Stupid question...Stinging??

[jazzeh]

Okay. So....
Do anemones sting?? Like bad?

I really would like one for my new 29 gallon, but I'm just really curious, like, how you handle them before you put them into your aquarium.I'm new to this, as you can see.
Thanks in advance!

 

[hlcroghan]

Not like you would think. To you and I they would feel sticky and their tentacles will stick to your skin. A fish is much smaller and therefore can be hurt and/or killed by one. The only anemone that I know of that we typically keep in our aquariums that can actually attack a human is a large carpet anemone. Even then, it would be merely very itchy where it touched you and maybe cause that area or your body to swell that it came in contact with. A friend of mine had a very large one attack his forearm while he was moving it from one tank to another, but that anemone was aobut 15 inches across. So unless you are very prone to being allergic or maybe already have some serious known allergies to bees or something similar, then I am going to say you should be fine.
You should seriously wait until your tank is at least 6 months old before adding one though. They are very delicate and have specific requirements of lighting and water quality that is important to maintain. Newer tanks tend to have serious fluctuations and it has a good chance of dying if introduced too quickly. Do you have a specific one that you have in mind?

 

[jazzeh]

Well, this helped... A LOT! And no, I wouldn't be adding it in right now, I'm just thinking in advance. I guess I need to do a little more research. I really like the Long Tentacle Anemone on SWF.

 

[hlcroghan]

I like those as well. I have a green bubble tip in my tank though because they don't tend to get as large. You will find that there is a ton of research out there on the care of anemones and their relationships with clownfish. You will probably change your mind about 20 times before you finally decide which one to put in your tank. Once you decide which one you really want then you can pick your clownfish to host. Or you can decide to go with other fish instead of clowns. Not all clownfish will automatically host an anemone unfortunately. If you are set on false percs, for instance, a long tentacle would not be your best choice. A carpet would be.
Like you said, it just takes time and research....and you are doing very well!!

 

[jazzeh]

Thanks! So far, I haven't even started my tank, and I've probably put about 6 hours of research into it. It's great fun, though.

 

[hlcroghan]

yeah, just wait until you are on here for 3 or 4 hours a day......lol.
This hobby can honestly become an addiction very quickly.

 

[invertcrazy]

And there's no cure for the addiction

 

[oneradtek]

ive never felt a bubble tip sting, however, my frogspawn i accidently brushed up with the underside of my forearm and WOW felt like stinging-neddles. hurt worse when it was out of the water but still not THAT bad. like i said, kind of felt like those stinging neddle plants. and i got a rash after wards that itched haha

 

[wingzfan]

I've been stung on the underside of my forearm by a pink tip haitian and like oneradtek said, it stung pretty bad and gave me a nasty looking welt but it was nothing terrible. It's basically just the senitive parts of your hands and arms that you want to be careful about.