I may not sleep tonight - what is this?

[kimts]

I used my flashlight to see if I could find any brittle stars at play. Saw one, but then saw this, and my skin is still crawling. Is this a bristleworm? Do I need to get it out? And how? I don’t want to touch it!

 

[Tinnerito]

That is a bristleworm. And believe it or not, these guys are beneficial, as they consume decaying matter and leftover fish food. Just your typical clean up invertebrate. It's only a problem if you have so many in your tank that they start killing your live invertebrates, but if you only see a couple, do not worry about it. I have bristleworms in all of my tanks and they're of big help.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Looks like a bristleworm. Yes, don't touch it. If those bristles get on your hand it'll hurt for about a week.

 

[PharmrJohn]

That is a bristleworm. And believe it or not, these guys are beneficial, as they consume decaying matter and leftover fish food. Just your typical clean up invertebrate. It's only a problem if you have so many in your tank that they start killing your live invertebrates, but if you only see a couple, do not worry about it. I have bristleworms in all of my tanks and they're of big help.

LOL, ya beat me to it by a few seconds!

 

[Tinnerito]

Looks like a bristleworm. Yes, don't touch it. If those bristles get on your hand it'll hurt for about a week.

I've never actually touched a bristleworm before. But a week is shocking! :O

 

[PharmrJohn]

Oh!!!! If you have socks for filtration, do not put your bare hand in there. Bristlewoms can make their way into socks easily.

 

[PharmrJohn]

I've never actually touched a bristleworm before. But a week is shocking! :O

I've never gotten nailed. But I've heard stories.

 

[kimts]

Thanks, y’all! Good to know it’s safe for the tank, and I’m never sticking my hands anywhere in there without gloves. They’re so ewwww.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Thanks, y’all! Good to know it’s safe for the tank, and I’m never sticking my hands anywhere in there without gloves. They’re so ewwww.

Ewwwww is the perfect word. They creep me out too....

 

[KrisReef]

Thanks, y’all! Good to know it’s safe for the tank, and I’m never sticking my hands anywhere in there without gloves. They’re so ewwww.

They sometimes crawl out of the tanks at night and will creep around the house looking for something to eat.

Sleep well.

 

[wjm6449]

They sometimes crawl out of the tanks at night and will creep around the house looking for something to eat.

Sleep well.

It’s true. Seen a guy have a bristle worm 6” long and tried going up his nose. Brutal.

 

[littlefoxx]

I've never gotten nailed. But I've heard stories.

Hurts like heck! I got stung so bad moving my tank over I had to go to the doctor to get a steroid injection to control the swelling because it was so swollen I couldnt move my fingers!

 

[reefpanda8]

highly recommend wearing gloves while working in your tank, even if you cant see them there's a good chance you'll feel some stinging and stabbing afterwards and nice little fiberglass-like needles poking out of your skin, had to learn the hard