Little Guys

A couple of weeks ago I started a discussion about leeches in a different thread. This is a followup. Since that time I have received great information from this site and done a ton of research myself. I started to see little white worms on the glass of my tank however they were not the usual wiggly detritus worms that I was familiar with. These were slow, tiny white worms that are capable of extending themselves several times the length of what I had originally seen. They also turned gray or brown as they extended. After my research I determined that I have Snail Leeches. They will eat my baby snails if they can and they will latch on to my baby shrimp if they can catch them. They do not seem to bother my adult shrimp or my fish. This variety does not appear in a horde but rather one here and one there. I see the leeches on the glass of my tank but never on the substrate or on the wood or rocks. Nothing seems to be eating the leeches. What do I do? I am not comfortable with putting poison in my tank and there is no way that I am going to catch them en mass. I got a small plastic cup and filled it 1/4 water and 1/4 Hydrogen Peroxide (HP). I have a small pipet. When I see a leech on the glass I suck it up with the pipet and squirt it into the hydrogen peroxide where it will die. Sometimes they stick to the inside of the pipet and will stay there alive so after I squirt it into the HP I suck up the water again and squirt it back into the cup. This has been very effective kill the leeches. I see them everyday from 4-6 on the glass so it isn't a chore to take care of them. My original concern after catching them was maintaining the integrity of the water supply. With this method of care I am not putting live leeches in the water, HP decomposition creates only water so it is safe to put in the system. Win, win for my happy little tank. I promise there are fish in the tank, they hide whenever someone walks up. There are also about 6 adult shrimp, 20-24 babies, 2 adult snails and numerous baby snails.

Lovely selection. If it were my tank I would also add some Dragon Claw just because it is great to put into a small space and they stay small so they won't overwhelm the space in the future.

Google Aquarium Media Mesh bag and you will find them.

Yes, he is fine, I just noticed the white part for the first time. First hatch and I am still learning about baby shrimp.

I don't. The photo wat too small to see so I had to increase the size.

They will be fine however it you just can't let them go without, you can try the auto feed now and see how it goes. That way you will have confidence when you leave. I doubt they will starve themselves, even if the food is on the bottom.

The attached picture is one of my baby shrimp. There is a white dot area on the underside of the shrimp. Being ridiculously inexperienced I am wondering if this is usual shrimp anatomy or something eating my shrimp from the inside out. Thoughts?

I promise I will move beyond this however like any new source of learning, I am having fun. My sister sent me a pretty good article and I wanted to share it with you considering I had so much trouble finding actual information. From what the article says I suspect I have Snail Leeches. https://www.aquasabi.com/aquascaping-wiki_parasites_leeches

I grabbed my pipet and started slurping up Leeches that were on the glass of my aquarium. They all seemed to collect on the same side. I have 5 in a small cup and now that they are not a threat to my babies, they are actually pretty interesting. I would love to send a video but I don't know how to attach a vido I made.

Thank you Guppy Snail, this is good information and a useful note on Amonia. I don't have Planaria, I have Leeches. Is the treatment the same? I know that you can starve Planaria out, is it possible to starve Leeches out?

I am quoting this so others can see it, this is great information, thank you so much. I will try not to worry about it and see how it goes. My shrimp have just started to actually breed . I am actually not crazy about the smails although they are interesting. I have two Rhamshorn that I do want to keep. My sister gave me a blue, it looks striped but I think those are growth rings. One of its offspring is spotted like a blue leopard snail. I do control the snail population in my tank. Thank you so much for this information.

I am on information overload. Please let me know if this topic should be moved to its own thread. I am reading about leeches and have found so much conflicting information. I have Googled leeches, Youtubed leeches and looker here. Some say leeches are harmless, some say they will kill your shrimp (I just got to the point where they are mating) and some say they will kill your snails but leave fish alone. I have even found one articles that says leeches and detritus worms are the same thing. I am trying to figuer out if leeches are actually a problem or if people just think they are a problem because leeches ick people out. Please tell me about your experience with leeches,what their effect was in your tank and if you treated them or not.

Are you saying that Leeches are harmless to shrimp? From everything I am reading they will eat snails and shrimp. The thing was white on the side of my tank and turned darker when I trapped it. Can you give me more information? What kind of leech is it?

Thanks for sharing. I have one 7 gal tank with Tetras, shrimp, Corys and Ramshorn. I might start a shrimp tank but that is my limit. My husband keeps teasing me about becoming the Fish Lady. That is definately not what I want. I am having so much fun with what I have and RESPECT to those with fish rooms, I just know I would not manage it well or enjoy it.

I love Anubias Minima Dragon Claw. I always get it as a Tissue culture so no worries about tiny livestock. It is a small plant 2-3" and great for spot planting. By that I mean you can stick it in a small area and it will not overwhelm anything. One of the things I like about it is that you can purchase several, add them one at a time and make changes a little bit at a time. The picture shows 3 plants in a 4x4 sq inch area. "Minima Dragon Claw is epiphytic and can be attached to aquarium driftwood or placed in between the cracks of an aquascape layout. Over time, its roots will self-attach and allow the plant to establish in the desired setting. One caveat may be its slow growth as this makes Anubias leaves more susceptible to algae growth if placed under high lighting."

Update - I have had a Planaria trap in my tank for 3 days. There is not a lot of activity but it looks like there are one or two. I found a worm looking thing on the glass of my tank and trapped it in a suction cup, see picture, Is this a Planaria? If yes, and there is no evidence of a big outbreak will it stop them if I stop feeding for a few days? I don't like the idea of poisoning my entire tank. If this is a smalll outbreak I want to nip it in the bud right now.

Well, I am going to set a trap and see if they even exist in my tank. I might have misidentified the little critter. Putting in a trap may not catch a bunch however if they exist it should at least catch some, thereby letting me know if I have a problem or not.

I don't know about that, I just know that I don't want them in my shrimp tank if they will harm my shrimp. I am not happy about the idea of No Planaria in my tank as a poison in a closed system so doing a bit of research.

Thank you FFC. The wood in my tank is very dark and it is often difficult to see them against it. I will give it some time and see is they show up.

Thank you BB. I have had them for several months. I will give this a try.

Hi, Just wanted your thoughts. I have 3 Otocinclus and almost never see them. I have some wood and plants that they could be hiding in/under. Is it weird that I never see them? I am wondering if 2 of them have died however I would need to disturb everything to find out for sure and having newborn shrimp I am reluctant to do this. My plants are more grown up than the picture shows.

All great ideas, thank you. I think my Niece will help me while I am gone. I can do a water change before I leave and the only time I change is when the filter needs to be cleaned. I top off in between cleanings so that is pretty easy. Can anyone recommend a service they have experience with? I have Tetras, Cherry Shrimp, Cories and Oto's.

Later this year I will be spending a month in Europe. What do you do when you take a vacation. My tank is pretty eacy keeper and only needs a water change when the filter needs to be cleaned. I just top it off between those times.

Thank you

Question - if you use a Planeria trap, what do you do after you trap them. I believe we have a responsibility to not introduce non native species into our water source. I never flush or rinse anything down my drains.