Question about a worm. Noob question. basic description

[tangyreefer05]

I was at my brothers house getting some live rock rubble i left in his tank to put in mine. His tank has been setup for about 6 months. Anyway he reaches in to find some rubble, grabs a piece and thought he was touching slimy algae but was actually a worm, well he kind of went to brush it off without looking, it stuck him with at least a hundred tiny hairs, it was a lot like putting your hand on a cactus. They were all over where he touched it, he said he didn't feel any pain and they came off with some scrubbing. He was kind of nervous because he thought it was poisonous but i was trying to calm him down lol. It didn't leave a rash while I was there and figure it was fine today.

I was wondering what kind of worm this is and if you want it in your reef and what it does. It was probably 2.5" in length and I remember it being mostly redish in color. with maybe a darker line on the top, honestly I didn't get a good look at it other than it had a lot of clear hairs. Is this a bristle worm?

 

[graveyardworm]

Probably just your basic bristle worm, usually the bristles sting abit. They dont seem to bother me either though. They can be removed easily with vinegar just soak the area and they dissolve.

 

[tangyreefer05]

[No message]

 

[tangyreefer05]

yeah it was just a bristle worm, thanks

 

[LeslieH]

Some fireworms do have a mild toxin in their bristles. The bristles are made of silica, they're hollow, and shaped like harpoons with backwards-pointing barbs. When they break off the toxin is released. If you have thin skin like me it's very painful. If you have thick skin it won't be so bad. There are also species in the same family -Amphinomidae - which look similar but don't have the toxin filled bristles.