First, do you want to?
Two primary reasons: 1. sensitization over time and 2. protecting your corals.
Re: 1. Sensitization: the reason vaccinations work is that our bodies set up defenses against the appearance of something nasty. You can do something of the same thing to yourself by letting yourself encounter stings and marine toxins again and again and again. I hear "but I'm not allergic to things!" ---and this isn't quite like being allergic. It's more like innoculating yourself WITH something meant to kill enemies. The reaction gets worse over time---and of all people, it not uncommonly gets fish store owners, who day after day are reaching into tank water without gloves. Hobbyists may not do it as often, and some are susceptible faster than others, but we get it too. What happens varies---sometimes a redness and swelling of the hands, sometimes just from putting hands in the water WITH corals, let alone being stung. Repeated stings from bristleworms can ultimately get you so sensitive that your fingers swell up and tissue feels hard to the touch. And with that sensitivity comes pain. Sincere pain. You want to enjoy this hobby a long time? Wear gloves.
Re: 2. protecting the corals. Some corals exude chemicals when annoyed; others actually fire liittle harpoons from special cells. Bristleworms lose bristles when they sting and have to re-grow them. In both of the latter cases, the animal's tissue may tear and wound. Why? Our hands are quite grippy, having many tiny ridges that catch and hold. The animal has to heal itself after a handling that, so far as it's concerned, is as wounding, as if it had been attacked. It has to use precious resources to recover.
And 3, if you have a cut on your hand it's even worse exposure of your system to toxins. Not mentioning the bacteria.
Ok, if deciding to wear gloves (2)...
Which gloves are best?
Cheap and plentiful are the nitrile exam gloves available at your pharmacy, and they do come in small and large. These are white, flexible, and you can pick up a dime. You can also put a rubber band around your wrist to seal out water---but a supply of waterproof bandages is a good backup. Use and toss these gloves. They are actually good defense against biting clownfish and bristleworm spines don't jab you through them.
IF you have to handle rock with a known poisonous species in the tank, eg a rabbitfish, lionfish, etc...you do not want to get tagged. These stings are about like a spiderbite, and some can get really bad: I've seen one where tissue was turning black (necrosing:dying) around the bite, just like a bad fiddleback spider bite. This was from a rabbitfish (rabbits have a bad habit of plastering themselves to rock in camo, and with debris kicked up in the water, you can definitely pick up a rock and get tagged, or back him into a corner and get tagged.)--- To protect yourself if you MUST work around one of these, get the blue and red over the elbow gloves, which are thick and waterproof, and put those on OVER a pair of leather driving gloves or gardening gloves: that's pretty good armor, a bit clumsy and the big gloves tend to try to float, but you can still work with it.
The nitrile exam gloves are your regular defense---enough to protect you against most things, and with the added bennie of protecting your sensibilities if you have to handle something you'd rather not have the smell of on your hands for days, like a demised anemone.
HTH.
Two primary reasons: 1. sensitization over time and 2. protecting your corals.
Re: 1. Sensitization: the reason vaccinations work is that our bodies set up defenses against the appearance of something nasty. You can do something of the same thing to yourself by letting yourself encounter stings and marine toxins again and again and again. I hear "but I'm not allergic to things!" ---and this isn't quite like being allergic. It's more like innoculating yourself WITH something meant to kill enemies. The reaction gets worse over time---and of all people, it not uncommonly gets fish store owners, who day after day are reaching into tank water without gloves. Hobbyists may not do it as often, and some are susceptible faster than others, but we get it too. What happens varies---sometimes a redness and swelling of the hands, sometimes just from putting hands in the water WITH corals, let alone being stung. Repeated stings from bristleworms can ultimately get you so sensitive that your fingers swell up and tissue feels hard to the touch. And with that sensitivity comes pain. Sincere pain. You want to enjoy this hobby a long time? Wear gloves.
Re: 2. protecting the corals. Some corals exude chemicals when annoyed; others actually fire liittle harpoons from special cells. Bristleworms lose bristles when they sting and have to re-grow them. In both of the latter cases, the animal's tissue may tear and wound. Why? Our hands are quite grippy, having many tiny ridges that catch and hold. The animal has to heal itself after a handling that, so far as it's concerned, is as wounding, as if it had been attacked. It has to use precious resources to recover.
And 3, if you have a cut on your hand it's even worse exposure of your system to toxins. Not mentioning the bacteria.
Ok, if deciding to wear gloves (2)...
Which gloves are best?
Cheap and plentiful are the nitrile exam gloves available at your pharmacy, and they do come in small and large. These are white, flexible, and you can pick up a dime. You can also put a rubber band around your wrist to seal out water---but a supply of waterproof bandages is a good backup. Use and toss these gloves. They are actually good defense against biting clownfish and bristleworm spines don't jab you through them.
IF you have to handle rock with a known poisonous species in the tank, eg a rabbitfish, lionfish, etc...you do not want to get tagged. These stings are about like a spiderbite, and some can get really bad: I've seen one where tissue was turning black (necrosing:dying) around the bite, just like a bad fiddleback spider bite. This was from a rabbitfish (rabbits have a bad habit of plastering themselves to rock in camo, and with debris kicked up in the water, you can definitely pick up a rock and get tagged, or back him into a corner and get tagged.)--- To protect yourself if you MUST work around one of these, get the blue and red over the elbow gloves, which are thick and waterproof, and put those on OVER a pair of leather driving gloves or gardening gloves: that's pretty good armor, a bit clumsy and the big gloves tend to try to float, but you can still work with it.
The nitrile exam gloves are your regular defense---enough to protect you against most things, and with the added bennie of protecting your sensibilities if you have to handle something you'd rather not have the smell of on your hands for days, like a demised anemone.
HTH.
