

[damselsrck]

Hi! So, I am getting into the "reefing" business, and I am trying to think of all the obvious questions I am going to have BEFORE I bring any coral home... the first one that came to mind was this; How do you place coral, or move coral? A bare hand? Special gloves? Tongs? Sorry.. I just realized that I really don't know exactly how to do it for the safety of the coral, and my hand. lol

 

[barchtruong]

corals don't bite )
hold the rock that they attach to and pick them up
Some anemones can irriate your skin if you are allergic to them. Otherwise, you hand will be fine.

 

[teresaq]

some like zoo do have poision, though i have never had a problem with them. just be aware.

 

[joncat24]

make sure you clean your hands and rinse really well before reaching in.....lotions , oils, soaps, anything on your armas or hands could be a disaster

 

[hot883]

I wear disposable rubber gloves for when I paint, tattoo or mess with corals.

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by joncat24
make sure you clean your hands and rinse really well before reaching in.....lotions , oils, soaps, anything on your armas or hands could be a disaster

I agree with this.
I use my bare hands, but make sure they are rinsed very well before putting them in the tank.

 

[hatessushi]

I always use gloves when I put my hands in the tank. Some coral, anenomes can be dangerous if you are sensitive or allergic to their poison. Sometimes you can't pick a coral up by the rock it is attached to especially if the rock is underneath and hidden by the coral.

 

[joncat24]

also, without gloves on you can feel the corals and feel if you are maybe inflicting any damage. As for the small amount of toxins or stings by my particular corals....I Ain't Skeered!!!

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by joncat24
As for the small amount of toxins or stings by my particular corals....I Ain't Skeered!!!

Once you get hit by a few adult volitan lions and a fire coral, stings from other corals are nothin!

 

[hatessushi]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
Once you get hit by a few adult volitan lions and a fire coral, stings from other corals are nothin!

AND if you happen to have one of those green ringed Octopus or whatever they are, well then your dead, and we don't wanna read about that so take care with anything you do in the tank. I'm sure that most of us believe we don't have cirolanid pods but you never know.

 

[lion_crazz]

Yes, the blue-ringed octo is deadly, as well as a few other SW animals also! :scared:
That is why research is of the utmost importance in this hobby.

 

[hatessushi]

Yes, and here is something from the archives that Beth wrote;
Originally Posted by Beth
I saved this one for last, just because I really hate them. These little ba…ahem… bad critters are fish parasites. They are cirolanid isopods. There is also a pic of one floating around that scares me senseless. They can look blue, brown, clear, what have you, but they all are bad. As soon as you see them, and have properly identified them as a cirolanid isopod, then proceed to CAREFULLY use forceps to remove them, and move the fish to a hospital tank. AND FOR THE LOVE OF AL THAT IS HOLY DO NOT LET THE ISOPOD TOUCH YOUR SKIN! I AM VERY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS! Here is an excerpt from one of Dr. Ron Shimek’s articles.
~~”I had a student who was holding a three centimeter cirolanid that we had just collected in her clenched hand. The bug cut through the flesh of her palm, dug in, and started to eat HER. Her response was rather impressive. So was the tenacity of the isopod, it was HARD to remove it.”

 

[damselsrck]

Ok, yeah.. I think I'd like to use gloves... not thick ones, just the stretchy plastic ones.. although, I'll have to make sure they don't have that powdery stuff (or any chemical for that matter) on them...