Who Gives A Fish Forums

I've never had any personal experience with the Hammer, Torch, or Frogspawn, but I'm curious about them. My 30-gallon tall acrylic can be a real pain to clean - I have to scrub the walls by hand. Given the likelihood of accidentally touching the corals while I'm cleaning, I'm not sure if it's worth the risk. I've heard that some of their tentacles can sting, but I'm not sure if it's all of them or just the longer, sweeper tentacles.

Honestly, I've never had an issue with touching most corals or anemones. My local store owner always seems to be getting stung, but I just haven't found one that's given me a problem yet.

I've had my fair share of interactions with a frogspawn I own, touching it numerous times during cleaning or repositioning. Only once did I experience a sting, and it was relatively mild, nothing too out of the ordinary.

same experience here, been stung by bubble coral, frogspawn, hammer and torch. everyone's pain threshold and physical reactions are different, that's for sure. personally, i could tell when i touched something, but it felt more like a minor burn, nothing too severe.

felinxo wrote: ↑Sun Jan 22, 2023 6:11 pm Honestly, I've never had an issue with touching most corals or anemones. My local store owner always seems to be getting stung, but I just haven't found one that's given me a problem yet.

I frag zoanthids and palythoas with my bare hands all the time. There's always some level of risk involved, but as others have mentioned, it seems most people don't have much of an issue with these corals. Good luck with your decision.

Haven't had any issues with my hammer and torches, never been stung by them.

Appreciate the insight, it's been helpful. I'd written off the Hammer/Torch/Frogspawn corals, thinking they'd be a handful to deal with. But hearing your experiences, it sounds like they're not as bad as I thought. My clownfish is the real culprit, that little guy's got a mean bite - the fleshy part between my fingers still remembers. Thanks for sharing, it's given me a different perspective. Now, I'm eyeing a deal on some colorful frogspawn for $5 a head, might just take the plunge.

Yeah, clowns can be feisty, I mean, they can definitely break the skin. Almost every coral, on the other hand, isn't quite as aggressive, but I'm sure there's some exception out there - there usually is.

I've had very few painful experiences with corals, but there was this one time I accidentally brushed my arm against a torch and it left some noticeable welts. No pain or itching, just a visible reaction. Same thing happens with my Duncan now. It's all about individual reactions, you can't really know how you'll respond until you've had a personal encounter.

rusticore wrote: ↑Mon Jan 23, 2023 1:01 pm I've had very few painful experiences with corals, but there was this one time I accidentally brushed my arm against a torch and it left some noticeable welts. No pain or itching, just a visible reaction. Same thing happens with my Duncan now. It's all about individual reactions, you can't really know how you'll respond until you've had a personal encounter.

Don't try this at home, folks - experienced reefers only.