raewyna Posted January 30, 2010 Report Share Posted January 30, 2010 I have leeches in at least one pond and from they have got into one fish tank (presumably via plants). They don't seem to be a problem - baby guppies unharmed, plants look OK, plenty of snails still. Do they do any harm? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heir Posted February 2, 2010 Report Share Posted February 2, 2010 I have leeches in at least one pond and from they have got into one fish tank (presumably via plants). They don't seem to be a problem - baby guppies unharmed, plants look OK, plenty of snails still. Do they do any harm? Thanks Leeches generally mean good water quality. I would watch them we have quite a few different species in NZ most live on snails and worms etc so I would watch them in your tank.. your fish should be ohk and generally they don't eat plants so they should be all good too Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raewyna Posted February 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2010 Thanks for that. It's good to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 Are you sure they are real leeches? Do bit of a google image search, planaria are often confused with leeches and are more commonly seen. I want to get a population of planaria going in my critter tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planarian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdspider Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 I know Donna has been having trouble with leeches in her turtle ponds - They get into the shell & make it pitted - and was seeking ways to get rid of them without having to drain & dry the ponds & move all the turtles. Any suggestions? (She had done a bit of research and confirmed they were leeches) ps I love planaria, their faces are so cute. Reminds me of high school biology and making them have multi heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 I'm pretty sure I've got leeches in one of my ponds... they creep me out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 NZ ones are mostly non-blood-sucking as far as I am aware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdspider Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 Yes, but if they swarm all over a turtles shell they block vital sunlight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 NZ ones are mostly non-blood-sucking as far as I am aware. That's reassuring They were only small but it still gave me a fright when I found these things stuck on my hands after doing some slime removal in the pond. I once stayed with friends in Queensland and the guy we were staying with found a leech stuck on his leg several hours after going for a bush walk - yuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raewyna Posted February 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 I have planaria too - I don't see them often but if a tank gets too grubby the planaria appear. The leeches are different. The planaria glide in one plane along the glass, but the leeches hang on at one end and wave their heads around looking at where they want to go. And they're bigger and browner. I ID'd them on website pictures, just didn't find much information about their effect in tanks. I killed the inside ones i found, but if they're harmless, I might leave the outside ones alone and see what I can learn. They're in a 10 litre bucket with a dwarf water lily and no fish. another one of my water lily buckets (42litres also with no fish) has some tubifex in it. Where that came from is a mystery too - we wonder if it might have been in the water lily potting mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chillz Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 Are the leeches causing pitting of the shell or are they just taking advantage of lessions on the shell?? Have seen leeches on turtles with shell rot lesions before, but only around the shell margins at tops of legs and neck of animals with undamaged shells Most turtles will sun bask daily , wouldnt the leeches want to avoid this, and thus only attach whist the animal is in the water so not interering with UV exposure??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 perhaps the damage is done when they are hibernating? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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