So I was arranging an acan colony in my Solana, and as I picked it, I got stung by a bristle worm. It was on the bottom of the rock, and my middle finger pressed against him. No pain, definite irritation as I CAN FEEL THE BRISTLES IN MY FINGER. kinda like getting fiberglass insulation on your skin. I put my lighter to my finger and burnt the strands. No biggie now, but I can sorta feel it... any similar experiences?

K

Ouch. I've been lucky so far.

My fingers doubled in size for a couple of days after having a large one (4-5 inches) wrap around my fingers. Pinhead sized blood spots actually developed underneath the skin. I still have rough patches where it touched me. I haven't heard of anyone else having this much of a reaction. Maybe I have a minor allergy to them? Or maybe I was just touching it for too long.

ps. I have found that using tape (after letting your hand dry) works better because it pulls the hairs out instead of burning the visible parts.

I got stung by one but had no idea. I was pulling up the mat of some star polyps and felt this wierd tingling and when I was done I was rubbing my finger across my pants. I never saw the worm itself but for like a week or more I had those spots on my fingers with the pinhead spots too. My fingers didn't swell tho, I just felt some pinchyness under my skin where those spots were.
It was annoying enough to never want it to happen again tho lol

fyi- i've read that soaking your fingers in warm vinegar "melts" the bristles lodged in your flesh.
I guess it helps with the irritation.

my gosh rd3 were you thumbwrestling it thats vicious man owww lol

i picked one up the very first day I landed on grand cayman island in 1996 having no knowledge of anything reef related at all. stung the absolute fire out of my hand but I threw it down i wasnt interdigitating it like one of those string wiggly worms rd3 L)

ive had brushes with them before, but no reactions, just mild itching....i wear gloves when i play in the tank, mainly so i can pull the glove off and clean my eye if i have to, same with workin on my car

Psh try a MH light!
I have a fat nasty burn from it...
Bristle worms can't be fun when they sting,
I haven't had one in the year and the half I've had a reef out here.

The MH is terrible bristleworms arent bad unless you are allergic or get to many stings. I have broken out many times in little bumps due to encounters with them. Gloves are good if you worry about getting stung but on your car, REALLY?/

i wear goggles too if im up under the car, but sometimes something gets past it, use a grubby hand full of grease, gas and metal shavings to clean your eyes and get back to me...

LMAO Im from Texas and that is funny I've fixed my car on the side of the road several times, not to mention the times I've stopped for FORDs

I saw one in my tank yesterday for the first time, I shall definitely be wearing gloves from now on.

my fingers completley swell up and its hard to move them and they get so frickin itchy it aint fun

I have been stung multiple times...I pluck the bristles out with tweezers

Don't be skurred.

I got stung 1 time. I put super glue over the bristles on my finger. I then let it dry and scrapped it off problem solved.

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