Weird creature

Is it gliding like a snail, or moving more like an inchworm?

If like an inchworm, it's likely a leech, and you should remove it.

Really need a better image of it, like it moving along the glass so you can see it's shape and it's estimated length. If it's roughly oblong and moving in a slow gliding fashion, it could be a flatworm, not all flatworms are Planaria. Some are simple detritus eaters and pose no harm, but they generally are smaller than your average Planaria.

Looks like a leach to me.

Seeing how you're not sure, then you obviously didn't put it in there on purpose. This may sound overly simple, but why ask what it is instead of just removing it? What if people on here are wrong, and it's a parasite of some kind? Is it worth keeping if you potentially kill all your fish?

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jellopuddinpop said:

Seeing how you're not sure, then you obviously didn't put it in there on purpose. This may sound overly simple, but why ask what it is instead of just removing it? What if people on here are wrong, and it's a parasite of some kind? Is it worth keeping if you potentially kill all your fish?

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must say this comment didn't really help at all

BettaBettas said:

must say this comment didn't really help at all

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I'm just thinking about it from a different pov I suppose. In reef tanks, people will find all sorts of buggers that come in on liverock, and very little of it is beneficial. If I ever came across something in my tank that I couldn't identify, that sucker would be out of there immediately.

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Well that's not the best idea 99 percent of the time, if you pull it out then you don't know what caused it, caused meaning if she/he put it in there by mistake or it, got in there somehow. If it were to say dragonfly larva, if you pulled it out the same thing could potentially happen again since you didn't ask *and you didn't know* what would happen afterwards. Afterwards another dragonfly would plop down in there again, effect of this is getting a lid for the aquarium. If it where a flatworm and you "just pulled it out" then you wouldn't know that over feeding causes flatworms to increase birthrate (of the flatworms, more population of them). If you didn't feed as much then, well you wont see the flatworms.

We need a better description of it's behavior, and it's size. Is it gliding along sort snail-like and sinuous, or is it inch worming along like a Leech? Some of the smaller Leeches are detritivores and opportunistic micro predators, and really won't harm fish, although they might eat a small shrimp if they can catch them.

Aesthetically they're yucky and I'd remove it.

Sorry for the late response, but yes it definitely was "inching" like a worm/leech would. My first impression was a leech but have never ran into that or even heard about that before. And I did not feel an immediate need to remove it simply because I did not know what it was, and was really hoping it was a snail.

No idea how I would have gotten a leech....only possibility to me is that I recently purchased blackworms from an online vendor and have been feeding them to my puffers (I do rinse every day and never notice anything but worms, but then again if they're juveniles they may be hard to spot)

Tried finding him again and can't yet as tank is heavily planted. If he makes his way up front I'll snap some more pics and make sure the compression doesn't ruin the pic quality this time.

They'll sometimes come in on new plants. The little green leeches are somewhat harmless, eats algae, bio-film and microorganisms. They might take liking to nice soft stem plants so it would be best to remove it.

I will definitely remove it as soon as I can spot it. Still would like to narrow down the source though. I haven't introduced anything new (besides 2 puffers and blackworms) for around 6 months. Most of my plants are bulbs (various aponogetons) that are thriving and reproducing like crazy. My goal is to never go to a fish store again, as they're fairly crummy around here...

Thanks for the help everybody!

Definitely sounds like a leech. I would remove it right away (there is a even bigger worry of eggs being laid).

It's not uncommon to get leech contaminants with live blackworms (though they usually as big as the one pictured)

Free_your_mind>>()() said:

I will definitely remove it as soon as I can spot it. Still would like to narrow down the source though. I haven't introduced anything new (besides 2 puffers and blackworms) for around 6 months. Most of my plants are bulbs (various aponogetons) that are thriving and reproducing like crazy. My goal is to never go to a fish store again, as they're fairly crummy around here...

Thanks for the help everybody!

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Maybe you just never saw it, and it was in the tank all along. Don't beat yourself up, it happens. Now get it out.

WaterLife said:

Definitely sounds like a leech. I would remove it right away (there is a even bigger worry of eggs being laid).

It's not uncommon to get leech contaminants with live blackworms (though they usually as big as the one pictured)

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Yep, there's always leaches in the black worms i get. I usually pick them out and feed them to the bigger fish.

FFR, snails can't live outside of their shells. If a snail were outside of its shell, it wouldn't be moving (and would be torn up, too).

snails are actually apart of the shell... hence why the shell Magically grows over time *spooky*