Who wears gloves?

reefboy · Jan 19, 2008

As said before I didnt ware gloves but now do everyones reaction will be diffrent it took years before i had any noticable problem but now it can be painful and annoying.Dont ware gloves up to you but this could happen and its not fun plus you keep outside toxins out of your system as a bonus.

and thats just one hand its the same for other three fingers.

czieler · Jan 19, 2008

Reefboy... I've been having the same problem since last year. I didn't use gloves for a yr and a half..and now every time I put my hand in the tank... it ends up looking like yours...if I'm not wearing gloves.

If I'm just going in the tank for something quick... say to pick up a coral that fell off.. I put on a latex glove w/ a rubber band around the top... I've pretty much avoided doing anything more than that in the tank...but have purchased long neoprene gloves to try...next time I have to.

Also a side note... I've found that 'Bag Balm' from wal mart in a green tin ... helps wonders with the dry/cracked skin.... my fingers are almost back to normal..although my finger print seems permanently screwed up..and itches sometimes even though the skin looks healthy now... it's strange..heh

freeze · Jan 19, 2008

I try and use the tongs as much as possible. There is always a time where the tongs won't work and I stick my bare hands in. I should wear gloves though. I have lots of bristle worms. Never got stung though - I must be lucky.

reefboy · Jan 19, 2008

czieler said:
Reefboy... I've been having the same problem since last year. I didn't use gloves for a yr and a half..and now every time I put my hand in the tank... it ends up looking like yours...if I'm not wearing gloves.

If I'm just going in the tank for something quick... say to pick up a coral that fell off.. I put on a latex glove w/ a rubber band around the top... I've pretty much avoided doing anything more than that in the tank...but have purchased long neoprene gloves to try...next time I have to.

Also a side note... I've found that 'Bag Balm' from wal mart in a green tin ... helps wonders with the dry/cracked skin.... my fingers are almost back to normal..although my finger print seems permanently screwed up..and itches sometimes even though the skin looks healthy now... it's strange..heh

yep it is glad yours has healed up still working on mine but its getting better.

FateX8 · Jan 19, 2008

wow reefboy, that looks like you have superglue all over your finger or something
before my incident i never wore gloves and never had a problem until recently when i was packing up my corals i picked up a rock and under it was a huge bristle worm, well lets just say that bristleworm is now just a worm because all its bristle were left in my finger, ok not all but there were a lot of bristles just sticking out
after i removed as many as i could a few hours later my finger started to sting where the joint was and it was swelling up
now that finger doesnt hurt but now my middle finger hurts and still does when i bend it, wierdest thing but i try to wear gloves now
if i already posted my story sorry, it just freakin sucks, and i still dont have any health insurance!

Reef Goddess · Jan 19, 2008

Bristle worms have a pretty potent sting especially when you get a load of them. The best thing to do is dry off the area and take a piece of duck tape or packing tape, stick it on the area and rip it off. This is the most effective way of removing bristles.

I was recently stung by my radiata lionfish. I was in a hurry putting corals away, he got too close and barely nicked my middle finger. It didn't hurt too much at first and I went in soaked it in apple vinegar immediately.
After awhile it started aching and at its peak was like a strong wasp sting that radiated to the rest of my hand. Only my finger swelled up and the joint hurt because I got hit right by it. I took a claritin just to be safe. The vinegar didn't seem to help much with this particular sting and it took at least 2-3 hrs for the pain to go away. The next day my finger was fine and just a little itchy. It wasn't his fault, he just likes to follow me around in the name of food. lol I've had him for a year and half now, it was bound to happen sometime.

JGoslee · Jan 19, 2008

I've never worn gloves while handling any of my corals. I have been cut before when I was moving liverock around but that doesn't really bother me.

FateX8 · Jan 20, 2008

i think the vinegar soak is for bristleworms, i heard that its supposed to dissolve the bristles because its calcium based?
dont know if thats true but thats what im hearin

Reef Goddess · Jan 20, 2008

I think you'd have to do a pretty long soak for that to happen. lol
Vinegar is good for most any type of sting because it helps neutralize the toxins.

AussieLordfan · Jan 21, 2008

I did wear em' but found it a pita trying to hand feed my corals shrimp, scallops,etc. So now no gloves.

Steven Pro · Jan 21, 2008

After having contracted Mycobacterium once (http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/sp/feature/index.php) I always wear gloves now. I really like these ones, http://www.labsafety.com/search/144380/58032/

Rickyrooz · May 30, 2008

I only wear the 24" gloves when I'm cleaning. It's too hard to grip corals with the gloves on during fragging or moving the rocks around.

Russellaqua · May 30, 2008

I've never worn gloves, but I have essentially no sensitivities either. I can literally bare hand fire coral and only get a faint tingling sensation. That's the worst feeling I've gotten from any coral. Probably should wear glove though, just to be safe.

Pitcom · May 30, 2008

I never updated but, i never ended up getting gloves. I found out it was the soap that did it to me. Everytime i had my arms in the tank i was just using the soap at the kitchen sink, dawn. It has SD alcohol in it, which as i found out, after scrubbing with every day for 6 months will really dry-out and crack your skin. Havent had any more problems.

mofrags · Jun 6, 2008

anyone looked into the studies of damaged corals contracting herpies? Another reason for certain people to allways wear gloves in the hobby.

Rickyrooz · Jun 6, 2008

I've been getting bumps on my hands after working in my tank. I went to a dermatologist and found out I have warts and granuloma annulare which look like a ring shaped bump, they are only on my hands so I'm pretty sure they are from the fish tank. Does anyone know what could be causing this, corals, live rock, fish?