FOUND A LEECH TODAY.....

[Mmathis]

Was doing a backflush on the SKIPPY this afternoon, and in the process, was saving all the little critters that washed out with the gunk (tadpoles, little snails, and those little things that look like tiny shrimp). Then I found a worm and wondered how in the heck it got in the filter. When I tried to pick it up..... Yech! It wasn't a worm but a LEECH!! Gross, gross, gross!

It's the only one I've ever seen, and it's anyone's guess how it got there. Do I need to be worried, or is "grossed out" good enough?

 

[don't ask]

interesting TM, don't know anything on the topic though

 

[capewind]

know we have all kinds of creepy crawlies in the bog area of the pond, and the filters ... hubby had to point something out to me this morning ... THOUGHT he was showing me a baby fish til I saw the WIGGLE ... dang baby dragonfly nymph ... sigh... they are neat looking when they have all their legs, but I dont like them at this stage:-(

 

[don't ask]

know we have all kinds of creepy crawlies in the bog area of the pond, and the filters ... hubby had to point something out to me this morning ... THOUGHT he was showing me a baby fish til I saw the WIGGLE ... dang baby dragonfly nymph ... sigh... they are neat looking when they have all their legs, but I dont like them at this stage:-(

yes they are creepy looking at the nymph stage

 

[Dave 54]

So long as the Leeches dont start sucking fish blood it just shows yu have a filter thats capable of life which is a big plus to the pond leeches can however become a problem though. lets keep our fingers crossed no eggs where laid in the filter .

rgrds

Dave

 

[capewind]

Never thought of it as being a good thing for the filter, but it makes sense ... hubby came out of the upper pond a couple of times last year with a few little leeches .. never saw one on the fish, but know they will eat them.

 

[Mmathis]

So, do I need to eliminate this one (I saved it to show son & Hubby)? IOW, it might be a good sign of a "healthy" filter, but do I want THESE THINGS hanging (no pun intended) around? Should I "bait" the pond to get rid of any others that might be there? Sorry, I'm all for nature and biodiversity, but leeches are just too creepy, and I don't want them to potentially hurt my fish population.

 

[adavisus]

Leeches tend to pick on one thing or another, they might specialise in turning snails into slurpees.

Yups, they are gross

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/
http://swglist.wordpress.com/

 

[Mmathis]

Guess I'll go put this guy out of his misery. Hmm, too bad our schools just let out for summer as there might be a science teacher somewhere who would want him for her class to observe.

OK, so a humane way to kill a leech would be ____________?

 

[fishin4cars]

Humane way to kill a leech? Hmmmm, maybe freezing, or if you want to kill it fast cover it with salt, slugs and leeches both will dye with a covering of salt. As for them being a problem, 99% of the time they aren't anything to worry about. Just keep an eye out that you don't see any actually on a fish. In most water garden ponds this is really pretty rare. If they get out of control you can eradicate them with anything that will kill snails. As stated, they are a sign of a functioning eco-system, Fish will eat them and that's fine, and they do help breakdown waste which is a good thing.

 

[HTH]

Are you sure it is a leach and not a planaria ?

When we stored our lilies in a pond with no fish it became infested with good sized planaria. We removed the lilies and turned the koi loose on them. In a few days they were nowhere to be seen and the koi were going burrrp!

 

[Mmathis]

Are you sure it is a leach and not a planaria ?

When we stored our lilies in a pond with no fish it became infested with good sized planaria. We removed the lilies and turned the koi loose on them. In a few days they were nowhere to be seen and the koi were going burrrp!

Don't know -- didn't look that closely. I haven't done anything with it yet, so if it's still alive in the morning I'll see what it looks like.

P.S. -- I'm gonna have some BAD dreams tonight! Just GOOGLED leeches & planaria. Gross, gross! From that, looking more like a leech, but will still give my captive a better look-see in the morning.

 

[Mmathis]

Leech!

 

[capewind]

DISLIKE picture LOL ... creepy guy needs to gooooo .... LOL.

 

[Mmathis]

DISLIKE picture LOL ... creepy guy needs to gooooo .... LOL.

He's GONE