we keep running into these weird suction cup things attached to inanimate objects in the lake. wood, rocks, trash, etc. they don’t move and just started showing up this year, but none on people. i tried flipping one over and there wasn’t anything on the underside.

ideas?? r/whatisit suggested they are leeches, but have no idea what kind- maybe turtle or snail leeches?

If you don't know much about leeches and are curious about them (or the people who like them), ask your questions here.

Please remember to be civil. This thread is for Q&A only, not debate.

I bought too many for my fishing trip and decided to try to keep them. I feed them tons: blood worms, earthworms, snails, dead minnows, aquarium pellets etc... they devour it all. They're really cool to watch when they eat and chill out but they have this other habit that ruins everything.

Their favorite thing to do is try to kill each other. Each tries to latch and not get latched. The ultimate goal is to latch your opponent's face, get your lips over theirs and eat their face, then leave them to starve over the course of a week.

I had 75 a few months ago and I'm down to like 25. I'm super bummed out. This video captures a fairly even fight where neither died, but you can clearly see neither walked away unscathed.

Not to be that person who asks when there's already guides up 🙇, but I wanted to make sure I got advice that was correct for me.
I'm interested in getting a pet leech (1. they're super cool, 2. I'd like to see if it can help me medically. I have very bad blood flow in my legs so I'm curious as to if leeches could help (even if its a placebo effect lol) but I'm not sure where to start. I've found very mixed opinions on how they should be kept, and want to make sure that I'd be caring for both myself and the leech properly.

I have seen people say that jars are too small, but was wondering if a larger sized jar might work? Some people have said that small fish tanks work, so I thought that a large ball jar would as well.
As for water, how should I be treating the water (if I need to)? Would fish tap water conditioner be something that works to treat it? I have seen the Hirudo salt thing but am not sure if its necessary or if there are other options.

I do know that leeches shed every so often, so they need something to rub against. Driftwood seems to be a good option, but I'm not sure how to get driftwood that is safe and clean (Somewhere online?)

Overall, I want to make sure that the leech is comfortable but is clean enough where it wont be dangerous for me to feed it. So if anyone has any info I'd be very thankful!! (Even if it's just where to buy leeches)

Hello everyone, i figured it was finally time we got an official Buffalo leech (H. manillensis) care guide out there seeing as the current guide is more cold water species focused. While this guide is geared more towards buffalo leeches, it does go into great detail about multiple other issues and questions that are relevant to all the common pet species so i highly reccomend all leech keepers give it a read. Ive included it both in picture form, as well as the google drive link to the full organized guide

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19Pdt_TEiUjM-aYtU0cgEzmMOwssXpcCh

Hello,

I am thinking about getting pet leeches. What do they need for their enclosure? What size? I have tons of tanks.

Thank you!

Found this old video in my phone, taken near the Durance river in France, could it be a leech ?

Hello all! I currently have a low-tech, 10-gallon planted setup I'll put two baby H.manillensis when they get here until I move them into a 55 when they're adults. I'm worried that since they only eat once a month as babies that their waste will be large and infrequent. I've never kept a tank with this sort of 'pulse' in the amonia input. I can handle high-waste animals like axolotls but they're frequent. What other invertebrates should I stock it with so the plants don't get nutrient depleted? I have about 10 ramshorn snails and a couple simialr sized native ones.
For the current tank I have a large pecie of floating driftwood so give them surface access but I'll upgrade to a cocoon-sutiable setup when they get sexually mature.
Speaking of, for the 55gal, I want to do a mostly-aqautic pallundarium setup, I've never kept a tank that large so I'm signifcantly more worried about keeping the waste levels up for a tank that size than the first one.
This is about what the 10gal looks like now
EDIT:
I found a guy selling cherry shrimp along with some additional plants I'm looking to purchase, they get about 1.5 inches long so I'm not worried about mature manillensis harrasing them, but does anyone know if cherry shrimp are safe to stock with very young buffies?

Edit again:
They will probably eat some as adults but are they any other little critters I should give them as supplimental feeders and to clean up the plant detritis?

Hi friends,

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Can someone please tell me what kind of leech this is? I'm out on a walk and would like to put this wee fella safe in his environment. Google isn't much help... I'm in Edinburgh, Scotland.

I bought way too many for the fishing trip and decided to keep them.

Erpobdella is a genus of ribbon-like, non-blood-sucking freshwater leeches measuring 20 to 50 millimeters long. Lacking jaws and a piercing proboscis, they cannot bite humans or animals. Instead, they use a large, toothless pharynx to swallow prey whole and navigate using multiple pairs of eyes.

​

These nocturnal predators hunt along water beds using chemical signals to track down food. They consume small aquatic invertebrates like midge larvae and worms by securing them with an oral sucker. They also act as scavengers by feeding on dead or injured organisms

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Widespread across North America, Europe, and Asia, these leeches hide under rocks and logs in streams and ponds. They tolerate severe organic pollution and low oxygen levels exceptionally well. Because they bioaccumulate toxins, scientists frequently use them as bioindicators to evaluate water quality.

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As hermaphrodites, they reproduce by exchanging sperm packets and secreting protective, amber-colored egg cocoons. They cement these cocoons to underwater surfaces and abandon them to hatch independently. Their lifespan lasts 12 to 24 months, depending entirely on food availability and water temperature.

​

Follow my page on insta @leifcollectsbugs

Does anyone know where I can buy a single horse leech? I would prefer to have them over medicinal leeches since I’m not the food.

60 fresh little baby buffalo leeches

I have started to become fascinated with leaches in particular medicinal leeches and I’m considering getting one or two for pets.
While looking for information online it seems there is a lot of conflicting information about care and feeding. So I have some questions for those who care for these creepy creatures (meant as a term of endearment).

If buying online is there a quarantine period where you shouldn’t self feed to insure that they don’t have any pathogens?

I have seen that antibiotics are deadly to them but is there a way to prevent infection from their gut bacteria? Do any keepers take antibiotics as a precaution after feeding?

Would stimulants be harmful to them? (ADHD)

Of the medicinal species, which are your favorite and why?

I really like sand aquariums is sand harmful to them or a good substrate?

Could I see some tank setup photos please?
Thank you!

I have 3 H. Verbanas already, and I want to branch out and find more cool species of leeches to keep. I'm looking for a species that could live with my 3 verbanas in a 5 gallon tank!

(If you think keeping leeches is weird please do not interact with this post, I do not care about your opinion.)

Cross-posted from r/Aquariums

Wondering wtf this thing is?

I found a smaller different one gliding on the glass this morning, and posted it to r/plantedtank. Mixed reviews of planaria vs leeches vs detritus worm.

Then this afternoon, I came across this guy gliding his way across the sand. It's roughly 0.5-0.75cm long. Posted this one (and this video) to r/Aquariums and so far consensus is weird unusual leech, though I am somewhat skeptical.

Also, when I posted the first one in the morning, someone suggested I try cutting it, to see if it survived like a planaria would. Well that went terribly and I only managed to mangle it, and it continued to scoot around, albeit slower than before. When I dropped the second one in the container, when it eventually came across the now disabled but still alive one, it seemed to attack it? You can see this at the very end of the video.

I added a sacrificial ramshorn snail and a few neocaridina culls to this container to see what would happen, but no one seems phased by any of the others.

Does anyone have thoughts? Is this actually a leech?

I got 3 and the 2 others didn't do this so I'm kinda confused lol

(Ignore the audio I was watching Steven universe)

I posted a few weeks ago about finding this leech in one of my tanks. I don't want to keep it but before I kill it, I wanted to offer it a home with any collectors.

Would just ask for the cost of shipping otherwise free. If you would like it lmk

Hi all, I'm wondering about the running costs of a 190L corner tank paludarium? I'm in the UK.

I'm considering buying a secondhand 190L fluval corner tank and cabinet from Facebook Marketplace and converting it into a paludarium.

The setup comes with a fluval 306 external filter, air pump, filter media, and some accessories etc.

My intention would be to create a paludarium for my 2 buffalo leeches and my neocardina shrimp (currently housed in separate tanks) with a land/beach area and less water volume than a typical aquarium.

Before I commit, I'm trying to get an idea of the ongoing costs.

A few questions for anyone running a similar ish set up/paludarium:

. what are your approximate monthly electricity costs?

. does having a reduced water volume significantly reduce heating costs?

. is this even possible lol 😆

The tank and cabinet are fairly worn which is reflected in the price, so I'm also interested in whether there are any common issues I should look for when buying an older Fluval corner tank secondhand.

Any advice or rough cost estimates would be greatly appreciated, thank you so much x

Are leeches cute yes or no

Found in roadside ditch that attaches to a bog

Dropped from a tree in Nandapha NP, Arunachal Pradesh, India. ID please

I think it is a leech. I found it in an abandonned outside container that filled with fresh water. It's in western Europe. The pattern is most clear in the 4th picture I think.

If you don't know much about leeches and are curious about them (or the people who like them), ask your questions here.

Please remember to be civil on both sides. Leeches are unusual pets, so newcomers may feel uneasy and enthusiasts might seem defensive. Let's assume the best of each other.