Jane of Upton
1st Mar 2006, 07:11 PM
Hello,
I tried to find if anyone else has observed this, and the only reference I could find was Retardo mentioning a small leech attaching to the Exoskelaton of a shrimp in this post:
http://www.shrimpnow.com/forums/showthread.php?t=558&highlight=leech
I have now come across this phenomenon for the second time, so I am trying to find out more. What I've seen is a small leech, with its base attached to a shrimp near the head (possibly because the shrimp could remove it when grooming if it were to attach elsewhere). It is noticible because it stretches out to feed, especially when the shrimp is feeding, and extends and contracts.
The first one I saw was on an imported (wild caught) Bumblebee shrimp so I figured this might be a parasite from the wild. It was attached up near the antennae, and would wave about, especially when there was food around. I did not know what to do, so I isolated the shrimp. It was rather unnerving to watch, too, but the shrimp was eating, and did not seem to be irritated by its presence. However, the shrimp only survived about a week, so I was unsure if it was because of the presence of this leech, or some other factor (more likely).
Now, I've gotten some tank-raised Red Cherry shrimp from a well-respected breeder, and put them in their own exclusive shrimp tank. All have been acting and looking healthy, and the females are developing ovary saddles. However, I noticed on one smaller one, the same kind of leech-thing waving around! Ewww! I again isolated the shrimp in a small container, and inspected all the others for signs of a similar attached leech. None of the others have this.
I used a VERY tiny surgical tweezer, and much patience, and when the shrimp had become accustomed to the tweezer near its head, and the thing was extended, I grabbed it, and it came off! I put it into a tiny plastic cup, and it seemed to "re-attach" to the bottom of the cup, and again begin the extenion-compression motion. Then I noticed a second one in about the same location on the same shrimp. I did the whole thing again, and this one came off too, but with a bit of the tip of the rostrum (?) of the shrimp. It too remained alive and kicking in the tiny cup. These are TINY leeches! Fully extended, they are perhaps 3-4 mm, and compressed they're barely 1 mm. When I put a small granule of food into the water with them, they both started the extension-compression motion again.
Meanwhile, the shrimp seems OK, and she has been moving around a bit, scouring the bit of java moss I put in with her. I also vacuumed the main shrimp tank to remove any possible un-attached young leeches.
Three Questions for all of you:
1) Has anyone else seen these things, or had a similar experience? Retardo, you mentioned something that might have been similar - was it like what I've seen? The one on the wild-caught shrimp I thought was an isolated incident, but this second appearance of the same type of thing suggests it is more prevalent.
2) Is this thing Parasitic? Is it harming the shrimp or feeding on it in some way? or is it simply Opportunistic (ie it attaches to the shrimp because the shrimp forages for food, and it is along for the ride only)?
3) Does anyone know what the life cycle is - is there a freeswimming component that could attach to other shrimp? Is it safe to put the shrimp from whom I removed the leeches back into the main tank, or is she a "carrier" now?
Thanks for any information you might have! I'm a little freaked out now!
-Jane
I tried to find if anyone else has observed this, and the only reference I could find was Retardo mentioning a small leech attaching to the Exoskelaton of a shrimp in this post:
http://www.shrimpnow.com/forums/showthread.php?t=558&highlight=leech
I have now come across this phenomenon for the second time, so I am trying to find out more. What I've seen is a small leech, with its base attached to a shrimp near the head (possibly because the shrimp could remove it when grooming if it were to attach elsewhere). It is noticible because it stretches out to feed, especially when the shrimp is feeding, and extends and contracts.
The first one I saw was on an imported (wild caught) Bumblebee shrimp so I figured this might be a parasite from the wild. It was attached up near the antennae, and would wave about, especially when there was food around. I did not know what to do, so I isolated the shrimp. It was rather unnerving to watch, too, but the shrimp was eating, and did not seem to be irritated by its presence. However, the shrimp only survived about a week, so I was unsure if it was because of the presence of this leech, or some other factor (more likely).
Now, I've gotten some tank-raised Red Cherry shrimp from a well-respected breeder, and put them in their own exclusive shrimp tank. All have been acting and looking healthy, and the females are developing ovary saddles. However, I noticed on one smaller one, the same kind of leech-thing waving around! Ewww! I again isolated the shrimp in a small container, and inspected all the others for signs of a similar attached leech. None of the others have this.
I used a VERY tiny surgical tweezer, and much patience, and when the shrimp had become accustomed to the tweezer near its head, and the thing was extended, I grabbed it, and it came off! I put it into a tiny plastic cup, and it seemed to "re-attach" to the bottom of the cup, and again begin the extenion-compression motion. Then I noticed a second one in about the same location on the same shrimp. I did the whole thing again, and this one came off too, but with a bit of the tip of the rostrum (?) of the shrimp. It too remained alive and kicking in the tiny cup. These are TINY leeches! Fully extended, they are perhaps 3-4 mm, and compressed they're barely 1 mm. When I put a small granule of food into the water with them, they both started the extension-compression motion again.
Meanwhile, the shrimp seems OK, and she has been moving around a bit, scouring the bit of java moss I put in with her. I also vacuumed the main shrimp tank to remove any possible un-attached young leeches.
Three Questions for all of you:
1) Has anyone else seen these things, or had a similar experience? Retardo, you mentioned something that might have been similar - was it like what I've seen? The one on the wild-caught shrimp I thought was an isolated incident, but this second appearance of the same type of thing suggests it is more prevalent.
2) Is this thing Parasitic? Is it harming the shrimp or feeding on it in some way? or is it simply Opportunistic (ie it attaches to the shrimp because the shrimp forages for food, and it is along for the ride only)?
3) Does anyone know what the life cycle is - is there a freeswimming component that could attach to other shrimp? Is it safe to put the shrimp from whom I removed the leeches back into the main tank, or is she a "carrier" now?
Thanks for any information you might have! I'm a little freaked out now!
-Jane