Coco Worms, Poisonous? Plz help!

[thepopo]

Hey guys, seems like I have a situation. I bought a coco worm yesterday, the pink and white variety. So I was moving him around from one are to another when while grabbing him by the body I felt like a static electricity shock on my finger. Its been about an hour and now my temperature is up to 102.5 . I thought these guys aren't poisonous! ***! Hope someone can give me some advice on this. At what point should I go and try to get medical assistance? I called poison control but they don't have these guys listed as being poisonous. The coco worm i have looks just like this

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...540&pcatid=540

 

[XxKnuckleheadxX]

sure nothing was on the tube of it like a bristle worm or something?

 

[thepopo]

No I don.t think so. Then again it could be tiny as hell. Do I have to worry about bristle worms?

 

[SeaBee]

You're allergic to whatever stung you I would think.

 

[thepopo]

Thank you. Any other organism that be could be that tiny that could affect me like that besides bristle worms?

 

[Cathic]

If you were allergic it would require you to be stung twice at separate times, as you cannot have allergies to something before you are exposed to the antigens (what causes the release of histamines into the blood stream). If it is an allergy you have been hit with the antigen before. Your body will be able to handle your temperature, take a fever reducer/pain reliever. Seek medical help if your temperature persists over 4 days or if it hits > 104. If not you should be fine although you should try to and find out what, if any, organism in your tank caused this. However, if you are not swelling itching or otherwise showing symptoms on your hand then most likely the culprit is not in your tank.

P.S. Poison must be ingested, venom is what you would have encountered, since it would have entered your body through the bloodstream.

 

[U4BOYZ]

+1 Cathic. That's exactly what I would have said. Invest in some heavy-duty gloves.

 

[wontonflip]

+2 Cathic

 

[yote]

To be honest.You could have been stung by a small anemone that you just havnt noticed.Bristle worm,hydroids.Even some corals.

 

[CDaubs]

+3 Cathic. I'm not a doctor, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night. Fosters/Smith would state if there was any danger with a creature.

 

[Cathic]

I like the approval and thank you all for +'s. Medical Biology is my field of study currently. Although, I would like if you would inform us of how you are doing.

 

[Bifferwine]

Coco worms are not poisonous or venomous; however, as Cathic and others alluded to, you can become allergic to pretty much everything in our tanks. There are so many critters in there, it would be hard to pin it down to which exactly is responsible.

 

[dcantucson]

Something gives me a sting almost every time I move some rock around. I think the bristle worms bristles are stuck to stuff everywhere in the tank.

 

[thepopo]

Thx for the advice guys. Gloves have been purchased and are being used. I searched around and did manage to find two bristle worms. I caught one but the other hid on me. I am on the process of tracking it down hehe. The last one seems almost red in color. He cant hid for long :P. My temperature climbed as high as 103 but i felt no pain or discomfort. Nu numbness either. But i did find a nudibranch under the Xenia. He ain't very colorful though. . Are these nudibrach eggs on my hammerhead? His one head seems to be suffering a lot and something is eating him or laying eggs on him. Ill post the pic on this thread and start another as well. What should I do about that head?

 

[Cathic]

glad to know you are doing alright.

 

[thepopo]

Thx for the advive :). Yeah I am doing ok now. Don't want to get venom into me like that again though hehehe. Oh that pic i showed of the hammer coral. The white area is growing at a phenomenal rate. The brown parts in the picture are now covered in white in a matter of a few hours. I used a pipet to see how easily it would come off and it seems to be quite flaky. But I dont want to disturb it yet till i know what it is

 

[Bifferwine]

Does the hammer look like that all the time? If so, it's unhappy and unhealthy. You should probably do an iodine dip on it. It's hard to say what exactly the nudi eggs you're talking about are -- to me, it just looks like the hammer is dying off.