Glad to hear you are ok now Bev! Must have been nervewracking!

Im really careful about what I touch when dealing with corals. I get as much done as possible while my hands are in the tank(so I dont have to dip them in multiple times) and I have papertowel ready when I take them out, then I imediately go wash my arms off.

Chris

Good story, Bev - and a great ending. :biggrin:

I almost expected you to say that when you noticed something was amiss, you automatically rinsed your face in outgoing change water, turkey-basted the affected area, etc etc... :mrgreen:

Ya after my episode I have learned, hands do not go near the face after doing anything in the tank!

Skin is a great barrier to most things but any mucous membranes ie. eyes, lips, mouth is a great place for toxins to get across fast.

Glad to hear you're okay.

No smoking while doing tank stuff!!! :razz:



Christy :)

Yikes, Bev! Glad it all worked out - I've heard a couple of horror stories on RC of doctors stamping their feet and insisting it can't be the fish tank until things got really ugly. I think our local breed doesn't want to admit they don't know anything about tropical diseases.. :(

Anybody else find they get a reaction on their skin when working in the tank? It never seems to fail that when I'm doing a water change and in the tank for more than a minute or two, I get a nasty rash on the underside of the forearm and it always takes a week or so to go away. I'm never brushing against corals there or scraping the sides so I can only assume it's something nasty floating around in the water.

Glad to hear that you're alright Bev.

If you're thinking about using gloves, take a look at G&E Pharmacy... they sell boxes of 100 shoulder length polyethylene gloves for $12.50. The gloves don't last long, but at that price, its a pretty good deal. They're not thick, so its easy to handle more delicate things like corals with them on.

-Rich

I have been looking for those types of gloves.. do you have a phone number? so I can see if they ship or something.

Thanks!

Bev, what you described is exactly what Anthony Califo did to himself 3 times, he tells it after the fact as an amusing story (even better hearing him tell it in person that from reading his book) but he got his from giant sun corals (which are one of the more toxic ones)

Steve

G & E Pharmacy
7326 82 Avenue Northwest, Edmonton, AB T6B0G2
(780) 469-7667

Also try a vet supply place for a local source. I believe these gloves are used by vets and farmers.

-Rich

ROTFLMAO!!!!

Glad to hear it turned ok fine Bev. I did a quick read yesterday morning, before I had to leave for the day.

I have had finger swelling and numbness from handling rock, but never corals yet. I do try to wear gloves, most times. Anyhow, just glad to hear your fine.

Have never worn gloves when working in my tanks over the past half decade. Never had anything but an itchy bump or two on my fingers while in my tanks. Heck, we even half tore down our 120g yesterday to find that snail-sliming worm, took smoke breaks and are both fine today. Was a little more careful to wash hands before smoke breaks, though. One day gonna quit, one day gonna quit :exclaim:

Anyway, didn't find that freaking worm. Even did a 2 hour long bath in very high alk, very low salinity water. Only found two crabs that got the old spear through the body :evil: Was definitely in a killing mood yesterday. If we had found the worm, we had a needle-tipped syringe filled with vinegar ready to inject :2gunfire:

Decided that since we have no idea which rock the worm was in, of the rocks we worked with yesterday, only one went back in the 120g. The others went into the 20g. Will wait a few days to see if any snails are dead in the 120g. If not, we will add another rock every 5-7 days from the 20g to the 120g until dead snails turn up again. The last rock to be placed in the tank will hopefully be our worm rock. Will boil the rock, cure it and place it back in the 120g.

Of course, the evil worm could be in the other stack of rock we didn't work with yesterday, in which case, we're back to the drawing board :confused:

Bev, first let me say I'm glad you're well. I somehow missed this thread. Pretty scary experience, I imagine.

Rich,

Isn't that place a gas? The oddest assortment of products, and busy, busy, busy. You can get your prescription filled, buy some tongue depressors (.02 each), pick out a nice bullwhip, buy your dogfood (cheap) and get a tiki torch, all in one place. I'm expecting them to add picture framing and a fresh bakery some day.

Matthew