Touched my first bristleworm

[impur]

I've been in the hobby for a little over 5 years now, and yesterday was the first time i got stuck by a bristleworm. I was working on my Rhizo, removing some coralline thats growing on the side of it, and there was a large bristleworm sitting on the bottom of the rock. I got it on my pinky and ring finger. My pink was covered with spines!! I used a paper towel and wiped most of them off while simultaneously drying my finger so i could remove the rest with duct tape. Worked fine. I was surprised that it didn't hurt even a tiny bit. Its kinda like getting those stickers from the helicopter type seeds that fall from maple trees.

[newfisher]

If you ever miss that sweet connection, come on over, I have a bunch you can play with.

[dsoz]

I have touched them lots of times, but never had any bristles stay in my skin. Maybe I am just lucky and should not jynx myself...

 

I hate those maple helicopter things. We had a HUGE maple in my backyard growing up and I was stuck by those things too many times.

 

dsoz

[jackaninny]

$8.95 Solution

[impur]

I have touched them lots of times, but never had any bristles stay in my skin. Maybe I am just lucky and should not jynx myself...

 

I hate those maple helicopter things. We had a HUGE maple in my backyard growing up and I was stuck by those things too many times.

 

dsoz

 

Yah same here we had 5 or 6 huge maple trees. So i got stuck by those all the time (laugh)

[andy]

Must be something in the springtime air -- I got my first set of bristled knuckles last week. I did the 10-minute-vinegar-soak.

[Isaac]

I get a horrible allergic reaction to them. My fingers swell up and itch for a couple days. I haven't encountered them since I resigned from my previous employer though. No sand + wrasses in all coral tanks = no bristle worms to be found.

[Mr S]

You should look at them under the microscope. One of my students favorites. They are knarly looking!!

[nnewhouse]

My wife has a nasty reaction to them also. Her fingers swell up like sausages. It's pretty gross. I think you got pretty lucky Miles.

[ThePremiumAquarium]

I have many run ins with them every week. I didn't use to have a problem with their little spines but now I seem to get just a bit itchy when some of the bigger ones hit more sensitive skin on my hands. The tops of my pinky and ring finger seem to be the most common target and the nail cuticals are the most anoying. The big ones are the ones with the most irritation but overall they still aren't really a big deal for me. I usually can just wipe the bristles right off with a dry towel. I did have a nasty expience once with a half inch thick solid red one though. Kind of a stingy burn more than pain but it did last for a couple of hours and the bristles were much bigger than on standard bristleworms. Also watch out for the very large grey ones. They can have larger, nastier bristles as well.