If you touch a coral it will die?

[Jah2707]

I have been a registered scuba diver since I was 16. Every time you go diving at a reef the instructors tell you that if you touch the reef you will be fined because the coral dies. I don't know about you guys but I touch my coral, in my tank nearly every day and it is very happy. If there any truth to this? Why do you think they make that rule?

[cdangel0]

If you STAND on a coral reef it will die. So far I have yet to kill any of my corals by touching them.

[sunfish11]

no, or we wouldn't be able to have reef tanks

[Jah2707]

Yeah that is what I thought.

cdangel0 is that a green spotted puffer in you pic? What kind of thank do you keep it in? I have tried brackish but not with any luck.

[Brisc0]

You obviously had a much more enlightened dive class than I did. When my instructor started on the old "Touch it and it will die" speech 1/2 the room up here in BFE (ozark mountains) gasped in shock/awe and disbelief.
I would say that its most likely conservationists propaganda passed down from a time when this was believed to be true, and in the process saving many doomed frags that now have a second chance at life because thousands of people barely competent enough to operate their dive gear are afraid of killing the reefs by touching them. IMO this is a good thing =)

Not meaning to sound cynical here, but any of you who have been down on a charter boat know that there are just some people out there who need to believe in stuff like this to keep them safe and our environment safe.

Thus concluding my take on the "A reef will die if you touch it" speech all dive schools give during the safety class.

[Jah2707]

Brisc0,
I took my dive classes in Licking MO. It is about 2 1/2 hours south east of springfield. I don't think I have ever seen you on the SEAS forum you should come to a frag meet. They are very enlightening.

[Brisc0]

My buddy and I keep meaning to meet up with the SEAS folks. I have given some stuff away and sold some stuff to a few of the members, seem like nice people. I am heading up to Columbia today for and overnighter and I'll hop down there and post when I get home.

Take care

[cdangel0]

It is a green spotted puffer - I kept it in a FW tank as a juvenile and moved it to my SW tank as it grew. Just a slow acclimation and away it went - was my favorite fish for a very long time, then became a bully - then jumped to his death a few months ago.

[Jah2707]

How did you do with corals? I know it would eat any inverts but did it also eat your corals?

[cdangel0]

It never touched a coral - ate snails when I tried to add them but never went near any coral. I do remember it taking a couple bites out of the feather dusters tube - but that was only once and never did it again.

[drummereef]

I believe the reason they don't want you to 'touch' the coral is people might get stung. It's a liability thing. It's good practice never to touch anything but the water when diving/snorkeling, imo.

[theatrus]

Coral can also be more fragile than it looks. Towing a human diver in an ocean current will probably break many thinner corals.

But for that matter, the act of touching is not very harmful.

[avp]

If you touch a coral will it die?

Only if you are the Grim Reaper.

-avp

[Musho3210]

I would avoid it, whats so cool about touching a coral? If they say not to then dont....

[HBtank]

In many popular spots in tourist areas I think this statement is perfectly correct. You have to think on broader terms, if one person wants to touch something, chances are it will be touched many more times than that.

They are trying to make sure thousands of people don't go around touching everything. Think about hanauma bay and what it has to deal with. The coral there is pathetic even with all kinds of warnings about 'touching".

Its the same as with many things. People think their effect is small, but never consider all the other people that repeat their actions.

One person has no effect, but thosands over a year does. So yes IMO touching a coral can kill it in this context, and should always be avoided.

[theatrus]

Originally posted by HBtank
In many popular spots in tourist areas I think this statement is perfectly correct. You have to think on broader terms, if one person wants to touch something, chances are it will be touched many more times than that.

They are trying to make sure thousands of people don't go around touching everything. Think about hanauma bay and what it has to deal with. The coral there is pathetic even with all kinds of warnings.

One person has no effect, but thosands over a year does. So yes IMO touching a coral can kill it in this context, and should always be avoided.

I most certainly agree with this. Well said.

[Caleb Kruse]

DP

[Caleb Kruse]

Think about what a diver who didn't know much about coral would do if he touched a coral like a frogspawn. It would shrink up, and I'm sure he would think he killed it.

[kathainbowen]

The "if you touch it, it will die" thing was explained to me in a way that kind of made sense to me by my cousin, a diver in South Florida.

He explained it to me this way. Telling someone that they "might injure" the coral by touching or handling isn't enough to discourage people from handling the coral. The "instant death" and "huge fines" thing is a good, harsh way to make people avoid touching, standing on, or otherwise handling the coral. Think about it. It goes back to the old health class theory of discouraging teenage romps by telling children that the utterly worst thing will happen if they get frisky.

In reality, he had called b.s. on it when HIS dive instructor told him that rule, thinking the same thing we would think (that, when handled gently, corals can be touched). Then, he suddenly realized that the dive sites he frequented in his travels were filled with brown carpets that stung like you wouldn't believe and fire coral. It's meant to discourage people from either standing on the reef, roughly handling corals, attempting to break off pieces and bring it home, touching things that could be venomous, or otherwise harassing reef animals.

But, y'know what? If you touch corals on their flesh, they generally close up anyway, and who wants to see an angry coral all clamped and closed up tight? I'd much rather see an open, happy coral swaying lightly in the current than touching it and making it retract it's polyps and otherwise close up.

[Jah2707]

Some good information. I have been on nearly 50 dives and have never touched a coral... on purpose. (some currents can be really strong) I am getting ready to the Keys in a week and am getting really excited about diving in key west. Anyway. Thanks for the information. Has anyone been there lately? I have not gone for about 8 years so I don't know if it will be good any more? I am also going to go diving in fort lauderdale, anything good there?