ouch, that stings

[Junjokun]

Every time I touch my felt filter sock to clean it, my hands feel like a thousand little slivers are digging in for hours afterward. What could my sock be collecting that it stinging me? Should I be worried?

 

[sir_dudeguy]

Sounds like a classic case of bristle worms. They will get caught up in ANYTHING. Whenever i'd clean my canister filters i'd get stuck by them when i was cleaning the sponge pad thing.

Try vinegar on them when they're on your fingers too. That seems to help for me...i just soak them in vinegar and it seems to feel better after a bit.

But for the record, they're not poisonous...unless perhaps you were alergic to them...but who's allergic to bristle worms? :lol:

 

[2fishy]

I'm really glad that I read that ^! I have always had a powerfilter but just recently added a canister filter. I'll now be sure to be careful rinsing out the pad!

 

[AquaReeferMan]

Yeah I get them from time to time. Its really irritating if you cant get them out.

 

[Paintbug]

soaking your fingers in vinegar like sir_dudeguy mentioned is probably the best treatment for bristle worm stings, thou its not really a sting. their spines are made of calcium carbonate, and the vinegar dissolves them fairly quickly. fire worms on the other hand is another ball game .