Do you use a leaning stick for closeups?

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Oh geez :25: I'm not suggesting that you go ramming a metal rod into holes or the reef, I'm simply suggesting that you use a very thin rod to steady yourself instead of one finger. The rod is much smaller than your finger. They are widely used all over SE Asia, so I seriously doubt that they are a call for alarm!
 
Occasionally I use "Tio's muckstick", which I got from reefphoto.com. They have them occasionally. Good option for those of us who don't know a machinist...
 
I would not suggest touching coral as a habit, but you will not automatically kill all the coral you touch. I have a dive buddy that has extensive Salt Water Reef tank experience. He grew his own coral and sold it. He is constanly amazed at the dive communities thoughts on coral. He said he constantly touched and moved coral as part of the normal process of growing it and that it truly takes a lot of handling to kill it.

My .02.

NOW, he still doesn't claim you should go around and just drag your hand all over the coral, but the "touch it and it dies" is hogwash as he knows from experience.

Now, one of the real reasons that we have it drilled into our brains that touching coral kills it is to try and keep the masses from just clawing all over the coral. We as a species love to touch, poke, prod and handle everything.

If we really want to help the coral then let's try to find fertilizer alternatives that don't destroy it when their runoff reaches the ocean.
 
pteranodon:
Occasionally I use "Tio's muckstick", which I got from reefphoto.com. They have them occasionally. Good option for those of us who don't know a machinist...
Click to expand...

I find it much easier to just grab ahold of the reef. (Just kidding!)

The 2007 model of the "Tio's muckstick" is out. He modeled it for me last weekend.
 
I too have a reef tank, and I can attest that some corals are very resilient. I don't touch any while diving, just because I would rather be safe than kill something accidentally. To propagate corals usually involves cutting and touching and rubber-bands to attach to rocks. Of course teaching an entire community which ones to avoid is not possible, so they teach to not touch anything, which is fine. Besides, most live corals probably will not be sufficient to keep you in place. Just like gloves and knives, they can be used safely, of course you always have a few bad apples...

Also, holding your breath is another thing that we teach the extreme on. It is not holding your breath for a few seconds while you snap a shot that is dangerous. It is holding on ascent, or enough to cause C02 buildup.
 
jchull:
I too have a reef tank, and I can attest that some corals are very resilient. I don't touch any while diving, just because I would rather be safe than kill something accidentally. To propagate corals usually involves cutting and touching and rubber-bands to attach to rocks. Of course teaching an entire community which ones to avoid is not possible, so they teach to not touch anything, which is fine. Besides, most live corals probably will not be sufficient to keep you in place. Just like gloves and knives, they can be used safely, of course you always have a few bad apples...

Also, holding your breath is another thing that we teach the extreme on. It is not holding your breath for a few seconds while you snap a shot that is dangerous. It is holding on ascent, or enough to cause C02 buildup.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Thanks for further clarifying on one of the big reasons we teach all new divers to just not touch.
 
It is a really BAD BAD idea...


Like Jennifer said, it is very popular in Asia. It is bring an issue on its popularity and ruining UW environment. To use a stick never helps coral environment as it is initially invented.


DON'T USE IT, NEVER AND EVER....


divermart_309.JPG
 
How long do you make this? I would imagine that you would not want more that about 12 inches.... I think it a great idea and totally agree about the not touching things. First of all, in an environment where things need to protect themselves from being eaten, that usually involves something that could be very painful for a diver's touch. But they are more resilient than the general doctrine, but I pride myself in the fact that I very rarely touch the bottom or anything else while down....
 
The IDEA is always good, but, it isn't implemented in reality. That's the problem.
 
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