What stung me???

[Calvin]

While adding a couple pieces of LR to my tank, I was stung by something. It was not terribly painful but it sure did get my attention and what ever it was left a dozen or more little while stingers in my fingers? What could have done this and is there any reason I shouldnt be putting this rock in my tank for fear that the culprit will do the same to the inhabitants of the tank?

Thanks,

Calvin

 

[jackdp]

Sounds to me like you may have had a run in with a bristleworm? They've never gotten me before but they can leave "stingers" in you. Did you see what it looked like? I've gotten at least a couple that hitched in on LR. It probably won't hurt anything in the tank but some can grow pretty large. Try http://www.aquarium.net/0198/0198_2.shtml for some more info and pics. Good luck.

 

[Calvin]

After reading the article, I'm sure it was a bristle worm. Those little guys are no joke. My hand is still a little tender. Thanks for the help.

 

[reefrunner69]

You need to make sure you got all the bristles out, then it shouldn't feel so tender. A trick I use is to use duct tape, put a piece ot duct tape over the area that got stung, and rip it off, the bristles come with it.

 

[ReefRaff]

if a person is alergic to bee stings, is there anything to woory about if ever getting stung by one of these worms? I've never been stung yet, but just want to make sure (since i am alergic to bee stings) that if i was to get stung by a worm, i shouldnt be taking the same action as if it were a bee.

 

[Calvin]

Great question, i hadnt even thought about that. My girl is alergic to bee stings. I'll toss a worm on her and we'll find out. I know that lion fish stings are no the same. same trail test...

Calvin

 

[ReefRaff]

if she turne red, and blows up like a balloon, let me know. thanks.

 

[Calvin]

Well, the experiment went like this. Tossed a bristle worm on her, She jumped up....cursed at me, ran out side and got stung by a bee...I'll have to try again when things get colder out here and their arent so many bees buzzing around.

I'll keep you posted...
Calvin

 

[dustybrannum]

Is there a safe type of gloves that one could wear while in the tank to help prevent such things from happening?

 

[BillyZ]

Take this with a grain of salt as I am NOT a doctor.

Someone being alergic to a bee's sting is just that, an alergy. You could be alergic to dogs but not cats. BUT, What your alergic to in a bee's sting is the venom that stinger carries. I would be willing to bet that someone alergic to that vemon would have a propensity to be alergic to other mild stinging venoms, but as in the dog vs cat example, its not guarunteed.

As a simple precaution, if you're stung by anything in your tank I would at a minimum take some benedril and be aware of your ... "self", for lack of a better term. If you begin to flush, heart rate increases, or feel any sort of ache travel from where you were stung, seek help. When seeking help, try to be as descriptive as possible of what exactly stung you. This is what I did the first time I got skewered by my sea urchin... man, talk about burn! and that venom left a nasty black dot in my hand for a few days... but no ill effects, just irritation. Now had my wife gotten poke by the urchin, i likely would have been taking her to the hospital (she's very alergic to stinging insects)

hmmm should do some googling on this... see what we can come up with.

 

[two11devan]

There are gloves made for handling stuff in your tank that can sting. I don't remember what they are called but I have seen them in almost every LFS I have been in. The ones i have seen are purple (i think) and go all the way up your arm.

 

[Calvin]

The LFS i bought the LR at suggested using a NEW pair or rubber kitchen gloves. Using old gloves may leave your your tank lemon fresh but I doubt this is good for the inhabitants. I'd also be weary of using disposible latex gloves because they are for one awfully thin, and two the powder inside may not be good for the fish, unless they are chaffing.

Calvin

 

[ReefRaff]

This is what I did the first time I got skewered by my sea urchin... man, talk about burn!

thats interesting when mine is somewhere my hands need to be, i just push him out of the way (gently) and he moves off. but i've never been stabbed by him. maybe there is just mutual trust between us :? , i'm not sure.

Is it that he stuck you, or did you bump him and stick yourself?

 

[BillyZ]

Is it that he stuck you, or did you bump him and stick yourself

Oh it was most assuredly my fault! I was rearanging some of the LR in my tank and lost track of where spike was. He had moved closer to me and up towards the top of the tank where I couldn't really see his main body. His spines were a good 6-7 inches so he can be well out of the way but still threatining a large area. BTW, when I said I was skewered by him I wasn't suggesting that he attacked me hehe. I skewered myself on his spines. Here's a pic of poor ol spike, I had to return him to the LFS. He was getting too large for my system and was begining to munch on the only coral in my tank.

Spike the Long Spine Urchin

 

[hoveboy]

Ouch....been there too. Duck tape is the way to go...

 

[fire goby]

can try running your affected fingers on your dry hair. Strange as it sounds. But it works.

After reading the article, I'm sure it was a bristle worm. Those little guys are no joke. My hand is still a little tender. Thanks for the help.

 

[An t-iasg]

BillyZ wrote:

Someone being alergic to a bee's sting is just that, an alergy. You could be alergic to dogs but not cats. BUT, What your alergic to in a bee's sting is the venom that stinger carries. I would be willing to bet that someone alergic to that vemon would have a propensity to be alergic to other mild stinging venoms, but as in the dog vs cat example, its not guarunteed.

I'm not a doctor, but I have tons of allergies. I think this is good advice. If you're allergic to bee venom, you MAY have a propensity to be allergic to other venom also. Just seek help if necessary! That's what ER departments are there for. I'm allergic to dogs and cats. Because of that, my allergy doctor said I shouldn't get another animal with hair or fur, like a hamster. I could get the allergy test for a hamster, but I said no thanks! Don't want to be miserable for a week over a test, and I'm betting I would be allergic to it too. But if it weren't for my animal allergies, I probably would not have gotten fish! I'm glad I did!

Here is a link for some heavy-duty gloves:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=6&pCatId=3871

 

[uncwalley]

If you are allergic to bee stings, you may be genetically determined to be allergic to other environmental stimuli. I'm not sure if anyone knows why you may be allergic to some things but not to others, but the allergy works something like this. You are exposed (for example, bristle worm sting). Your body doesn't really mount much of a tangible response except maybe a little swelling and soreness. A few months later, your body has developed enough antibodies to the stimuli (bristle worm stuff) to cause reaction. A potentially life threatening problem is anaphylaxis. You may feel light headed or weak, your throat may begin to tighten. This is why you carry around an Epipen. It's hard to breath through a closed airway. Fortunately this doesn't happen to everyone. Most allergic reactions are more localized. The moral of this story is, watch yourself next time you get stung by your bristle worm. Just because nothing happened this time doesn't mean it won't the next time.

 

[uncwalley]

If you are allergic to bee stings, you may be genetically determined to be allergic to other environmental stimuli. I'm not sure if anyone knows why you may be allergic to some things but not to others, but the allergy works something like this. You are exposed (for example, bristle worm sting). Your body doesn't really mount much of a tangible response except maybe a little swelling and soreness. A few months later, your body has developed enough antibodies to the stimuli (bristle worm stuff) to cause reaction. A potentially life threatening problem is anaphylaxis. You may feel light headed or weak, your throat may begin to tighten. This is why you carry around an Epipen. It's hard to breath through a closed airway. Fortunately this doesn't happen to everyone. Most allergic reactions are more localized. The moral of this story is, watch yourself next time you get stung by your bristle worm. Just because nothing happened this time doesn't mean it won't the next time.

 

[quarryshark]

Take this with a grain of salt as I am NOT a doctor.

Oh jeez Billy, you just ruined my entire image of you.
Sorry couldn't resist.