Bristleworm Poll

I voted for they are ok as long as I don't see them....yes they are part of the CUC but doesn't mean I have to like them.

As another person said they are too much like centipeeds...yuck, besides what they can do to your hands if you touch one and/or the possibility of spazing out should one crawl on me...
~gives me the willys just thing about it~

 

I voted that I like them...they are part of my CUC. I wouldn't go so far to say that I LIKE the bristleworms, but I know they are beneficial to my system.

 

From the beginning I heard that they were beneficial so I've always kept a good colony of them going in my fuge. If I don't see any in the dt for awhile I'll trap a few out of the fuge and drop them in the main tank. They get places snails and hermits can't and do a good job eating up junk.

 

I've seen this tank - AMAZING!!!!

As far as bristleworms go - When I was new I used to get them out when I saw them. Now, I like them and leave them all in.

 

I voted I like them for my CUC when I was moving the tank I saw a few that were around 6in or so and a ton of little guys but they don't do any harm to anything. I am ok with them as long as I don't get "stuck" it itches like crazy. I think it feels like fiberglass when it get on your skin IMO.

 

I have to admit though that I googled "bioturbation"...Thought Curt had dropped a "Bushism" on us.

 

I like them as part of the clean up crew, but I do all tank maintenence bare handed, so I occasionally curse them for the minor irritation they cause me.

 

I voted, they are OK, they are part of the CUC. I like them. I think they are interesting, along with sea cucumbers & serpent stars. I like the weird guys that make most peoples' skin crawl.

What's so bad that will happen if a bristle worm crawls on you?

 

The bristles are like fiberglass. Some people say it feels like being stung by a bee. Personally, I have never felt anything. I'll just look at my hand or fingers after they come out of the tank and I'm like "WTF, where did this **** come from". I then grab my brillo pad and slowly rub the bristles out of my skin.

 

I'm really glad to see the results. Just a few years ago the response would have been overwhelmingly "kill the suckers!" Fortunately the old myths about their bad behavior as a group are fading away. Now if I can just get you all to drop the name bristle worm & use fireworm instead! :

Seano, if you let a fireworm peacefully crawl over your hand on its own nothing should happen. It's only when you pick one up or try to pet it that you'll get the bristles embedded in your skin. Reactions will vary from nothing (people with thick skin like xmetalfan99) to long-lasting swelling, inflammation, bacterial infections, etc (thin skin combined with "dirty" bristles). Unfortunately for a worm person, I fall into the thin skin category....