Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Leechs

I drained and killed of the fish in my farm pond with Hydrated lime this spring.

Had a friends dog swim in the pond to cool down after a run. When we were checking the dog for ticks we found about a 1/3" long leech on the dogs belly.

Was shocked to see a leech.

I stocked HBG and FHM about 2 months ago. Do they eat leechs or is there some other fish that I should look at to control them?

Setternut, 2 things will always show up in water...Leeches and snails!

Your HBG will eat some leeches and very small snails, but Redear sunfish will give FAR better snail control. Infestations of snails and leeches are unavoidable as they are both easily introduced to your pond on the legs of birds and other critters travelling to different water bodies. The infestations will ebb and flow a lot also....one year can be horrible, and the next year not see a one.

one man's poison can be another man's potion. I wish I had more leeches. Fish love them, I'd love to have a source of leeches that I could trap for when I go panfishing. I've tried a lot of things and cannot reliably raise or trap leeches. I'd love to know how bait shops do it.

The best way for me to catch a leech is to wade around for a bit and usually one decides to grab a leg...

Thanks.

Guess this is one where you go with the flow.

One nice thing is that the water is much clearer now that all the bullheads are gone. I can see some plant growth now that the sunlight gets down in the water more than half an inch.

Most panfish would eat leeches, probably a few RES would take care of both leeches and snails and would not multiply like crazy either.

I am going to have to track down a RES supplier around here.

Thanks for the help.