So, last night after dark I got my headlamp out and started some snail maintenance (removing the unwanted ones). I peeked under a Lilly pad and was surprised to see a 4-5 inch, thin, worm kinda thing. I kept watching and pretty soon I notice its kinda flat on the top side and it starts swimming away! It was moving and now looking like a small eel! If an eel, I have no idea how it got into my pond - but I suspect that eggs may have been carried in on bird or purchased plant. Anyone have experience with this? I'll try again tonight to get a picture. It seems very elusive, though. I've read that eels will eat your fish when big enough and can take over the pond. Yikes!
Eel in my pond!?
- Thread starter timvz
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Do you live near a river?
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A leach maybe.
fishin4cars
True friends just call me Larkin
Not sure where you are located but, It could be a siren. It looks like a eel but is actually closer related to a salamander. They do have VERY tiny legs and feet but are pretty much useless. There are tow types I know of, the greater siren which can get up to 4' long and is dark gray to black, Then there is a lesser Siren which usually is less than 18' and is dark in color but has stripes down it's back. The younger the lesser siren the more vivid the stripes. I have kept these as pets and they really are very cool and unique creatures. Might be a small threat to small fish, they usually eat snails, worms, leeches, and small insect life. They also prefer heavy cover or thick mud to hide in but water gardens are also good places for them to seek refuge during hot summer months when Ditches are drying up of water. They can and do crawl over land usually at night to seek new area of water to live in if a ditch or water souce is getting to hot, drying up, or doesn't have enough food source for them to survive.
Didn't I read something on here about eels that slither around on land to get from pond to pond?
Troutredds
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I agree with Mucky_Waters. You may have a few leeches that hitched a ride into your pond, attached to aquatic plants. As you describe, they flatten and swim freely with an undulating motion like an eel or snake, when not clinging to some surface with their suction cup mouth. Fish consider them a delicacy.
Hmm. Could have been a leech, I suppose. That is probably more likely than an eel, I've just never seen a leech that big or that fast. I don't have any rivers or large bodies of water nearby. There may be some other ponders in the area, though. Most likely whatever it is, it hitched a ride on a plant. Will keep a night-time watch to see if I can capture it with a camera (or net). Thanks!
My late father was a river fisherman an caught many eels on his long horizontal lines. To me eels are very undesirable, i.e. creepy looking.
j.w
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This thread is starting to sound rather Horrorish to me, something like from the Black Lagoon!
I have leeches in my bathtub..............................................pond, bathtub pond. They are real tiny ones tho, at least I think they are leeches. Could be black fly larvae tho.
I have leeches in my bathtub..............................................pond, bathtub pond. They are real tiny ones tho, at least I think they are leeches. Could be black fly larvae tho.
Leeches are creatures from hell. Zero tolerance. Will kill fish along with their gross injurious impact on humans and animals. 
Troutredds
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They are awful gross.Leeches are creatures from hell. Zero tolerance. Will kill fish along with their gross injurious impact on humans and animals.
large rainbow trout, particular in lakes of the Pacific Northwest grow very fat consuming leeches. I've caught trout with stomachs full of nightcrawler sized leeches. I don't know how those fish avoid leeches clinging to them but I've never seen leeches hanging off them like lampreys do. Lampreys gross me out. I feel like I need to go take a shower now...
HUH?Leeches are creatures from hell. Zero tolerance. Will kill fish along with their gross injurious impact on humans and animals.
Mucky,
Lest I think they kill fish maybe not. I still hate them. Watch the movie classic "African Queen" and you will see for yourself. My first encounter with leeches was during a night time patrol through a creek.
Lest I think they kill fish maybe not. I still hate them. Watch the movie classic "African Queen" and you will see for yourself. My first encounter with leeches was during a night time patrol through a creek.
j.w
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EEE GADS I'm getting outta this thread..................I'll be having nightmares
