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Getting Into Leeches


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#1 Michael Wolfe

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Posted 31 August 2007 - 08:20 PM

I was out today in some rather swampy places here in georgia and saw what had to be the biggest leech I have ever seen... it had to be 6 inches long, and was swimming rather like a snake... was orange underneath and dark on top with orange spots on the back... pretty interesting looking... What species is this?

...so interesting looking that I never noticed the smaller guy that was hitching a ride until I got back home and was rinsing off... no big deal really, just seemed interesting... he came right off when I touched him, but the little spot he made bled for quite a while...

On a seperate leech topic... I noticed that there are several small leeches in one of my fish tanks... how did these guys get in there? Can they hitch a ride in on plants? Can they survive by eating extra fish food (like beef heart?) or do they have to have a blood meal? I have not lost any of the shiners that are in the tank... so far the leeches have been rather unobtrusive and I only noticed them last week... which is strange casue nothing new has gone in that tank (other than frozen food) for a couple fo months.
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#2 Guest_Brooklamprey_*

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Posted 31 August 2007 - 11:11 PM

First leech mentioned is a Macrobdella sp. Likely M.decora..Also known as the North American medicinal leech.

#3 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 01 September 2007 - 02:15 AM

he came right off when I touched him, but the little spot he made bled for quite a while...

On a seperate leech topic... I noticed that there are several small leeches in one of my fish tanks... how did these guys get in there?


There's an anti-coagulant in their saliva that keeps the blood flowing even after they leave. This is how I usually notice them. I see the blood and then find some others still doing their work :)

As for your new friends at home, that's a good question. Might they have come in on the fish? I suppose they could have come in on plants.

If you're feeding necrotic material, from the little bit of reading I just did, generalist species can do quite well on that. A couple studies were feeding reconstituted beef blood as a main food source (which I this is what beefheart is?). If you've got a population of snails, they may be sneaking bits from them as well, you wouldn't notice that as readily as your fish.

There's an interesting literature on parental care in leeches. I'm going to have to look into this when I'm on the school's IP addresses.

Todd

#4 Michael Wolfe

Michael Wolfe
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  • North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 01 September 2007 - 05:30 PM

I don't think they came in on the fish... these are yellowfins that I collected around here with Laura back in December right before she moved... and nothing really has been in that tank other than them... Yes, I totally have a ton on snails in that tank, and I would never notice a few dead ones.

As for the beef heart, I was talking about the stuff you buy at petshops as frozen foods... I use it just for variety mixed in with the brine and mysis shrimp (also frozen).

... and yeah, I knew about the anti-coagulant, just had not seen it in practice... it really worked for close to an hour...

As long as they do not attack the fish, I kind of like them... I used to keep saltwater reefs, and my first thought was that it was a brittle star arm coming up from the sand... so I will keep an eye on the nine shiners in the tank...

There's an anti-coagulant in their saliva that keeps the blood flowing even after they leave. This is how I usually notice them. I see the blood and then find some others still doing their work :)

As for your new friends at home, that's a good question. Might they have come in on the fish? I suppose they could have come in on plants.

If you're feeding necrotic material, from the little bit of reading I just did, generalist species can do quite well on that. A couple studies were feeding reconstituted beef blood as a main food source (which I this is what beefheart is?). If you've got a population of snails, they may be sneaking bits from them as well, you wouldn't notice that as readily as your fish.

There's an interesting literature on parental care in leeches. I'm going to have to look into this when I'm on the school's IP addresses.

Todd


Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#5 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 02 September 2007 - 12:52 AM

I was out today in some rather swampy places here in georgia and saw what had to be the biggest leech I have ever seen... it had to be 6 inches long, and was swimming rather like a snake... was orange underneath and dark on top with orange spots on the back... pretty interesting looking... What species is this?


I've seen those before too, in N. Lousiana.




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