-pest or benificial?

[bv_reefer]

-well as i was helping set up my cuzins 110-gallon yesterday, we found something rather unusual. -it waz flat, about 6 inches long and has count-
less numbers of legs like a millipede, in fact it resembled a millipede alot!

-any1 know of this thing?

[Moogled]

That would be a bristleworm.

I know very little about them but personally I would not want one in my tank.

PS: Use Google to find more information on them.

[Chaloupa]

smaller bristleworms can be beneficial to the aquarium, eating left over foods and such...it's the big ones that can be a bit unsightly...but they are a good part of a cleanup crew...just don't touch them...those are spines on the side...not nice to get in your fingers!

[skylord]

The blisters are just going away for me. I transfered everything from my old frag tank to the new one. Both are bare bottom and I hadnt seen any bristle worms in it. Being in a hurry because I didnt want the water to get to cold I just reached in and started transfering rock and frags. Felt something on my finger and looked down ....a BR had wrapped arround my finger and was going around the second. Shook it off and looked at my fingers in the light. I was amazed at how many of this worms bristles were in my fingers. I had blisters on 3 fingers, it took 3 weeks to start looking normal again. This worm was about 10-12 inches long.

Scott

[bv_reefer]

-we were'nt 100% sure what it waz yesterday but now we know and i told him 2 put it in his sump for now until he figures out what 2 do with it, alright thx again for the replys.

[Jenndarlin]

The other day I was moving a GSP Rock which I had noticed one or two of the "small milipede, catepillar" type creatures climbing on the night before. I picked up the rock and felt a little sting but not too bad but then when I pulled my hand out of the tank I could feel something like "stinging nettle" well i looked at my finger and it was COVERED in tiny almost translucent white "nettles". Took me over an hour to pull them all out with tweezers. got a tiny bit of blister but I thought that was probably more swelling from the sting.

Is this charachteristical of the bristleworms or does it sound like something else???

Thanx
Jenn

[marie]

Originally Posted by Jenndarlin

The other day I was moving a GSP Rock which I had noticed one or two of the "small milipede, catepillar" type creatures climbing on the night before. I picked up the rock and felt a little sting but not too bad but then when I pulled my hand out of the tank I could feel something like "stinging nettle" well i looked at my finger and it was COVERED in tiny almost translucent white "nettles". Took me over an hour to pull them all out with tweezers. got a tiny bit of blister but I thought that was probably more swelling from the sting.

Is this charachteristical of the bristleworms or does it sound like something else???

Thanx
Jenn

definitely bristle worm, scotch tape helps pull out the bristles. I don't usually get much of a reaction from bristle worms, hydriods on the other hand can make me intensely itchy for weeks

[bv_reefer]

-thats definitely the culprit were talking about! -as mentioned earlier,
there usually not ''bad'' but as also mentioned don't handle bare handed-

[bv_reefer]

-just wondering about the hydroid, where wud u get that pest(IMO)
does it come on live rock or what? cuz the only things that shud sting in my tank are the anemones.

[marie]

Originally Posted by bv_reefer

-just wondering about the hydroid, where wud u get that pest(IMO)
does it come on live rock or what? cuz the only things that shud sting in my tank are the anemones.

Google is your friend and yes they usually come in on the rock

http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=hydroids
http://www.reefs.org/library/aquariu...97/1097_2.html