# "Leech" Problem.



## Gav (Aug 22, 2009)

I need help to identify what appears to be leeches in my tank and after I find out what they are would like to know if they are harmful to my fish and how to get rid of them if they are.

The tank is 90L (UK) and has been set up for over 2 years now.

I have a Zigzag Eel, Senegal Bichir, Banjo Catfish and possibly 2 Armoured Shrimp (they are good at hiding so can't say for sure) in the tank.

The "leeches" are between 2 and 6 millimeters, they are a light grey colour, also i have noticed some have a small white patch on the underside. I'm afraid I can't get any pictures just yet as I scraped them off the glass when I first noticed them they usually come out when my tank gets a bit dirty and I done a water change a couple of days ago. The easiest way I can think to describe their shape is that they resemble bowling pins with the neck being skinny and the body and head oval shaped.

I don't buy alot of fish anymore but I do get plants from time to time as they don't last very long, so the most likely place they came from is the sponge that is used to protect the plant roots.

I know there's not alot to work with but any info or suggestions what they might be would be appreciated, I will go check my tank now and see if I can get a pic to help.


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## Gav (Aug 22, 2009)

Forgot to say, when I first noticed them there were only 2 or 3, that was about a week ago, when I finished my water change there must have been 30-40 in one corner and a few more scattered around the tank.


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## Guppie luver (Feb 2, 2011)

CRAP I don't know what it is but I wuld remove them NOW and kill it I don't know how but KILL them and ask for help from others.


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## Gav (Aug 22, 2009)

I have tried I used one of my gravel cleaner tubes and rolled it along the glass hoping to squash them. Went up to try and get a pic and I don't know how but I spotted an egg sac, it is about 1-2 millimeters in diameter clear and has 10-15 clear "balls" inside it is stuck to a stone at the bottom of my tank. I have tried to get a pic but it is impossible, have tried every setting on my camera and every angle and pic enhancement it had and failed.


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## Guppie luver (Feb 2, 2011)

get a spoon and squesh it.


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## Gav (Aug 22, 2009)

Mushed the egg sac, but upon moving my mopani wood to get to the stone I must have disturbed their nest as I now have loads of them moving around my tank. Tried my best to get some good pics but it is very difficult, will try and get some on here after they have been downloaded.


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## Guppie luver (Feb 2, 2011)

Ok


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## Gav (Aug 22, 2009)

Hope this works, have other pics but need to find them again.


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## Guppie luver (Feb 2, 2011)

HUMMMMMMMM? I don't know.


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## Gav (Aug 22, 2009)

This one is of the egg sac but its not very clear and very hard to see.


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## Guppie luver (Feb 2, 2011)

Looks like a snail.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

It looks more like a type of flat worm (Genus Planaria, most likely) to me. I get the occasional leeches in my live blackworm shipments. When I pick the leeches out of the worm trays they ball up very tightly, and after a few minutes they spread out and start moving. My leeches are shaped very differently from the pictures you have posted. Do these "things" in your tank ball up when you touch them??
Google pictures of Planaria. If it's planaria they are not harmful and if you don't overfeed your tank (or hold off on feeding for a few days) they will disappear.


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

They're some sort of single-celled creature.

My advice? (If your tank can handle it), get some small fish that will eat them. I would expect a bristlenose pleco to devour them, or some other small fish.

Cut down on feeding, and vacuum the substrate frequently.
They'll starve. Or use an anti-parasite remedy if you want. They usually kill invertebrates like shrimp, snails, hydra, and planaria as a side affect.

On another subject, why do your plants die? (they're probably eating the plant matter.)


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## Gav (Aug 22, 2009)

I have bought a 600L tank that I will be going to collect at the end of the month, I have a 125L (UK) upstairs beside the 90L with the problem, the fish from the 90L will be moved to the 125L when the new tank is set up. I have a 60L musk turtle tank downstairs too, the turtles will be moved to the 90L once it has been emptied.

Yes they do curl up into a ball when I knock them off the glass.

Would it be worth waiting until I begin moving the tanks around and leave the 90L dry for a while before setting it up for the turtles? I didn't want to move the fish in it in case they carried the problem to another tank. Also I can't move the fish in the 90L now as I have another bigger Zigzag Eel in the 125L who will be moved to the 600L and my Senegal Bichir is missing an eye so competing for food was proving difficult.

I have to go to work soon so will post about my plants and look into flat worm and planaria when I get back.


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## Gav (Aug 22, 2009)

Ok back from work and looked into the parasites, the most likely is planaria worm, had a quick look at a couple of different sites and both have said they are harmful to the system and to my fish, also read that I should do water changes to reduce the high ammonia levels that my tank supposedly has because of the parasites. So now I will also need to test for ammonia and will post the results after I have tested.

Plants: I used to have a large amount of healthy plants in all of my tanks.

90L- I still have an Amazon sword that does very well but no point in posting a pic as I cut it right back when I noticed the planaria problem, I always have to take stems off when i do my weekly water changes as the leaves end up hanging over the side of the tank.

125L- I had plenty in the tank, mainly egeria densa (or a similar elodea), i had up to 3 foot long sections of the plant that i cut up or pulled the new shoots off and replanted at one point I was throwing away about half a bucket full each month and the plants still took up half the tank, will see if I have any old pics. My tank became infested with 2 possibly 3 diseases from 1 fish that i bought; white spot was the main one plus a disease that was causing my fishes skin/scales to peel off and another that was causing gills/mouth and eyes to be inflamed (unless that was the result of one of the other diseases). With such a huge drop in the numbers of fish (about 60-70% in one week) and long duration of medicating the plants were all killed off, my water parameters were all over the place for quite a while too which didn't help. Now i cant seem to get anything to grow again in that tank.

60L turtle tank- the turtles eat them all (apart from duckweed which i have an infestation in another tank so it gets dumped in the tank and they take their time polishing that off).

Sorry about the long post.

Thanks aunt kymmie for pointing me in the right direction.

redchigh- had a small bulldog plec in the tank he died shortly before i noticed the parasites, might not be connected but don't want to take the risk. I will begin cleaning the substrate of any mess and extra food and see how that goes.


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

Actually I've had those planaria in most of my soil setups..

They are a signal of excess organics, but I'm almost positive they're harmless... When they show up, your fish may get sick.. but it's more than likely from the nitrites and ammonia than the pests themselves.


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## Gav (Aug 22, 2009)

I'll take you're word for it and hold out until the new tank arrives and deal with them then, do you think I will be ok to move the fish from the 90 to the 125 without bringing the planaria with them?


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

I don't imagine they'd be on the fish... They live in the substrate mostly.


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## Gav (Aug 22, 2009)

Thats great to hear, i can finally stop worrying, cheers for all the help. Will let everyone know how things go after the fish are moved and the turtles are in their new home.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

seems kinda big for planeria..? Mine have never grown to more than a 5mm...


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## enddoc (Mar 30, 2016)

To kill snail leeches do this:
· To test for snail leeches is simple ¼ teaspoon shrimp pellets will bring them out
· First remove all plants.
· Dip plant in a 50% hydrogen peroxide solution to dislodge pests by flushing with water
· Save your plants in a bucket for 4 weeks
· Remove all creatures which will die from salt being added, Rams horn, Pond snails
· Snail leeches survive Clorox and all other solutions. I know I tried all suggested chemicals
· Bring the salt level part- per-Thousand to 3 ppt with softener salt for 1 week
· Lower it to 2 ppts for 2 weeks
· The last week, do the above test.
· If no leeches then change out with freshwater during this last week to 0 ppt salt.
How this works is the apparently the leeches ball up in a protective cocoon and starve to death.


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