More aquatic excitement.
What the hell is this thing??? And how did it get into my tank??? This worm is just— gross. And I don’t know what was going through my mind when I decided to put it on my hand (well, actually I was thinking that I needed some better shots of it. But nevermind!) because after 3 washes with hand soap, a 5 minute soak/scrub in Benzalkonium Chloride (hey, it was all I had.), & a frenzied slathering of Bath & Bodyworks Mango Mandarin antibacterial gel… my finger still stunk. Like the green-haired Irene, I had… stinkfinger.
Two of my goldfish in the outdoor water lily tank died recently. I noticed some patchy areas on their skin so I removed the lily pots, did some water changes, treated for algae & hunted unsuccessfully for fish lice.
This past weekend while I was staring at the water (don’t all fish owners do that?), I caught odd movement at the bottom of the tank. It wasn’t the tail of the plecostomus (did I spell that right?). It was this little black tentacle… waving. It waved like it knew me. So I grabbed it.
It swum, in an S motion, very quickly across the tank, & then I upset the surviving goldfish by chasing it with a net. I was already freaking out but it takes me awhile to figure it out. I then took a bunch of pictures of it & dumped it in the little Pregnant Mama tank, where it promptly burrowed into the gravel. And then I smelled my hand, & then I really freaked out.
My ex-husband, who if nothing else has had a lot of aquariums, said that it is probably a leech. I argued that it didn’t seem to have the 3-fang mouth leeches supposedly have, & he said that Hawaiian leeches are different. I didn’t bother to check if it has 34 segments. I don’t care. It’s in isolation now.
Incidentally, I did catch a tiny fish louse in the tank this morning. The spiral swimming movemement caught my eye. I’m like a Tyrannosaurus Rex that way: don’t move funny when I’m staring at the water. Yes, I’m something of a dork as well, & it’s time for me to go to bed. Anyway, I threw it in with the leech. Maybe they’ll get along. Suckers. Ha ha, sorry.
Gross. And I shouldnt have clicked on that fish lice thing, stabbing my eyeballs out now.
Eew. Disgusting. Did it stick to your hand? Looks like a leech. Never smelled one though.
Intresting that you would smell it, I guess I would have done the same.
My degree in Leechology has already expired so I can not verify your findings … sorry !
What loot did it drop ?
It does kinda look like a leach…..You need to clean your tank more often! LOL
ewwwwww….probably not something you wanna look at when recovering from the STOMACH FLU!!!! gotta go barf now…thanks lauren…grrr
it does look like a leach tho. see you tomorrow.
Although the picture is very fuzzy, it looks like a leech. Leeches are supposedly very smelly. Anyway here is a link for ya
http://www.enaturalist.org/unit/95
This link is interesting also and shows the waving LOL
http://www.austmus.gov.au/factsheets/leeches.htm
You are too funny!!
Here, an expert’s opinion; I just received this email. Dr. Govedich’s site may be viewed here.
“Yes, your animal is a leech! It looks like an erpobdellid leech and these are predators on small invertebrates so it probably had nothing to do with the fish death. It is not a fish leech so your fish are safe from this type of leech.”
So I guess it was the fish louse. Nasty little thing. Sorry, Darren.
OMG… That thing is scary! I can’t believe you actually picked it up! I wouldn’t… I think I’d pass out like the dude on Stand By Me. It does look like a leech.
Remind me to never shake your hand again! :D
Those are some nice pictures of the grass. Your hand and the thing are blurry, but the grass came out nice and clear.
You trying to be witty or just an asshole?
dude, if it is a leech you should out it down someones pants and see what happens rofl
Ha! I was thinking the same thing Shareef said about the grass :)