ok, so you wear gloves when you work in your tank, esp moving rock.

Sk8r

Sk8r

Staff member
RC Mod
Note to self; you also wear them while unclogging a sink drain clogged by stray cheato strands from your tank.

I have a very, very sore hand: bristleworms' revenge. Vinegar on the area immediately after exposure, maybe an antihistimine after that, but the more you get stung over the years, the worse the stings get. I have been at this many years. Ow. Ow. Ow. Drat!
 
I must just be lucky, I've never been stung by anything in the tank. My first tank had tons of big old gnarly bristle worms. So did my second one. I brushed a small one once, but surprisingly didn't get stung. Or maybe I am just Bristleman. LOL, couldn't help myself.
 
I have only been stung once. Picked up a rock and something pierce the end of a finger. Not sure what it was but it left a very small perfect circle hole in my finger. a 64th or maybe even a 128th of an inch.

But to make up for that I have gotten Palytoxin poisoning. This hobby is not with out it's dangers.
 
Didn't know there were dangers within my rock. I read about the gloves and purchased a box of nitrile ones but haven't warn them yet since the only thing in my tank is rocks and sand. Ive been playing with the rocks working on my aquascape. Guess I should wear them!?!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
If any of that rock was live, there is likely a hitchhiker or ten. You have no idea how many holes are in your live rock until you see where all the critters come out from at night.
 
Bristles don't hurt when you get them, usually: you don't even notice it. And the more sensitive you are, the more you feel it after a few hours. It's a little calcium carbonate spicule (vinegar dissolves them, which is why, if you realize you've been jabbed, soaking fingers in vinegar is recommended.) But over repeated exposure, the body decides it really hates whatever nastiness comes with the jab, and your fingers can swell and have very sore spots where the actual wounds are.

Fish get hit with these too, but they fall off after a few days, with no action by us, and fish don't ever seem to suffer from the encounter: I had one firefish that got it several times before he figured it out.

But after you've been at it a few decades, your fingers really get sore when you get hit.
 
I've had SW tanks for 11 years. I bought some vet exam gloves, the kind that go up to your shoulder. No luck, the water still seeped into invisible holes in them. Guess they are only good for large mammal poo, lol. However, it's essential to use at least the nitrile ones when working in the tank. Very rarely have I had a reaction/irritation and never stung. However, when I'm finished working on it I wash really well with anti-bacterial soap. (of course make sure you don't have to go back in that day)
 
Well, I guess I'm the contrarian in the group. Twelve years in and I've never worn gloves and never been hurt by anything. I snorkel 10 to 15 days a year and do some collecting and lots of investigating under rocks and I ALWAYS wear dive gloves. But at home in my 4 aquariums I've never had any issues.

And I'll be the first to admit that mosquito bites hardly bother me, even bee stings only raise a short term whelt. So I'm probably more immune to some of the issues others react to more violently.
 
I've been at this a few years more than 12. There was a decade or so that I didn't react either...just sayin'. For me, it started about 7 years ago, and got worser and worser.
 
A little duct tape can pull the bristles out. My finger was itchy swollen and red for a week the last time i got hit by one. Should you wear gloves? Yes.
 
I'm guilty of never wearing gloves. I've scraped my hand on a hammer coral and got stung from that. Otherwise, been pretty lucky so far.
 
I see. I figured that if I can pull large bristle worms out of the rocks with my bare hands that I'm somehow immune to the itching and swelling. I wondered why I can also brush against my anemones with the back of my fingers and feel nothing. My wife says it's just No Brain, No Pain. :D Guess I better invest in some good gloves then.
 
Nitrile throwaway exam gloves are good for a lot of household uses as well as in the tank---they're smooth, and don't catch on sea creature spines, for one big thing. They won't protect you from a lion fish, but will from worms and corals.
 
Wore gloves all day at work (i work for a wholesaler) and removed them to eat lunch and washed hands. Customer asks for 2 lbs of chaeto right as I grab my food.... in a pinch I dunk hand into chaeto trough to grab what was requested..... big ol bristleworm in the chaeto with its spines all out because I disturbed it..... Fun times as my knuckles inflated for a while. Ran to the tape gun and ripped off as many as i could.
 
Shawn O said:
I see. I figured that if I can pull large bristle worms out of the rocks with my bare hands that I'm somehow immune to the itching and swelling. I wondered why I can also brush against my anemones with the back of my fingers and feel nothing. My wife says it's just No Brain, No Pain. :D Guess I better invest in some good gloves then.
Click to expand...

Anemones have never bothered me either. At least the bubble tips. I've never touched anything more potent, but I'd pick up bubble tips as they were moving around and never feel a thing.
 
bro if you get nailed really bad and see the bristles sticking out, get some superglue and load it up, once dried peel away the glue/bristles, helps your finger recover faster, I got stung on my arm by an algae clip covered in aiptasia, looked like a reaction to poison ivy, cortisone cream helped
 
a few weeks ago i was moving some rocks around and grabbed one that was covered in palys. within minutes, my whole hand/arm tingled, got red, swelled a little and just felt weird for an hour or so. really do need to start wearing gloves. i have artificial hips, can't afford any sort of infection. that would be catastrophic!

Ron Reefman said:
And I'll be the first to admit that mosquito bites hardly bother me, even bee stings only raise a short term whelt.
Click to expand...

i am SO freakin' jealous!! i have a terrible reaction to skeeters. i have to spray pretty much every time i walk out the door. and bees/wasps? i have to carry an epi pen.
 
Nina51 said:
a few weeks ago i was moving some rocks around and grabbed one that was covered in palys. within minutes, my whole hand/arm tingled, got red, swelled a little and just felt weird for an hour or so. really do need to start wearing gloves. i have artificial hips, can't afford any sort of infection. that would be catastrophic!



i am SO freakin' jealous!! i have a terrible reaction to skeeters. i have to spray pretty much every time i walk out the door. and bees/wasps? i have to carry an epi pen.
Click to expand...

If you are messing around with Zoas you really need to be extra careful. I won't have them in my tank after spending 3 days in the hospital. It is a little disconcerting when the EMT you called Googles Palytoxin looks at you and says "oh Sh*t, 2nd most fatal marine toxin.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2515630
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Sk8r
things ok to be in your tank---and less so.
Replies
2
Views
536
Sk8r
Sk8r
Sk8r
Gloves---why to, how to, what if not?
Replies
1
Views
827
2000se
2
Sk8r
Your Cleanup Crew, inverts, and You... FYI
2
Replies
30
Views
4K
Amoo
Amoo
Sk8r
What in my tank can harm me? fyi
Replies
11
Views
1K
Sk8r
Sk8r
S
Gloves...wear your protection
Replies
7
Views
617
joecold
joecold
Back
Top