Mortal Agony!

ouspeedbump

ouspeedbump

New member
I got into a 240g today to clean it out and I am covered in bristle worm spines! I tried acid to disolve them but I didn't do it right or something. I do hope to eventually regrow the skin on my knees, shins and feet ;-) I have got to figure some way to get rid of them since it is now to cool to wear shorts and my pants are just rubbing them deeper. At least I can still get away with wearing flip flops. Snow of a considerable depth is all that usually stops me. Can anyone offer any words of wisdom? If I ever see a bristle worm in my tank, it is immedaitely headed to Australia via the porcelain express! If you are a bw lover, let me know and if I ever find one, I'll give you a small warning to come rescue it before I relocate it. lol. Any suggestions on bw sticker/spine/whatever they are called removal?
 
Take the hottest bath or shower you can stand. This will help ease the pain. Vinegar also helps dissolve the spines, since they are composed of calcium carbonate: the same way vinegar dissolves calcium deposits on glass, it will break down the spines. Vinegar compresses should help, and remember that elevated temperature accelerates chemical processes: warm the vinegar. You might also take Advil or aspirin if you are not allergic to same: these are anti-inflammatories.
 
Wax your legs lol. That will pull em all right out. I'm almost laughing to hard to type by the way, sorry but that's just funny.
 
I don't think waxing should be done until I have skin regrowth, hahaha. I will try the vinegar idea though. The house will smell like Easter! Now all I'll need is a chocolate rabbit. ;-)
 
In addition to what Sk8r said, take some tape, like box tape, make a roll of it, and use the sticky side to pull the bristles out so they don't give you much more trouble. On a side note, are you 100% positive that they are bristles from bristleworms? It sounds like you have quite a rash. Was there any water in the tank? Many people get a really bad reaction with the water.
 
I'd combine a couple of those options, take a nice super hot shower, will open up pores and whatnot, then use tape. This is what I'd do when growing up in Arizona. I'm clumsy as all get at, and have managed to get myself stuck in a few catcus over the years.
 
I can see and feel some of the bristles. I tried the tape and I got a lot of them out. I will try the vinegar tonight for the ones that are too short to stick to the tape.
 
I remember one summer in arizona when somebody opened their car door while I was riding my bicycle by, knocked me head first into a large barrel cactus nest. I spend a month, 30 days!, picking out needles with tweezers. It's always the little needles that give ya the trouble. you have all my sympathies.
 
razor blade? you want me to be seahorse chum? :eek1: Most of them are out now, the ones that are left I only feel once in a while. When I go to pull them put, I can't find them. I am just going to tough it out till they work themselves out. Not so much pain as annoyance now.
 
Not so much pain as annoyance now.

Sounds like the way my parents used to describe me growing up.
 
Ah, Brook.... That hurts almost as much as a bristleworm spine in the bum..... :)

Sorry, I just COULD NOT let that lie...
 
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