Leeches in my sand

[shanda]

Much to my horror i have discovered leeches in my axolotl tank a couple of days ago. i was using sand pit sand, which i washed vigorously every time i put some in. I discovered a leech on my female and subsequently removed it,(it left a lesion on her tail) and then removed my axies to a temporary home while i removed all the sand, in which i found several more leeches, (horror). I am at a loss now for what to use, as i don't trust my sand anymore, and have a bare glass bottom with a few larger decorative stones. My question is what do i use now? I feel completely shattered as i have let down my precious axolotls.

 

[karrie]

Did you get the sand out of a sand box? You might want to check the filter also. What do you feed?

 

[jennifer]

If you bake or boil the sand before using, it should be perfectly safe. Also, it's possible the leeches came from somewhere other than the sand.

 

[shanda]

I bought the sand in a bag and have it sitting in the garage. I use tank water and i am wondering if maybe the leeches are in my water tank? i will boil the next batch of sand and use town water. oh and an update on the lesion, she has made a full recovery in 4 days, only a tiny bit left to heal, and no sight of any leeches in the tank at present. Should i boil the tank water too? (and cool before i use it). Oh and the babies have all hatched and seem to be doing ok. Some seem to float upside down alot, but when i stir the water gently they dart off to the bottom. they are an olive colour some of them and the rest are dark like their dad. I will post some pictures when my camera can focus on them.

 

[jennifer]

If you use town water, you do not need to boil, but you do need to add a product to get rid of the chlorine.

Larvae floating (especially upside down) is not normal. It could be caused by gas bubbles inside them, this is fairly common. Move the floaters to shallow water with plenty of plants, and keep them cool.

 

[shanda]

I have moved the "floaters", but i have lost about 8 larvae in last couple of days. i am keeping them at around 20 degrees celcius and have put some of my goldfish pond plants, (very good plants)in with them. I am feeding them frozen baby brine shrimp, as i had minimal success with brine hatching. I am using a air stone to move the brine shrimp around and the babies seem to be eating as they are doing tiny poos. Do i turn off the air stone after feeding? Thanks Jennifer for all your help so far.