# Leeches - how to get rid of?



## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

fenben .05g per 10 gallons will kill panaria, but you got me on leeches.


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

Fenben will do nothing to leaches if it is. So bunch of salt will do it


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## LuckyCharm (Jan 20, 2014)

few 3 weeks ago I found one.... I haven't seen it since. I hope they don't reproduce :/


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

er...salt would also kill the shrimp, no?


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## LuckyCharm (Jan 20, 2014)

Salt... Doesn't help when the tank is full of plants xD


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## Raye (Apr 9, 2013)

sbarbee54 said:


> Fenben will do nothing to leaches if it is. So bunch of salt will do it


aquarium salt, right? how much should i be dosing? and will that take care of any potential eggs or no?

there are currently 'ghost shrimp' in there right now to test the tank's habitability (so far so good) and while i'm not overly-concerned for their well being, i still don't want to kill them...

edit; whoops, posted late.


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

Well I will tell you the harsh truth. To get rid of them you will need to pull everything out of the tank, and dip all the plants in a dip solution with tons of salt in it. Then inspect them for thier eggs and any thing that hangs one. Would do this several times. Pull the filter off the tank let it all dry out for 5 days, empty the tank and completely dry out substrate and anything for 5 days. Then put it all back in and start the cycle over.

I got leechs from some plants I bought, they infested everything hide in the substrate in the filter media, laid eggs on the under side of leaves. I had to throw away a couple hundred dollars in Xmas moss and another 200 in fissidens. had to house my shrimp in 5 gallon buckets for 3 weeks until I got the tank up and cycled again after drying everything out. 

Since then i have seen none, have had no issues. Leechs are not killed easy. I soaked one in bleach for a day, pulled it out put it back in a cup of water and it went on doing its business.


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## Raye (Apr 9, 2013)

sbarbee54 said:


> Well I will tell you the harsh truth. To get rid of them you will need to pull everything out of the tank, and dip all the plants in a dip solution with tons of salt in it. Then inspect them for thier eggs and any thing that hangs one. Would do this several times. Pull the filter off the tank let it all dry out for 5 days, empty the tank and completely dry out substrate and anything for 5 days. Then put it all back in and start the cycle over.
> 
> I got leechs from some plants I bought, they infested everything hide in the substrate in the filter media, laid eggs on the under side of leaves. I had to throw away a couple hundred dollars in Xmas moss and another 200 in fissidens. had to house my shrimp in 5 gallon buckets for 3 weeks until I got the tank up and cycled again after drying everything out.
> 
> Since then i have seen none, have had no issues. Leechs are not killed easy. I soaked one in bleach for a day, pulled it out put it back in a cup of water and it went on doing its business.


ugh noooo. this is exactly what i was afraid of. this tank was gonna be ready for my actual shrimp in three weeks. ;-;

i'm gonna do what i can to _not_ have to completely tear it down, but if i find another one, i'll do as suggested. thank you.


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

Yes if you find one you will find 10! if you have drift wood pull them up and look on the bottom sides, and pull some rooted planrts and look in the roots. They hid there well


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## Master503 (Feb 8, 2012)

Can I see the picture of this kind of worm? Havent see it before.


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## neilshieh (Sep 6, 2010)

Master503 said:


> Can I see the picture of this kind of worm? Havent see it before.


just imagine planaria but a much deeper red and about 5 times larger. very scary LOL 

I found two in my tank years ago, removed them, never saw them again. I recommend you make a trap first before you nuke the tank... either use a glass catch pen or make your own trap. google around planaria or leech trap and you'll find plenty of diy tutorials.


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## LisaBean (May 8, 2014)

I all- I am new to this site! I;ve had a planted tank for 6 months now, and lots of questions… I also have leeches in my tank. They look just like these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnCshgWf_Ig They get into the filter, and after scraping them off the filter wall, or pulling them out of the media with a forceps, I kill them with boiling water. The eggs are in little hard cases- I scrape those off and kill them too. I thought I was getting ahead of them, but yesterday I looked on the underside of a piece of wood and there were about 50 eggs. Yuck. 
My question is: Are they dangerous to fish or snails or shrimp? Can I just live with them? Yes- they probably snuck in with the blackworms I sometimes treat my fish with.


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## Kntry (Dec 26, 2013)

I found them when I pulled some Vals out today. They are a light brown color and semi hard. They rolled up in a ball when I tried to scoop them with the net. Stretched out, they are about 1.5" long.

Are these leeches and the same thing you found?

I haven't seen them in the tank. Now I don't want to put my hands in there.


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## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

how do leeches even end up in a tank? crazy to think those buggars could end up in a tank, i always imagine them living in dirty ponds or rivers...ala Stand by Me...


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

tweezers, pull them out one by one.

or put cories or most other fish in the tank, they eat leeches.
Panda cories are pretty good, their feeding area not only limit to the bottom.

leeches hunt young shrimps, but not the adults, adult shrimps can shake the leeches off.

don't wait until too late, if you see any bigger than one inch, they reproduce, and fast if food is plenty.
leeches don't lay eggs, and you only need one in the tank then have many later on(if food is plenty).


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## enddoc (Mar 30, 2016)

Raye said:


> Lots of questions coming from me these days.
> 
> so, last night as I was checking on my newly cycled 7 gallon, I noticed what I thought was a regular ol' flatworm. I was gonna leave it alone, but then it stretched out & started inching towards the substrate. I FREAKED OUT because I realized this giant flatworm was actually a leech.
> 
> ...


To kill snail leeches do this:
•	To test for snail leeches is simple ¼ teaspoon shrimp pellets will bring them out
•	First remove all plants.
•	Dip plant in a 50% hydrogen peroxide solution to dislodge pests by flushing with water
•	Save your plants in a bucket for 4 weeks
•	Remove all creatures which will die from salt being added, Rams horn, Pond snails
•	Snail leeches survive Clorox and all other solutions. I know I tried all suggested chemicals
•	Bring the salt level part- per-Thousand to 3 ppt with softener salt for 1 week
•	Lower it to 2 ppts for 2 weeks
•	The last week, do the above test.
•	If no leeches then change out with freshwater during this last week to 0 ppt salt.
How this works is the apparently the leeches ball up in a protective cocoon and starve to death.


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