Do Anemone's sting humans?

par55347 · 02-03-2007, 03:07 PM

I just bought my first Anemone and am not sure if I can touch it. I heard they sting but do they sting humans for just fish? Are they poisonous to humans? I am very allergic to bee stings so will they hurt me? The guy at the fish store said they do sting but he can’t feel them anymore because he is used to it. Am I ok to pick it up and put it where I want it to be? Thanksffice

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eswebster · 02-03-2007, 03:09 PM

depends on what kind it is..... most of them you would be fine, I dont think i have ever felt a "sting" they tend to stick to your skin but i have never been stung. From what i have heard the colored carpets can be a different story though.

Clownnut · 02-03-2007, 03:50 PM

yes. anemone can sting you back hand, they cant sting your pams.
carpet anemone and hell fire anemone are the worst.
i remeber Julian talked about there is fresh eating anemone.

hypoxia · 02-03-2007, 03:50 PM

Don't handle it if at all possible. You're stronger than it, obviously, and there's a risk you could damage it.

freshfish · 02-04-2007, 12:22 AM

My green bubble tip stung me once when I was moving it. I had an open cut on my hand from a piece of live rock when he touched the cut it stung pretty good for a couple of minutes. As far a being alergenic not sure.

armagedon48 · 02-04-2007, 12:33 AM

the skin on the insides of our hands is thick enough the stinging cells dont reach our nerves so we dont feel it, though when you pull away you can tell whats going on. some people develope a reaction to the sting (i have heard of people that cant touch hammer and frogspawns because of the reaction). then some anemones have stinger cells that can get through our thicker skin.
im sure if you had your anemone touch your under-arm where the skin is thin, it would hurt. as mentioned above, having a cut allows the stingers to actualy get under that thick layer of skin and deal damage (though minor in most cases).

storrisch · 02-04-2007, 01:44 AM

Agree. I believe I am the one that sold you the anemone today at WOF. The most I have ever noticed is a small amount of redness from a very large carpet anemone. If you are allergic to be stings you might want to keep an epi-pen close by just in case. talk to the guys at reef-mania about adding that to the next set up fragging toolboxes they build. (founders of the Epi-Pen holster....cuz we care about reefers.) Reef-mania the bill is in the mail just make the check out to Garrett Brueland.

mmn_usn · 02-04-2007, 02:23 AM

I have touched quite a few BTAs and the only time I felt anything was when I moved one from a bucket to the tank and I somehow got the base on the top part of my hand... that hurt. I have touched a very large green carpet in the wild and had no problems with that. Fire coral and barnicles on the other hand... have a few scars from those.

jbplay · 02-05-2007, 10:10 AM

I've found that my tank and I have been happier since I started using the disposable "reef sleeves" from thefilterguys.biz. I don't get the weird rash I used to get from brushing against the frogspawn, I can hand feed the BTA and brain corals, and no soap or skin oils get into the tank. Plus, if you ever have to help a cow give birth you're all set

mattb · 02-05-2007, 01:27 PM

That rash wasn't from your frogspawn...

mtfatwork · 02-05-2007, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattb

That rash wasn't from your frogspawn...

VolitanFF · 02-05-2007, 02:06 PM

I had bumped into a sebae anemone I used to have.. and all it did was felt like velcro.. the tenticles were stuck to my hand.. maybe it thought it found lunch?

trodder · 02-05-2007, 02:39 PM

Usually a red rash is all you wil get if anything but you should put gloves on just to be safe...

jbplay · 02-05-2007, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattb

That rash wasn't from your frogspawn...

Somehow I knew that using rash in a sentence was going to cost me...

capman · 02-05-2007, 03:15 PM

Ron Shimek talks about how when he was young and foolish (his words) he used to touch anemones all the time and not worry about it. Then he developed a sensitivity after repeated contact (and you never know when such sensitivities will rear their heads) and now he reacts very badly to contact with anemones. Given your bee sting issues, I would think it would be prudent to be careful.

Incidentally, there was mention above to barnacles. To my knowledge, there are no barnacles that can sting, but I'm sure you can get scratched up or even lacerated pretty badly from scraping an arm or leg against them, since they can have sharp edges.