brain coral reaction

I have a 135 gallon reef tank in my living room with a good sized brain coral. They are one of the least toxic of coral, most of the coral will not cause a rash, and that would be the worst you could get. You must have a contusion and abrasion. Probably from the impact of hitting it, behind the flesh they are very sharp. Try not to touch anything when snorkeling. There is much more painful things to hit then brain coral.

It could have been covered with a fine red coat called Fire (something, forgot the name). It will sometimes be on the mooring lines that divers need to be aware of when they are making a accent or decent.
There was someone in Cane Bay that snorkeled down to the sea horse and sat on it for a photo. It was covered as well, and they had a very unpleasant rash all inside of their legs. divers sit on it for photos all of the time, however they are wearing a wet suit that protects them.

Not only should you be careful not to touch anything while snorkeling to avoid hurting yourSELF...you KILL any corals you touch! These little guys take a looooong time to grow and killing them is bad for ecology...

You are right Marty I meant to say that to.

brain coral typically abrades your skin with the slightest brush against it and the damage takes a while to heal (both you and the coral... the coral takes longer and might die in the area you touched it). You will have a scar for a while but it eventually fades