Skin burning after putting hand in tank

[Marcellina]

I havent put my hand in my tank in months.

Just recently I have been rearranging things in the tank to accomated some new corals I have. Everytime I put hand/arm in the tank it starts to sting a little. Then when I go wash afterwards it stings like a sunburn and the skin is so sensitive that I can only dab it dry or air dry.

Before this the only time I would feel any sort of 'sting' would be if I brushed against the frogspawn but that was very minimal mostly an annoyance, nothing compared to this.

I did 2 10 G water changes in the last week amd I just changed the carbon I keep in one of the back chambers. Should that help?

ANyone else have any suggestions?

 

[tsinkoy]

Is it possible that you might have an increased sensitivity to salt/sea water?

 

[batt600]

Use gloves.

 

[Marcellina]

No I dont think that is it. I am able to go to the beach ok. I have a small 10G tank that I use for keeping small frags and the water in that tank doesnt burn me.

Its funny bc the water from that tank is from the water change of my main tank.

The skin on the inside of my arm actually turns pink. I am thinking to buy the long gloves but Im still wondering if there could be something wrong with the tank?
I couldnt imagine there is? All the corals are doing great, thriving and growing. The 3 sps corals that I thought were goners bc of my yellow goby are actually showing polyp extension on the white exposed parts and the tips look like they are growing! My zoas are growing alot too. The fish are happy, all my parameters are in check. The only thing I dose is B-Ionic calcium.

Only 'bad' thing I have been noticing is all the bristleworms all over the place. So many baby ones and some really big ones too. How many is too many of these guys?

 

[Marcellina]

Use gloves.

I knew someone was going to say this :wink1:

I use the short latex gloves but they are short and water gets into my hands anyway. Its not something I touch/grab with my hands its the water itself. I am going to look for the long rubber gloves that will probably go under my armpit but I want to remedy the problem. If it is a problem.

 

[nyfynest22]

+1 if i moving stuff around i always wear gloves , or i use a tunze claw.

Use gloves.

 

[The_Codfather]

Could be [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"Swimmer's Itch" http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/paras...actsht_cercarialdermatitis.htm#signs_symptoms
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]

 

[sweetsop]

gloves are a must & the c.b.s. eats bristle worms.

 

[Marcellina]

@ Codfather - that sounds like what I am experiencing. I find tiny bumps on the sensitive parts of my arms afterwards. Not many just a few but they are itchy.
So its my snails that contaminated my water? never even thought about them. but I did add new astreas and the star ones. I have been seeing so many stomatella in my display as well, I didnt add any not sure where they came from.

@ sweetsop - thats what I heard too and I went out and bought one the same day, he knocked all my corals over and would eat the food I feed the fish. When I feed the tank the worms come out - its a nasty site - and they literally crawl right in front of him and he doesnt even snip at them.

I do think they are good but they are getting out of control. anyone has any advice on how to decreasse their numbers safely ?

 

[jcolon2]

It could be the salt. The beach is different. My skin burns really bad, and turns bright red after I put my hands and arms in the tank because my skin can't handle the salt.

 

[The_Codfather]

I was going to ask you if you added any new snails.. but the good news is.. You're going to live!
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...2bTvDQ&usg=AFQjCNEwEEB6sDnBChCOaWWjhIUBUUioBw

 

[Marcellina]

I am using the same salt brand as I always have but it is a new box. hmmm I am getting little bumps sometimes when I go in the main tank. The 10 gallon tank has the same salt water and it doesnt affect me at all.

 

[Marcellina]

Yes Codfather ... I am going to live The astreas and stars snails I added but where did the stomatellas come from?

 

[The_Codfather]

I am using the same salt brand as I always have but it is a new box. hmmm I am getting little bumps sometimes when I go in the main tank. The 10 gallon tank has the same salt water and it doesnt affect me at all.

Do this next time on a WC put your hand in the new mixed water if it's ok well I would bet any money it's swimmers itch

 

[Marcellina]

Actually I did that on the last water change. I dropped my hydrometer in the bucket and put my hand in the new mixed water and it was fine.

Pesky snails

 

[SevTT]

It is most likely stray bristles from the bristleworms that are causing it. If some of the corals are pisses off by something, they could be ejecting cnidae; I think Frogspawn and such can do this. But it's probably the worms.

Easiest way to cut their numbers is basically just to pull them out when they come out to feed; you could also make a trap out of a 20oz soda bottle with some small holes drilled in it and baited with a sinking food.



Sent from my iPod touch using Reefs

 

[Marcellina]

Well my frogspawn I have always been a little sensitive to so I know how that sting feels. Although 3 heads have finished splitting and there are big bubbles in the centers of them now.

I didnt know that bristleworms can loose their bristles. Can I do this extraction method with a smaller bottle? I only have a 29G and there isnt much room in it. and does it have to rest on the sand?

 

[fcamargo6thave]

When i first got my tank i used to put my hand in the tank all the time never burned a couple months ago for a 2 months or so i was experiencing the burning and my arm turning red and it really did burn until i ran tap water over my hands and that was like 2 months ago now i can put my hand in the tank and it doesnt burn i have no idea what is different about my tank sorry marcelina hopefully it goes away but i am considering using gloves as well

 

[Marcellina]

When i first got my tank i used to put my hand in the tank all the time never burned a couple months ago for a 2 months or so i was experiencing the burning and my arm turning red and it really did burn until i ran tap water over my hands and that was like 2 months ago now i can put my hand in the tank and it doesnt burn i have no idea what is different about my tank sorry marcelina hopefully it goes away but i am considering using gloves as well

The same thing with me. In the begining it was fine to put my hand in and now its burning. I really think it has to be the swimmers itch. Its happened after I added some new snails to replace the huge hermits I evicted. The link in a previous post says that snails that are infected release some parasites that try to host on humans but are unable. This causes our skin to feel the burning and itching, this will last until the snails arent infected anymore.

 

[KathyC]

The best way to decrease a population of bristleworms is to feed less. The population grows in direct proportion to the amount of available food in the tank
The will dwindle in time with less food available.