Can aiptasia be touched bare handed?

[Tinnerito]

Another odd question. Can aiptasia anemones be touched by a bare hand? I assume they sting, but does it hurt at all as opposed to other species? I have this really juicy one here, and for months I've been itching to just touch its head a single time to see what it feels like.

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

Here is the long answer. Different people have different sensitivity to anemone stings. I have held multiple anemones and only felt a little ichy afterwards but when I was working retail I had co workers that had hives on their arms cleaning a tank with anemones in it without even touching the anemones.

All of this being said I have never known anyone who has had a negative reaction to aiptasia. They have a very weak sting for an anemone and I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[William Bruckmann]

Here is the long answer. Different people have different sensitivity to anemone stings. I have held multiple anemones and only felt a little ichy afterwards but when I was working retail I had co workers that had hives on their arms cleaning a tank with anemones in it without even touching the anemones.

All of this being said I have never known anyone who has had a negative reaction to aiptasia. They have a very weak sting for an anemone and I wouldn't worry about it.

This. I raise Aiptasia and have never had a problem holding one in my hand. I guess a allergy to the toxin is a possibilty, but I would say highly unlikely.

 

[Jmp998]

If you touch it with 'thick' skin-e..g finger pads etc, you won't feel anything. If you have damaged skin (dry cracked skin in winter or something)-you can barely feel it. Like anything else some people get sensitized to it. I wear 'breeders gloves' when working in my aiptasia tanks, otherwise I get a mild rash on thinner skin on my forearms. I knew an LFS employee years ago that became sensitized to Euphyllia and had to wear gloves when handling them.