Leach in my tank!!!

[Ryleyman]

So I went into my bed room and there is a LEACH IN MY TANK!!!!! How did he get there how can I get him out I'm terrified of leaches!!!!!!! D:

 

[Tetra1990]

It may have come in as an egg if you have live plants. Grab it and use it as walleye bait. They go crazy for leaches!

 

[vanimal]

Depending on the type of of fish you have it might get eaten. Ik bass and walleye love eating leaches so I'm assuming larger cichlids would too.

 

[jlk]

Welcome to my nightmare! Are you positive its a leech?

 

[Wiggles24]

Lol I just discovered I also have a leech infestation in one if my tanks. At first I thought it was just one too but if you see one that probably means there's more. Seriously though just keep an eye on your fish look for any missing scales or wounds also keep an eye on the gill area. So far my leeches have been obviously sharing a home with my fish for at least 6 months( that's when I found the one that I thought was only one ) and they don't bother anything at all, so I am just leaving them alone

 

[Ryleyman]

Welcome to my nightmare! Are you positive its a leech?

Yes I am 100000000000000000000000% positive !!!!

 

[Ryleyman]

Lol I just discovered I also have a leech infestation in one if my tanks. At first I thought it was just one too but if you see one that probably means there's more. Seriously though just keep an eye on your fish look for any missing scales or wounds also keep an eye on the gill area. So far my leeches have been obviously sharing a home with my fish for at least 6 months( that's when I found the one that I thought was only one ) and they don't bother anything at all, so I am just leaving them alone

I have a phobia of leaches!!!!

 

[jlk]

They make my skin crawl.... Well, the bad news is if you have one leech that means there are many more in your tank. They are very difficult to erradicate. As long as they are not on your fish and you are not seeing any strange bites/sores/red marks on your fish or erratic behavior in your fish when you tun off the lights, then the leeches are likely just detritus eaters and are not a big concern. If you want them gone regardless, then its a different story.

 

[Ryleyman]

They make my skin crawl.... Well, the bad news is if you have one leech that means there are many more in your tank. They are very difficult to erradicate. As long as they are not on your fish and you are not seeing any strange bites/sores/red marks on your fish or erratic behavior in your fish when you tun off the lights, then the leeches are likely just detritus eaters and are not a big concern. If you want them gone regardless, then its a different story.

I really do want them gone completely

 

[jlk]

Ok, these are your options. You can treat with a DTHP insecticide product such as Clout/Lifebearer/Fluke Tabs. Its pretty toxic, so use with care. Dimilin is another type of insecticide that can be used. A possible third product you can try would be Cyropro- its a newer insecticide with less toxicity than the others. Dewormer products do not work on leeches. Salt needs to be in extremely high concentrations to kill them. Treatment needs to be for a lengthy amount of time no matter what you use- insecticides only kill the adults and do not effect the eggs (neither does salt, bleach, ammonia, heat, cold, drying, etc). So, you basically need to keep treating until all adults are gone & all eggs have hatched because even a single egg can restart the population. I am honestly not sure what type of short term or long term effects extended use of insecticides would have on fish. Your other option is removing the fish and nuking the tank and restarting from scratch. Or leaving them be unless they are parasitic. Supposively, there are creatures/fish that eat them but do your research before considering adding something that may or may not deal with the leeches. Ill post my leech threads if your interested in my battle (not fun...).

 

[Ryleyman]

Ok, these are your options. You can treat with a DTHP insecticide product such as Clout/Lifebearer/Fluke Tabs. Its pretty toxic, so use with care. Dimilin is another type of insecticide that can be used. A possible third product you can try would be Cyropro- its a newer insecticide with less toxicity than the others. Dewormer products do not work on leeches. Salt needs to be in extremely high concentrations to kill them. Treatment needs to be for a lengthy amount of time no matter what you use- insecticides only kill the adults and do not effect the eggs (neither does salt, bleach, ammonia, heat, cold, drying, etc). So, you basically need to keep treating until all adults are gone & all eggs have hatched because even a single egg can restart the population. I am honestly not sure what type of short term or long term effects extended use of insecticides would have on fish. Your other option is removing the fish and nuking the tank and restarting from scratch. Or leaving them be unless they are parasitic. Supposively, there are creatures/fish that eat them but do your research before considering adding something that may or may not deal with the leeches. Ill post my leech threads if your interested in my battle (not fun...).

I just killed what I think was the only one !

 

[Ryleyman]

I took him out and put him in peroxide it kills them almost instantly