Touching Corals Safe?

ParkerK · Jun 9, 2020

Am I aloud to touch coral with my bare hands or should I always use gloves? I know in the Wild we can’t touch it with our hands but not sure about the tank...

Webslinger · Jun 9, 2020

Rule one - keep you hands out of tank.

Always wear gloves.

tehmadreefer · Jun 9, 2020

You shouldn’t touch corals in the wild because they don’t need anymore stress from people manhandling them....

of course you can touch coral but just be mindful you could potentially have an allergic reaction or even be stung by some.

ParkerK · Jun 9, 2020

Webslinger said:
Rule one - keep you hands out of tank.

Always wear gloves.

Ok awesome I’ve been wearing latex ones, are those reef safe?

ParkerK · Jun 9, 2020

tehmadreefer said:
You shouldn’t touch corals in the wild because they don’t need anymore stress from people manhandling them....

of course you can touch coral but just be mindful you could potentially have an allergic reaction or even be stung by some.

Sounds good Been using latex gloves.

MERKEY · Jun 9, 2020

Everyone does it different and is worried about different things....

I personally don't use gloves but I also don't stick my hands in my tank a lot. I also religiously wash my hands before entering the tank.

For me I'm worried what might be on the gloves I'm using. I have worked in the food industry for over 25 years and "sterile" gloves aren't always "sterile". I have used every kind of glove from nitrile, vinyl, latex, neoprene medical grade, even the non powdered ones and they all leave some sort of film on your hands...I don't trust that in my tank.

Its all personal preference but I do agree keep your hands out of your tank as much as possible!

ParkerK · Jun 9, 2020

MERKEY said:
Everyone does it different and is worried about different things....

I personally don't use gloves but I also don't stick my hands in my tank a lot. I also religiously wash my hands before entering the tank.

For me I'm worried what might be on the gloves I'm using. I have worked in the food industry for over 25 years and "sterile" gloves aren't always "sterile". I have used every kind of glove from nitrile, vinyl, latex, neoprene, even the non powdered ones and they all leave some sort of film on your hands...I don't trust that in my tank.

Its all personal preference but I do agree keep your hands out of your tank as much as possible!

Ok yeah I only put hands in tank to syphon pretty much or trying to get rid of my emerald crabs!

scchase · Jun 9, 2020

I touch them without gloves all the time, no problem for them really as long as your hands are clean. On the other hand they can sting you. For me gloves are not much of an option/help

WVNed · Jun 9, 2020

If they were dangerous do you think they could be packed in little bags and shipped all over the world?

revhtree · Jun 9, 2020

I do not use gloves myself and limit the touching of the coral to a minimum. I try to only touch the rock it's attached too or it's skeleton.

Uncle99 · Jun 9, 2020

+1.....only the substrate part I touch and never worn gloves in 30 years.

exception would be carpets, but I don’t keep them

Webslinger · Jun 9, 2020

WVNed said:
If they were dangerous do you think they could be packed in little bags and shipped all over the world?

Touch a zoa/poly then touch your eye....Let me know how long it takes till your blind?...

Better safe than sorry: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/criem/2015/621815/

Billdogg · Jun 9, 2020

It really depends on what coral you are talking about. IME, the only ones to have caused me any trouble were some green (Texas Trash) palythoas. Carpet anemones can bring up welts if you brush tender skin against them. I've never had any problems with any other coral.

The bigger issue IMHO, is what you are doing to them. I try not to touch them at all, and if I do (to move/frag/etc) I try to touch only the base that will end up covered in superglue anyway. I do my best to avoid any living tissue as much as possible.

WVNed · Jun 9, 2020

I have zoas and pallies.

Still not blind after more than 10 years. I dont eat them or lick them though.
I am alergic to shellfish. I am sure my LRS is a great deal more dangerous to me than my corals.

ApoIsland · Jun 9, 2020

ParkerK said:
Am I aloud to touch coral with my bare hands or should I always use gloves? I know in the Wild we can’t touch it with our hands but not sure about the tank...

Depends on each individual persons skin tolerance. I had a girlfriend would get a bad reaction anytime she grabbed a rock to move it before she got gloves. I've never worn a glove and have had my hands on every piece of coral at least a couple times to move it around.

Go without the glove at first, if your hand falls off put a glove on the one you have left.

Kellie in CA · Jun 9, 2020

I don't use gloves, I use 15" tweezers or acrylic rods to do almost all work in the tank. I only put my hands in when it can't be avoided. But I have touched plenty of corals over the years and have never had any kind of reaction. *knock on wood*

ZipAdeeZoa · Jun 9, 2020

WVNed said:
If they were dangerous do you think they could be packed in little bags and shipped all over the world?

I mean I could order some deathstalker scorpions and they would be shipped all the same (minus water)... They got their name for a reason ;Hilarious

I personally just wash my hands with RODI for a minute or two before I put my hands in the tank and don't really worry about it when I handle coral. I typically get a hold of them by the plug or some skeleton with no tissue but when I've bumped the tissue I haven't observed any ill effects to myself or the corals (other than them being very upset fo the next hour or two. If your prone to reaction from mild venom like bee stings than I'd expect you'd be more susceptible or sensitive to contact with corals and potential nematocyst I saw this article on reef breeders showing a rash from contact with some Euphyllia

The Hazards of Catching Fish in a Euphyllia Tank | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

When a casual onlooker asks ‘do corals sting’ we always wonder if we should give them the short answer, or the real answer. Of course all Cnidarians sting, including corals and anemone…

reefbuilders.com

Webslinger · Jun 9, 2020

WVNed said:
I have zoas and pallies.

Still not blind after more than 10 years. I dont eat them or lick them though.
I am alergic to shellfish. I am sure my LRS is a great deal more dangerous to me than my corals.

So your volunteering? Haha