UPDATE: on Leech issue

[Chickieepooh2u]

I solved the leech problem I had in my 33 gallon. I had been running salt and that weakened them. (The parasite meds did nothing.) So I filled up a clear tote with 6 gallons of water and added conditioner and an air stone (no filter I'll explain later). I netted each guppy and plucked the leeches off them with a tweezers. I dropped the leeches in a measureing cup. It didn't take too long and there wasn't too much torture to the fishes. *whew*

Then I put them in the tote. Thats where they are going to live for a few days, (while I deal with the 33 gallon tank itself.) The measure cup with the leeches got a cap full of bleach added to it. They died a fast, painful death!! :clap:

So. Heres the painful part.

I added a few cups of bleach to the empty tank and let the filter run. These leeches are so small I figured it was the only sure fast way to kill them. Killing off a cycled tank HURTS!! :sad: I left everything in the tank. Poor pond snails. It might kill the 2 live plants I had in there, but they are easily replaced, as are the snails. I figured it was a loss I was willing to take. I was NOT willing to lose my fish.

Looks like I'll be on the search for some Bio Spira this weekend. *sigh* I'll have a look at the tote to make darn sure theres no leeches I missed before I put them back in. Oh the headache of draining the bleached tank. Looks like my Sunday's shot.

 

[ChilDawg]

Make sure to add quite a bit of dechlorinator before draining--that might mitigate some of the chlorine problems you might have later if you didn't dechlor...

 

[Chickieepooh2u]

Thanks for the tip. I just did that.

It sure didn't take long for that bleach to kill the tank off. Wow. Had some floating hornwort in there and its white now. oh well. Tank itself never looked better. joy. Guess I can drain it today instead of Sunday.

Oh what fun!! Now I get to cycle this thing all over again!

 

[plah831]

Make sure to add quite a bit of dechlorinator before draining--that might mitigate some of the chlorine problems you might have later if you didn't dechlor...

yeah, some folks add as much as 4x the recommended dose just to make sure there's no leftover bleach.

eww, leeches. i've only seen those on wild-caught marine fish. the recommended treatment for that was a freshwater dip, so i guess the saltwater dip for FW leeches makes sense.

good job, chickeepooh. i'm proud of you for stomaching that. i think i woulda puked, screamed for sure.

 

[fishcatch22]

good job, chickeepooh. i'm proud of you for stomaching that. i think i woulda puked, screamed for sure.

puked? screamed? I though you of all people wouldn't mind leeches. and you call yourself a biologist!

 

[plah831]

puked? screamed? I though you of all people wouldn't mind leeches. and you call yourself a biologist!

i told ya i was getting girly in my old age :

chickeepooh, you are badazz. that must have been difficult to hold down little guppies AND pull leeches out of their heads.

 

[fishcatch22]

i told ya i was getting girly in my old age :

old age? you're only 28, you won't be old for 20 more years...

 

[Chickieepooh2u]

Who said I didn't puke?? lmao!! j/k The fact that these were so small was a blessing because I'm a bit leech phobic.

When I was a little girl we had a flood. Actually a few of them. Anyway Grandpa handed me this 'worm' to show my mom. Ya! Well. She had to pull the thing off with a pliers!!! You could hear me screaming across town. It was HUGE! *shudder**gag*

It wasn't easy, thats for sure! They don't exactly hold still, then picking at them with a sharp tweezers. No not fun.

There is an up side here believe it or not.

The hubby felt so bad about messing up my tank with 'wildlife' he caught that he found me a 55 gallon tank with stand and everything. WEEEE!

So I've decided NOT to sell him on e-bay. LOL

 

[plah831]

There is an up side here believe it or not.

The hubby felt so bad about messing up my tank with 'wildlife' he caught that he found me a 55 gallon tank with stand and everything. WEEEE!

So I've decided NOT to sell him on e-bay. LOL

awesome!!! i find husbands only get about $200 on ebay, anyway