Bristle Worms fought back!

[JJ Ligs]

Hey random super weird question... So my Purple Dottyback is a Bristle worm eating machine, he actively hunts them day and night. I am talking like a shark he is amazing at it and will even sit on my hand and wait for my to lift a coral to get at them. My fish are well fed with little fishy pooches and he eats great when I feed. He has just done this from the moment I got him, so I know he is not starving. This brings me to my question He has tons of bristles stuck in his face I mean everywhere he looks like he has a full on beard. Is he going to be ok? I do not want him to get an infection or anything. He is beautiful and healthy but it looks painful and some are by his eyes.

 

[Bossman]

Picture?

 

[JJ Ligs]

Hard to get but I can try he doesn’t sit still very long and they are fine I just noticed them barely with my naked eye do not know if camera will catch it.

 

[vetteguy53081]

That's great news. Generally their not. Arrow crab is typical recourse

 

[Bossman]

They are very fine. I have had them stuck in my finger but they didn't go in very far. I suppose if they can go through skin then can pierce fish too.

 

[JJ Ligs]

Best I can do

 

[JJ Ligs]

They are very fine. I have had them stuck in my finger but they didn't go in very far. I suppose if they can go through skin then can pierce fish too.

Oh I know And they irritate my skin so I am worried about his face

 

[Bossman]

Wow, you can definitely see them. Because they are so fine, I wouldn't think it would be a problem. But I've never seen it before.

 

[JJ Ligs]

Y

That's great news. Generally their not. Arrow crab is typical recourse

Yeah I love him for it and he is not a bully like my other one to my other fish. I just do not want him to get sick

 

[JJ Ligs]

Wow, you can definitely see them. Because they are so fine, I wouldn't think it would be a problem. But I've never seen it before.

I mean he seems good and I have seen him rub his face on rocks a few times in the past. Which now that I noticed this I wonder if he wasn’t trying to scrape them off then. To be honest this is actually less then this morning.

 

[Doctorgori]

Wow Nature has its ways ... Pumas regularly hunt porcupines and survive bristles ...why not dottybacks? I’d guess his ancestors figured it out millennia ago otherwise he wouldn’t eat them

 

[JJ Ligs]

Wow Nature has its ways ... Pumas regularly hunt porcupines and survive bristles ...why not dottybacks? I’d guess his ancestors figured it out millennia ago otherwise he wouldn’t eat them

Yeah I guess I just worry because if it was my dog I know how to treat her how the hell would I treat a fish