The Puffer Forum

Hi,

About a month ago I found one of this in aquarium while rearranging plants. Found it attached to a plant root. I chased it (it borrows really fast in gravel) and captured it with a net. It looks like a small dark red leech, about 1-1 1/2 inch long.

Today I found four of them in the sump of the same aquarium swimming agains the current. One at the bottom was moving like a true leech by using head to anchor to the glass. A close friend tolds me that it is possible to be from wild catch tubifex worms he used to feed his fish, I have many plants from his aquariums. It seems that along with tubifex collectors got these creatures. I have only SAE in this aquarium and I don't feed them anything, they rely on algae (if any) so it's impossibke that I introduced them in aqaurium. I also got different kind of snails.

Could someone please tell me what it is and if I should be concerned about it, eventually a removal procedure?

Thanks.

Earthworm--ever fed one to that tank?

Don't earth worms drown in water?

No, I didn't feed them earthworms or anything else. I only have 3 fishes SAE in the aquarium and they eat algae when it's develop on plants/glass/gravel/etc

Looks like a leech. Can you see mouth parts on the bottom of it? Put it on the back of your hand and see what it does. Lol.

Some kind of worm. Feed it to a large puffer.

Looks like a snack for your gsps.

Yeah, not a earthworm. Earthworms do not stick their head to the glass. What I would worry about is this being some sort of parasite. If you look at it, does it have a mouth on the end that sticks to the tank? If it does you should see something teethlike...