Coral Handling Opinion...?

So I purchased a few ricordeas Online today! (They will be here tomorrow). I just wanted to hear some opinions on handling them... I know some people use gloves, while others use bare hands for some corals and such... I cant find any info about handling them online! Anyone have any suggestions?

 

I dont use gloves to be honest, but I try not to handle the coral , if they are on a rock, they will be shrunk from tansit in the dark and as such should be easy to pick up and place rock without touching the shrooms

if they are on frag plug - same principle IME (depends on size of Ric versus size of plug) but it should still be possible to make contact with the plug and not the Ric

tongs are a great idea if you are ever moving corals in the tank itself IME

Steve

 

I never use gloves either. I should but I don't. I don't touch my zoas or palys though. If I ever need to touch those I'll find some gloves as they are quite toxic.

 

Thanks! for the opinions! I actually have a pair of tongs that should work out well!

 

I touch anything... I am extra careful if I have a cut and handle some lps like a torch, frogspawn, or hammer cause if they touch that wound it stings like a mother....

 

well I am caeful not to touch paly anymore... I had a bad reaction from palys before.. wasnt fun. Thats why I rid my tank of these nasty beings

 

I think some people react to corals and some people don't. You can just see what happens, or use gloves from the beginning. Let us know if you ever have a reaction or something!

 

From Zoantharia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some zoanthids contain the highly toxic substance palytoxin. Palytoxin is one of the most toxic organic substances in the world, but there is an ongoing debate over the concentration of this toxin in these animals.[citation needed] However, even in small quantities, the toxin can be fatal should it be ingested or enter the blood stream. If delivered immediately, vasodilators injected into the ventricle of the heart can act as an antidote.[1]

In order for this toxin to be dangerous to humans, the average aquarist would need to ingest the zoanthid in sufficient quantities, or brush a recent cut over it. Average handling, propagation and aquarium maintenance is unlikely to pose any danger beyond a localized skin reaction.[citation needed]

 

If you are allergic to bees or anything like that don't touch corals or any anemones.
I did pick up a piece of fire coral the other day and didn't get stung I am a little bit dangerous LOL I have been stung worse by open cuts then anything. I do watch it around big palythoas they can make you go to sleep for a while and some for ever. caribean and australian palys are the worse.

 

Haha, Jumping ahead! Just getting some little ricordeas!!! Thanks everyone.