Can anemones sting you?

[[17]shawn[17]]

ok probabuly a really stuped question but can Can anemones sting you? just wondering cuz im thinking of geting one for my tank ?

 

[Sk8r]

Yes, but few sting painfully. Most feel like masking tape tugging at the skin.

Anything with tentacles tends to sting a little. There are curious cells called nematocysts [google that for a diagram] that actually fire little harpoons when touched. They can even do it when the animal is dead, as I found out when stirring some man-of-war debris on a Texas beach.

If you are stung, hot water will relieve the pain.

 

[superman1013]

Like Sk8r said, they can sting you, but your skin on your hands are thick enough for the nematocyst not to penetrate. Now if you lick an anemone that would be a diff story...

 

[dragonladylea]

Depends on the Anemone also, some are able to penetrate the skin as my husband found out about 3 years ago. It took almost a month for the numbness in his thumb to completely go away. We were never able to positively identify the anemone.

 

[argus]

what type did that???

 

[dragonladylea]

We were never able to positively identify the anemone.

Small solid dark red anemone.

 

[a4twenty]

carpet anemones have a nasty sting that can hurt a human.

 

[SVXH6]

my H. Magnifica stung my forearm and i had dots (looked like a rash), and raised bumps for over a month.. when it first happened my forearm turned bright red, was itchy and on fire..

 

[Flighty]

(itches finger and forearm) yes they can. A good anemone which is rarely strong enough to bother the skin is a Bubbletip. They are also by far one of the best first anemones to try for several reasons (continues itching)

 

[Rod Buehler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7541991#post7541991 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by a4twenty
carpet anemones have a nasty sting that can hurt a human.

hadonis and helianthus yes, but giganteas lack the stinging ability. They are very sticky, but do not sting. Im not sure about merts..

 

[r00onmac]

i had a condy mess up the back of my hand once... ok well maybe mess up is an overstatement... it felt like a sunburn for a day or two...

 

[phender]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7544446#post7544446 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rod Buehler
hadonis and helianthus yes, but giganteas lack the stinging ability. They are very sticky, but do not sting. Im not sure about merts..

I think the stickiness of the anemone is it stinging you. The "venom" just isn't as potent in some anemones as in others.
FWIW: Mertens are sticky and (at least in my case) can cause welts on the back of your hand. I am not sure why the Fautin/ Allen book says they are not sticky.

 

[hgbarwick]

I have a huge green carpet anenome in my 90 gallon. The guy who was taking it out of the tank at my LFS got stung. So I know they can sting. What I did when I put him in my tank, was taking the bag thing he was in and placing him in thier like that. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Rod Buehler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7551380#post7551380 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by phender
I think the stickiness of the anemone is it stinging you. The "venom" just isn't as potent in some anemones as in others.
FWIW: Mertens are sticky and (at least in my case) can cause welts on the back of your hand. I am not sure why the Fautin/ Allen book says they are not sticky.

The Fautin/allen book states that giganteas "do not cause stinging sensation." I guess its all in the definition of "sting(ing)". Having thick skin, I can say that I have never been "stung" by anything in this hobby, but hear of others mentioning it often. I find all of my stichodactyla species to be very sticky (I dont have a mert.) but have never been actually stung.. I have had dead skin pull off of my hand, and have had anemone tenticles left behind on my hand, but never stung.

OT.. Speaking of fautin/Allen book.. Has anyone ever noticed that they chose four pics of very bleached anemones for their front cover? I wonder why

 

[steveh28]

i got it good from a green carpet one time i fed it. now i know to hold the food a little higer up if i dont want my thum to feel like i got burnt....