Sanibel Island Florida Stinging Seaweed

You sit in the water, enjoying the warm waves pushing you about and your arm brushes a piece of seaweed floating in from the Gulf. A few seconds later, the skin on your arm erupts in fire like dozens of hot needles poking you. That was not just seaweed, that was a HYDROID, a colony of tiny little immature jellyfish that are attached to a slender piece of seaweed as a base. Imagine a hairbrush full of little jelly fish raking your skin. Yes they hurt and yes they may leave a rash for a few days. You may even have brushed something similar to it a few minutes ago with no reaction. You never know. That is one of the great joys of the ocean, you just never know!