I plan on picking up my first LR next week and I'm curious about handling it. I've searched through threads and read something about bristle worm. What do I need to know about handling LR to prevent 1. damage to the rock and 2. damage to me!?

(1) Don't beat it against the ground.
(2) Don't beat it against yourself

PS Keep it wet to avoid damaging the organisms that live in it.

GRAB THEM BARE HANDED IN YOUR UNDERWEAR AND DONT BE A SISSY!!! hahah jkjk um i put mine in a cold saltwater bath, shook em off and then put em in the tank and started the cycle..I do everything bare handed and usually have cuts on my hands too.. I live on the edge....

I always wear some powder free gloves when messing with anything that has to do with the tank. I also always have cuts and scapes on my hand, but I think I still would wear gloves even if I did'nt have beat up hands

Underwaer might be a problem... I usually go commando....

Seriously though, I'm more worried about the rock than myself I think. I don't want to damage it's living components... I'm pretty sure that's why I'm paying so darn much for it.

Okay... sounds good... better safe than sorry... This forum is full of ominous posters prophesizing certain doom for those who fail to cover every angle...

There are seriously tons of diseases you can get from fish tanks. If you have cuts, dont mess around in the tank. Some pretty nasty ones out there, hopefully you have good luck, immune system, and health insurance. Some can kill you!

I'm Canadian... Health Insurance won't be a problem... Thanks for the heads up... and furthering my thoughts that certain doom is lurking around every corner in a nano reef

I brought my rock home in a bucket of SW to keep everything fresh with little or no die off. You most likely won't see the creatures living on the rock when its out of the water because they hide. I don't think your rock will bite you.

Lucky... America is so dysfunctional...

Actually, this is the preferred method by some for creating custom sized pieces ! but it may hurt the inhabitance.

EEEEEWWWWWWWWW! Now there is a mental picture I did not need. JK.

To combat the bristle worms, get you some good kitchen cleaning gloves, you know the really thick ones.

As for the live rock, that would depend on where its coming from. If it is coming from a tank. put it in.

Coming from the ocean:

Make up a tub with salt water in it.
Get a hard bristled scrub brush.
Take the rock and piece by piece scrub as hard as you can to get all the crap off of it. LR will go through a die off, you want to try to get the dying junk off so it doesn't pollute your tank.
After you have scrubbed it, throw it in and watch to see what comes out of it. You will get things to come out, and you will NOT kill everything by scrubbing it. Good luck. Mark

so your saying I shouldn't swirl my finger diabetic poked, holey, finger tips in the water?

Im joking, im just not so good at it...

Don't say stuff like that if you don't want to get bashed. I'm not one to bash other peoples opinions but there are plenty others if you want to get them angry.



Seriously? Can I get some more information? I never knew anything about these "diseases".

how bad are bristle worms? i just got my live rock a couple days ago and after handling it i had "splinter like sting" in parts of my hand. almost exactly like a fiberglass splinter if youve ever had one. you can feel them but not see them.. but today i found a little bristle worm coming out of a rock. so are they no worse than a sting?

[Citation Needed]

That worm was likely a fire worm (the most common bristle worm group), and you've seen how they get their name. However, besides stinging, they are actually very good scavengers.

I wasn't going to, but since you brought it up.


If you don't like it, GET OUT!!!!! None of us will care.

I only bash people in real life. I don't cyberbash.

Wow...

There's a lot of random stuff in here.

Meech, don't worry about your LR. Unless your rock is going to spend days out of your tank just keep it from drying out. If it's cured LR, great. You don't need to rinse it, just put it in the tank with your freshly mixed saltwater. If it's not cured, fine. You don't really need to scrub it but do what you like. The only reason I would do anything to the rock (cured or un-cured) before putting it in my tank would be to break it up or manually remove something I can easily identify as a nuisance (this would be a good time to remove bubble algae for example).

As for gloves, wear 'em if you've got 'em. I never wear gloves (my hands don't go in my tank very often) but after handling rock I usually end up with at least a few "fiberglass splinters" which hurt until I pluck them out. I also don't stick my hands in the tank if I have any cuts.

Mature saltwater will be teeming with all sorts of bacteria. A small fraction of those bacteria can do harm to you. You won't get a disease from your saltwater as very few diseases are communicable from fish to humans (Although tuberculosis is I believe). What you do risk is getting an infection or an allergic reaction.

i put my liverock in a bucket and used a turkeybaster to blast it with tankwater - got out all kinds of pods, bristle worms, 2 urchins, small coneshell snail, nass snail, and limpet.
Only selectively kept a few of them - did this all bare handed and got a nasty rash the night of- took benedryl and it's fine today

yeah, i probably SHOULD wear gloves too, ive noticed anytime i stick my hands in the tank and have a cut, the cut tends to be a bit tender the following day...

got yer six shooter on ya??i got my lynchin rope..(.hahah thats a line from Knocked Up) please dont report me

im a noob, so i have lots to learn before i become a jedi...There are an awful lot of intelligent friendly people on this forum, and it is a privilege to be able to inquire as to how to set up something one would think is simple....

dont take my advice, I jump out of airplanes for fun

" Finally, in this short presentation, I would like to briefly discuss fish tank diseases that can be transmitted to humans. Some can be difficult to cure….some can be quickly FATAL.

Fish TB (MYCOBACTERIUM MARINUM), also called fish tuberculosis, fish tank granuloma, swimming pool granuloma. …Related to human TB and leprosy. Bacteria are very resistant to treatment. Usually occurs on extremities (hands, feet). Entrance through wounds. Incubation ranges from 2 days to 2 years; usually takes about 2 weeks for granuloma to appear at site of infection. Infected area may be pink to purple in color, may discharge pus, and may be painful to touch. Treated with human TB drugs (local doctors have used minocycline, rifampin, ethambutol, and biaxin); can take a long time to cure (year or more). People have gotten fish TB from fish spine punctures, cleaning fish/shrimp/crabs, getting scratched on fish tanks, from rose bushes and injuring bare feet in parking lots (infected water transferred via air during storms), mouth-siphoning fish tanks, dolphin bites, diving around reefs, splinters from fish net handles, etc. Usually not fatal. Can get into joints and mimic arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome. Most frequent type of aquatic infection seen in my area.

VIBRIO infections. Several species can infect humans: V. ALGINOLYTICUS (wound infections), V.DAMSELA (wound/systemic infections), V. PARAHAEMOLYTICUS (gastroenteritis/wound infections),V.VULNIFICUS (wound/gastroenteritis/systemic infections). Systemic infections with vulnificus or damsela can be rapidly FATAL, or lead to limb amputation.. Systemic infections gotten through wounds. Incubation of vulnificus is 1-5 days; median time is 28 hours. Symptoms include high fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, low blood pressure, seizures, fluid- filled skin lesions, etc. Gastrointestinal infections via ingestion of vulnificus (eating raw oysters, etc) and other species of Vibrio can cause rapid dehydration, and can lead to systemic infections if bacteria enter blood. Vulnificus can multiply so rapidly that blood vessels and organs get clogged…sometimes leading to amputation or death. Antibiotics utilized have been tetracycline, ampicillin, penicillin, gentamycin, etc. (Also see Dr. Bingman's paper of 4/6/97 at REEFS LIBRARY).

ERYSIPELOTHRIX RHUSIOPATHIAE, also known as erythema migrans, fish-handler's disease, fish poisoning, fish hand, sealer's finger, whale finger, blubber finger, etc..…Disease primarily occupational …..people handling animals or their wastes can get, e.g.: butchers, meat-processing workers, animal caretakers, farmers, fishermen, veterinarians, cooks/housewives, sewer workers, etc. Can persist in frozen meats. Incubation 1-7 days. Fever, malaise, pain in muscles & joints, severe headaches. Infections can go internal to C nervous system/heart. Most commonly seen on hands----can lead to acute arthritis of finger joints. ..Bacterial infection through break in skin. Carried by many animals, including dolphins, shellfish, and fish. Also known as "diamond skin disease," where diamond-shaped welts occur on the skin due to infection. Effects usually benign, but can be fatal. Systemic treatment is with antibiotics.

SALMONELLA….over 1600 serotypes identified. Infection by ingestion. Carried by many types of animals. Mild to severe gastroenteritis. Can by fatal thru rapid dehydration, septicemia, focal infections. Incubation is 7-72 hours. .

MAD FISH DISEASE…..caused by STREPTOCOCCUS INIAE. Recently reported from handling tilapia. Infection via puncture wounds. Can cause fever, shaking, meningitis, arthritis, and skin/blood infections. "

Source

I hate Tilapia.

Holy shnikeys!!! Ive heard of Mad Cow, but Mad Fish?? yikesss...that explains alot...

Haha yeah the mad fish disease does sound funny.

But as ajmckay said, you probably wont ever catch a disease from your fish tank, but its better safe than sorry. I dont use gloves in my tank, but i dont stick my hands in if they have cuts.

Also starting a syphon with your mouth can be an issue if you get a bunch of water in your mouth or ingest it (salt water roulette).

Yea, i swallowed some of the ocean last time I attempted to surf while I was in san diego. not to mention hit my head on the floor after being thrown in the wake... wasnt sure what exactly made me yack, but im thinking a combo of the 2..
I love how my tank smells like the ocean..always nice out here in the desert

Get a protein skimmer, its like concentrated ocean in a cup!

really? You know i saw one of those thinga-majigs at a garage sale, tried to buy it for 5 bucks but the guy wasnt haaving it...

Use gloves. Something on a piece of rock poked me once and I ended up in the hospital with a purple/blue hand a day later. No joke, don't f around.

I hate Mad Fish....I think my Tomini Tang might have that....he acts just plain Pi$$ed off most of the time....Mad at the Clownfish...Mad at the Foxface....and just infuriated at the Blennie.....

You really dont need one at your tank size, but it can help.
I dont run one on my 24g nano, but i do run one on my 40b

I think they mean "mad" like insane mad not angry mad.... angry mad's just kinda the nature of a more aggressive fish.

how about that.... a whole list of nasty things to get from live rock.... like anything I'm sure using common sense in this area makes a whole pile of sense... thanks for the info nemmy... I think we all learned something here from your short presentation on fish diseases contracted from tanks.

I wish i could take credit for it, its a copy paste from a website (link is at the bottom of that post)
I'm too stupiidid for knowing all of that information :-P (and yes i butchered the word stupid on purpose)

hahah at least you said it