Ouch! Giant bristleworm handled while snorkeling

4FordFamily

Tang, Angel, and Wrasse Nerd!
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So I just returned from Puerto Rico. Snorkeling the reef there I was showing a friend around and identifying the coral, inverts, and fish we saw as we went. He points to what looked (through my very foggy goggles at this point) to be a large sea cucumber.

It was actually a very large bristleworm. Now have handled the small ones in my tank (between a finger length or two fingers max) without noticing anything.

I grabbed it and let it crawl on my hand. I was gentle but it had a good amount of time on my hand before I discovered what it was. I felt like an idiot, my friend laughed at me, we had a good time. Well, fast-forward about 30 minutes my hand was on fire, and so was my lip. I had touched my lip when I unfogged my goggles afterward. I apparently did not have a healthy respect for the bristleworm stinging capabilities but I do now. It hurt pretty bad for several hours. By that night it was mostly better.

Moral of the story- don’t be an idiot! :D

Oh and a photo of the resort in Puerto Rico for good measure.
A24A12E9-D795-4405-BE5B-A5B13DF1A072.jpeg


Absolutely beautiful. Highly recommend Condado Vanderbilt resort. I do NOT recommend handling a 10-12 inch bristleworm as big around as my thumb.
 
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But no photo of said bristleworm, you should know better!

I didnt realize it would make our lip like that just from you touching your face with your hand!
Me either! But it did, apparently! It had a lot of contact with my hand. I wasn’t very smart :D
 
He used to think he was Chuck Norris. BTW for those of you that don't know @4FordFamily if there is something in your tank that can sting him he will be sure to find it when he sticks his hand in!
 
Great trip glad that the worm didn’t ruin it and it’s effects didn’t last long and thanks for sharing.
 

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