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Post by parker002 on Oct 17, 2016 15:22:58 GMT -5
I clean out my bio filter yesterday and after rinsing all the media and putting back in the canister, I noticed the bucket I was using had thousands of leeches attached to the sides. I looked down and realized that there were hundreds of them attached to ME too!  #1) Should I get rid of them? #2) If I should, what do I use? |
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Post by Carl on Oct 18, 2016 11:07:59 GMT -5
I clean out my bio filter yesterday and after rinsing all the media and putting back in the canister, I noticed the bucket I was using had thousands of leeches attached to the sides. I looked down and realized that there were hundreds of them attached to ME too! #1) Should I get rid of them? #2) If I should, what do I use? Are you sure these are leeches? I am not sure how these would have found their way in, could you take a picture? If leeches, I would try and remove them, maybe manually based on your description. Carl |
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Oct 18, 2016 11:19:05 GMT -5
Crazy. Yes. Would want to see this and the numbers your talking sounds crazy.
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Post by parker002 on Oct 18, 2016 13:14:29 GMT -5
They're definitely leeches. I've used the thumb-thick kind as fish bait since I was a little kid.
Unfortunately I no longer have a collection point since I tore down the bio-filter and removed the stock tank that was housing this year's babies. Short of leaving a piece of raw meat in the water, I'm not sure how I would catch them.
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Oct 18, 2016 15:47:49 GMT -5
They're definitely leeches. I've used the thumb-thick kind as fish bait since I was a little kid. Unfortunately I no longer have a collection point since I tore down the bio-filter and removed the stock tank that was housing this year's babies. Short of leaving a piece of raw meat in the water, I'm not sure how I would catch them. Hmm. Would you be able to drain the pond for a bit? |
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Post by Carl on Oct 18, 2016 16:42:06 GMT -5
They're definitely leeches. I've used the thumb-thick kind as fish bait since I was a little kid. Unfortunately I no longer have a collection point since I tore down the bio-filter and removed the stock tank that was housing this year's babies. Short of leaving a piece of raw meat in the water, I'm not sure how I would catch them. How do think these may have gotten in here in the first place? Have the leeches gotten on any fish? I do not know much about leeches, as maybe surprisingly, I never had a problem with them in any ponds under my care Carl |
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Post by Carl on Oct 18, 2016 16:52:31 GMT -5
I read this about the leech, but it did not explain to me how they might have found their way into your pond other than maybe attached to new fish (Which I do not believe you got any new fish?) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeechCarl |
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Post by parker002 on Oct 19, 2016 10:56:51 GMT -5
They could have come on plants - we've used store-bought and wild-caught plants both. They can also transported by frogs and mammals like opossums and raccoons - we have few of all 3 that come and go. Finally, these small leeches most likely feed on things like mosquito larvae and snails, so anything that could carry snails into the pond could also carry leeches.
From what I can tell, the fish are unaffected, which supports the idea these leeches are not blood suckers. The ones attached to me were using their suction for movement, none of them left a mark so I can only assume they weren't feeding on me outright.
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