# Leeches :C



## sanj (31 Jul 2010)

I think these had come through on some plants I ordered. When i was waiting for my big tank to arrive i had to put all my plants in a holding tank, that tank also had a couple of Nerites in. One day I noticed one of the Nerites looked a bit dead, saw some beige coloured creature on its shell only about a 1cm long. Since then and planting up the big tank i have seen larger 1/2 an inch creatures. No they arent Planarians, these attach on to things with a sucker at one end and when they move or feel around they stretch out. I think that is how they move, they dont seem to swim. I have picked out half a dozen, problem is they seem to carry live young underneath them, live minature replicars the adult just a few mm long. When you grab the adult the babies are expelled. Bummer!!

Not quite sure what kind it is, but i think these predate on snails. I did have fish in the holdiong tank for about 3 weeks and none came to any harm and now in the new tank there is some fry from the fish that had bread in the holding tank. 
Otherwise no other fish have gone into the new tank yet. i do keep loaches, hopefully they will eat them.


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## sanj (31 Jul 2010)

Actually now im confused, the small vid on this page says it is of a planara, but that looks like what I have, yet i though planaria glide across the glass and have two eye spots. This vid shows a creature that moves by attatching and pulling, it also has a sucker like the ones i have.


http://naturalaquariums.com/inverts/worms.html

Anyone know?? Darrel?


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## sanj (31 Jul 2010)

I think its Helobdella stagnalis. i dont think i casn get rid of them except by picking them out when i see them, or my loaches eat them.


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## Nick16 (31 Jul 2010)

perhaps some kind of clawed shrimp might eat them. maybe macrobrachium species or cambarellus sp. 

maybe look into getting one if the problem persists or if your LFS happen to have one, ask to 'borrow' it for a week or two. they wont hunt fish so your safer there. not sure about your snails. 
its perhaps something worth researching?  

otherwise, your on your jack jones picking them out! 
see if they go for a prawn? - if so you might find they attach to that and then remove the whole prawn? (i doubt they are vegetarians!) 
if that works put several prawns in dotted all around the tank...

just a few ideas off the top of my head...


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## dw1305 (2 Aug 2010)

Hi all,
Don't panic, they are unlikely to be a blood sucking leech like _Helobdella stagnalis_, they will probably be scavengers or carnivores in much same way as Planaria. I'd try the "prawn in a net at night", and obviously keep an eye on the fish for feeding leeches or feeding marks. Some aremicro-carnivores eating Tubifex, Daphnia etc.

They are difficult to ID, and turn up in the strangest places, I found a some quite large ones in one of the water butts when I cleaned it, no idea how they got there.

Have a look here: <http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk/leeches.html>.

cheers Darrel


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## sanj (3 Aug 2010)

Hi, might try the prawn thing. Does look like H.stagnalis from some of the photos ive seen, but also like the first one on Darrel's link, except a different more beige/creamy opaque colour.


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## dw1305 (3 Aug 2010)

Hi all,
I'm not sure you can identify them without a x10 lens, the things you need to look for are whether they have suckers at both ends, how many segments they have, and how many eyes. There is a key to the British species of "Hirundinea" published by the FBA, but I think it is probably out of print.

cheers Darrel


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