Don't let anyone make you feel like a 'girleyman' (or girleygirl). Wear gloves when you put your hands in a marine tank. Reasons?
1) accidently brushing into zoanthids and transferring anything to your mouth
2) avoids contact with bristleworms (yowch)
3) might protect your own inhabitants if there is something bad on YOUR hands.
Many people touch the corals but I don't recommend it. You can injure and you CAN get stung by some....not good if you have an allergy to it. Corals should be handled carefully and by the frag it is on if possible.
Most people recommend keeping your hands OUT of the tank as much as possible. I find that hard to do. Some corals need spot feeding...some fish need spot feeding...some corals get knocked over. But..you CAN buy some tools to minimize contact. The reason for doing this is to avoid transferring stuff from YOU into the tank, eg, oils, perfumes, soaps....stuff is TOXIC to marine big time. SH
1) accidently brushing into zoanthids and transferring anything to your mouth
2) avoids contact with bristleworms (yowch)
3) might protect your own inhabitants if there is something bad on YOUR hands.
Many people touch the corals but I don't recommend it. You can injure and you CAN get stung by some....not good if you have an allergy to it. Corals should be handled carefully and by the frag it is on if possible.
Most people recommend keeping your hands OUT of the tank as much as possible. I find that hard to do. Some corals need spot feeding...some fish need spot feeding...some corals get knocked over. But..you CAN buy some tools to minimize contact. The reason for doing this is to avoid transferring stuff from YOU into the tank, eg, oils, perfumes, soaps....stuff is TOXIC to marine big time. SH
