Worm ID

[FFGuest6357]

LOL, talk about overkill

Abundance of caution?!

 

[Colin_T]

That amount of salt won’t effect any of the fish I have?
Pleco, rainbow shark, corys and rainbow fish.

All freshwater fish can tolerate 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres of water for a couple of weeks.

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Abundance of caution?!

Shoulder length gloves, Biohazard suit, decontamination chamber, oxy torch, shot gun, bullet proof body armor, and a fly swat. All to kill a leech

 

[itiwhetu]

Yuck. I love New Zealand

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Update for anyone who has any more insight:

I have been adding insane amounts of salt to my tank and it does not seem to be making a dent in my leech population. Last vac I counted 15 clinging to the bucket, and that’s after dumping several.
In addition to that my plants have completely liquidated, so that’s great ?‍
1 fish has died, I wasn’t able to find the cause but I’m assuming it’s from the salinity surge.

Needless to say this has definitely taken the joy out of the hobby, I’m debating just letting them stay cause I’m at a loss.

 

[Naughts]

If you add salt for more than 4 weeks, fish can get kidney damage. You need to start diluting it out with daily 10% water changes. Progressing to 20%, then routine larger water changes.

 

[Naughts]

Throw away (responsibly) and replace the substrate as it could harbour leech eggs.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

That's what I figured it would come to, and is a lot easier said than done in a 55G. I'm also a little hesitant cause I'd read a thread on another forum where someone had the same issue and it came back after changing the substrate. I would assume because the eggs are so resistant? The eggs I find have a super grip to the glass, they are not easily scraped off.

I also wonder if the type of substrate I choose to replace with could be less inviting to potential invaders? I currently have a mix of fine Black Diamond Blasting Media topped with normal black aquarium gravel, which they seem to move through quite freely. I wouldn't mind switching to something finer to make it less homely.

 

[Naughts]

In a big tank you could try a big fish that would eat the leeches? What fish do you have?

 

[GreyWhiskers]

One 6" Rainbow Shark and 6 2-4" Rainbow fish, also a Bristlenose Pleco.
I've never see any of the leeches anywhere near the surface of the gravel though, they seem to prefer it towards the very bottom of the tank, so it would have to be something that doesn't mind digging. I did try feeding a leech to the rainbow fish but they didn't bite.

 

[Colin_T]

How much salt did you add?
Two heaped tablespoons per 20 litres should have been sufficient to kill the leeches but not harm the plants.

Copper should kill them or try Flubendazole. It is a dewormer that might kill leeches.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

How much salt did you add?
Two heaped tablespoons per 20 litres should have been sufficient to kill the leeches but not harm the plants.

Copper should kill them or try Flubendazole. It is a dewormer that might kill leeches.

I started out with 1 tbsp per 5 gallons, after a couple days I added another tbsp per 5 gallons to get it up to that level. I've added that same amount (2tbsp per 5G) with new water added in after a water change.
I've just started using a fertilizer that contains a small amount of copper (Seachem Fluorish), I also read that copper isn't friendly to them so it inspired me, but I do think it'll take some time to build up to lethal levels? If that's even a thing..
I plan on using it 2 times a week as directed on the bottle to not harm the fish, and maybe save the plants that haven't turned to sludge.

I do have fenbendazole on hand from an issue in the past but I read on here that it probably wont work. Also I'm hesitant of stressing out the fish with so many new additives.

Parasites in your aquarium - | Aquasabi

Pests and their control methods

www.aquasabi.com

I am 100% sure I'm dealing with the Asian Freshwater Leech found in this link.

 

[Colin_T]

A single dose of copper should kill any and all invertebrates in the tank. That includes leeches, snails, shrimp, copepods, and any external protozoa in the tank.

Make sure you don't have any carbon in the filter.

Don't over dose.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

That sounds good to me! Should I be using something else as a copper source, cause this stuff says it's safe for snails, shrimp and other inverts. Is there a specific copper product you'd recommend?

 

[Colin_T]

look for a white spot treatment that is copper based and treat the tank with that.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

look for a white spot treatment that is copper based and treat the tank with that.

I will try that thank you