Leeches!!!!! :(

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
My heart goes out to you, I followed your last thread on this and thought you finally beat them. It looks like poison might be your only viable option at this point. Unless someone can think of any natural predator for leeches??
I found these links maybe there's something that might be an alternative? I know the one is for ponds but I figured it wouldn't hurt to look at?
http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/freshwater_leech.htm

http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-remove-leeches-from-your-pond-without-chemicals

You could get a crayfish? Says they eat leeches :-S
 
Thank you for the links! Maybe I should try the 'leech trap' before resorting to chemicals. Im still going to try to find chemicals today (may have to order them online) but a leech trap sounds alot less dangerous than toxins. Maybe I should try to find some crayfish, too! :)
 
I agree with a previous comment, make it a pet. I have leeches in my tank but unfortunately i don't see them very often. BTW most leeches do not suck blood and I am pretty sure the type you have are not blood suckers or they would have starved a long time ago. Most feed on dead plant material some may also feed on small snails. I think it is cool that you have managed to keep them alive and they have become a part of your little Eco system. Enjoy your tank no mater what you do.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: jlk
Mlani said:
My heart goes out to you, I followed your last thread on this and thought you finally beat them. It looks like poison might be your only viable option at this point. Unless someone can think of any natural predator for leeches??
I found these links maybe there's something that might be an alternative? I know the one is for ponds but I figured it wouldn't hurt to look at?
freshwater leech

How To Remove Leeches From Your Pond Without Chemicals

You could get a crayfish? Says they eat leeches :-S
Click to expand...

This link mentions mosquito fish as good natural predators, too. Did some looking & they cheap, small, & can tolerate a wide range of temps & phs. Does anyone have experience with these guys?
 
Had a talk with the guy at one of my LFS today.

1: Did you plant this tank? If so, he says that is probably where they came from. Quarantine all plants before planting to see if any leeches hatch.

2: He said that it is possible they are in the food you are feeding. Just like it is possible to get snails from algae wafers, you can get leeches from processed foods also. Maybe take a generous pinch of food and place it in a jar of treated water and observe.

3: CopperSafe should kill them as nothing without an exoskeleton is going to survive copper.

All info came from an LFS owner who's been in the business since the 70's. Take with a grain of salt.
 
Yes, my tank was/is planted. With the first round of leeches, I had not added any new plants for months & I disinfect my plants with potassium perm. But, as I discovered, pp does not kill leeches & nothing kills their eggs including bleach. I do not think even copper sulfate will kill the eggs- they are in a very hard, tough shell (like a beetles) that nothing can penetrate.

Thats interesting about them being in food- not something I would have considered as a source. My fish only get Hikari foods (sinking pellets) & human-grade foods (the same stuff my family & I eat). Maybe I should switch to all homemade food for them! If they were in fish food though, wouldnt more people have issues with leeches?

Thank you for your help, Blert!!! :)
 
Sounds like you really don't like the leeches,
I have some questions
Do you only feed the fish twice a day on only what they can eat in 2 minutes?
Have you ever seen a leech attached to your fish?

I am trying to figure out how a small aquarium can support so many leeches. My aquarium probably has 3 or 4 leeches and i only see one maybe once every 4 months. Usually if i am moving rocks around. I have never had a fish die or observed them bothering fish in the year i have had the aquarium. I do suspect they maybe feeding on detritus and small snails since my snail population is just right.
 
ajaguilar said:
Sounds like you really don't like the leeches,
I have some questions
Do you only feed the fish twice a day on only what they can eat in 2 minutes?
Have you ever seen a leech attached to your fish?

I am trying to figure out how a small aquarium can support so many leeches. My aquarium probably has 3 or 4 leeches and i only see one maybe once every 4 months. Usually if i am moving rocks around. I have never had a fish die or observed them bothering fish in the year i have had the aquarium. I do suspect they maybe feeding on detritus and small snails since my snail population is just right.
Click to expand...

They make my skin crawl.... I have safely removed them from my fish (salt bath & tweezers). So, that leaves my feeding/maintenance schedule. My fish are very well fed- goldies (esp juvies) require alot more food than most people (who are not fanatics) realize. There is no leftover food. I am ocd about keeping things clean & they are vac'd with a surface vac (eheim) daily in addition to 2-3x a wk 70%pwcs. I do have a small population of pond snails that I dont mind so perhaps the leeches are feeding on them as well.

So, I tried to find dylox (DHTP) today. No luck despite checking a few hardware/home improvement stores. I was informed that it is not sold in my state. I did find dylox grub-control on amazon but it contains additional chemicals to prevent it from disintegrating in water. A DIY pest-control place online had pure dylox but only 30pd (and larger bags) starting at $60/bag.

In respect to the malathion that was suggested by the goldie site, I found a single bottle of it but it was combined with other chemicals & it had a huge warning label stating not for use in aquatic environments or their vinicity for it will kill all aquatic life (fish, plants, frogs, etc) even in small concentations. I havent found any pure malathion yet & im not sure if this is a wise option.

So, this leaves me with the leech traps (which i am going to try) and seriously considering some mosquito fish and/or crayfish. I normally do not condone the use of fish for a specific purpose (ie cleaner fish etc) if you do not truly want them but this seems like this may be a reasonable option here for a difficult situation. :confused:
 
If they are blood suckers, and not some other type of leech, then liver should work as a trap bait.
 
jlk said:
Thats what i was thinking- liver or beef heart. Probably both! :)
Click to expand...

Am I just sick, or does anyone else want to see this on YouTube? You could set up a webcam and we could all cheer whenever a crayfish gets one...
 
VioletEmber said:
Am I just sick, or does anyone else want to see this on YouTube? You could set up a webcam and we could all cheer whenever a crayfish gets one...
Click to expand...

Lol I would watch that!
 
I just caught up on all your problems and I'm really sorry for your situation! I don't know how i'd react if i found leaches in my tank...

How do they react to heat? Does it speed up the eggs hatching? If so could you just max out a heater or two and cook em? If you put the tank into high salinity and raised the heat would that work? Just kinda thinking out loud here.

I am positive my wife would kill me but i think it'd be kinda cool and very interesting to keep some in a separate tank to learn about them...

I would also absolutely watch a webcam and cheer for the crayfish!
 
So sorry about your leech problem!

Several pond sites recommend putting some raw chopped liver in burlap or cheese cloth in the tank at night and removing it each morning. It should attract the leeches. Repeat until they are gone.

Aquatic community says potassium permanganate will kill the leeches and that you can place plants in a 5 mg/l potassium permanganate solution for an hour without harming them. You can also soak your filter/decoration/substrate to get rid of any adults.

If you have leeches on your fish they can be bathed for 12-15 minutes in a 2.5% salt solution which will cause the leech to detach so you can kill it.

Try googling "leeches in aquarium", lots of people get them so you're not alone. (It still sucks though!)

I hope that helped some! Good luck!
 
Thanks!! I did try PP. It doesnt kill the adults unless you use a huge amount (a tablespoon per 1/2 cup water) & even that takes a few hours. I also tried Prazi- no effect until I increased the dose tremendously. A teaspoon treats 20g- it took until I added 2 tablsp per 1/2 cup water & it took overnight for that to kill them. Trust me, Ive got little experiemental cups all over the kitchen counter with a leech & various doses of different stuff to see what may work! Salinity needs to be insanely high to kill them (tsp per 1/2 cup water) as well & its not instant. More leech research to come! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Brine shrimp
Replies
2
Views
372
BravesFan01
B
T
How do I kill freshwater lice on Christmas moss
Replies
1
Views
283
Andy Sager
Andy Sager
A
Chinese Algae Eater randomly bloated and died
Replies
2
Views
199
af2018
af2018
B
Koi angelfish egg advice
Replies
5
Views
572
Andy Sager
Andy Sager
T
Perpetually high nitrates no matter what I do! Dozens of water changes later.
Replies
11
Views
1K
Andy Sager
Andy Sager

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom