Stowaways...

[boiceboy]

So I bought a big bunch of plants from aquaticplantdepot.com. They came and were in great shape. I planted them all in my tank, and was very satisfied with the whole experience. Great prices on plants and they came in good shape. Here is a pic of my tank all planted up (after some Flourite dust settled).

Unfortunately, I find that I have a wide variety of "stowaways" that came with my plants. Some aren't so bad, I got some duckweed, which I kind of wanted anyways. I have counted 4 different varieties of snails. There are also two disturbing critters. I saw a couple of small crustacean like things that looked a lot like the sand crabs you'd see at the beach. They were about 3-4mm long. The second thing I found today, and if its a leech I'm gonna be pissed.

Any of these harmful? Or will they just be food for the lucky inhabitants of my tank? I know my puffer is gonna love the snails, he cleaned out my 10G already.

I hope these pictures show up, this is my first picture post.

 

[boiceboy]

Holy crap, way to big of an image, I gotta remember to keep those smaller, sorry guys. At least it shows the picture of that wierd slug looking thing in detail!

 

[TPIRman]

The "slug" thing looks like a leech to me, but I am no expert.

This doesn't help you much now, but the next time you get new plants, give them a 60- to 90-second dip in a 20:1 bleach solution, followed by extensive rinse and submersion in a water bucket containing a triple dose of water conditioner (i.e., dechlorinator). Be sure to wear rubber gloves and/or rinse your hands well in the dechlor solution. This should eliminate any baddies that might stow away on your next batch of plants.

I wouldn't worry about the snails for now, but the other visitors could be trouble -- I'll cede to someone with more experience on those counts as far as a definite ID, however.

 

[boiceboy]

Reading up on leeches, apparently they have a suction cup at the head and tail of the creature, and this most definitely did. I am hoping it was the only one. I observed it for awhile in that petri dish, and it could stretch really long, like over an inch. It would then move like an inch worm. Its back was very rough with tiny spine like protrusions, although not sharp, probably because they were so small.

 

[boiceboy]

Gah! I just got a positive ID, assuming this dude is right:

http://www2b.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum-old/posts/topic14406.shtm

Its a "snail leech" which eats primarily snails. Presumed harmless to fish. I kind of wish I didn't throw him out now, I could have at least kept him in a container in the tank and observed him longer, maybe could have been part of the tank ecosystem, keeping my snails in check. Too late unless I find another.