Fish leeches -- very serious problem

[CountryEscape]

Yes, I was in my pond a couple of times and the only thing that bit me were the fish. Just little nibblers. Hopefully we are all good to go, but never hurts to be extra cautious! Better safe than sorry.

 

[j.w]

I don't think we are warm enough here in the summer to keep the leeches happy from your area CE. I have been in my pond also and never had any attached to me. I'll keep an eye out tho. When I was in Eastern Washington on the Pend Oreille river I waded in for some plants and came out w/ tiny leeches on my legs. But the water over there is warmer than our waters on this side of the mountain.

 

[addy1]

Just found this to get rid of leeches if you have fish:

Potassium permanganate is the old anti-fluke standby and is sold in pharmacies, some garden shops,, and lfs. I takes four days to treat your pond. A lot of koi supply houses carry it. the way you use it reguires that you accurately measure how much water you have and it is better to under dose than overdose or it can burn the gills of you fish. At treatment doses it will kill all your inverts but you will no longer have fish lice, flukes, or leeches. I did a quick check and you can get a 1 pound jar for $14.50 at www.fancykoiqutlet.com which will last a long time.
To use you turn off your filter and add one level TEASPOON of granules per 1000 gallons of water to your pond, dissolve it in a bucket with some water first, then stir it around, your pond will turn blue or purple then over the next couple hours turn amber or brown, once it does add 1 pint of 3% hydrogen peroxide to the pond. Stir it around and wait 3-4 hours then turn the pumps back on.
Repeat this everyday for four to five days, each day it will take longer for the blue to go away. Make sure you neutralize the potassium permanganate each day. after the last treatment do a 30-50% water change.



I have also read clean any muck off the bottom of your pond, the leeches love to live in it.

 

[CountryEscape]

Great additional information, Addy. Hopefully none of us will have to deal with the mess, but if we do, at least we can look back on for reference. Thanks for posting.