BUGS?

[ErrorTsukiko]

So..for about the past week I've noticed a couple of micro black bugs around my hermit crab tank. Never on my actual hermies, but on their shell, and as of this morning, in their freshwater dish. I was stunned, to be honest. Hundreds of these little guys in my tank! Do you think they're dangerous? If so, what can I do to treat it?

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... 112805.jpg <- That's my attempt of linking a picture

[Hermiearth]

Don't sweat it- food mites, they occur in most tanks. If it gets to be too much you could establish an isopod population in your tank as a competitor for the mites.


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[wodesorel]

Not mites, springtails! These are actually good to have around, they eat waste and will eat mold and mold spores.

[Hermiesguardian]

Not mites, springtails! These are actually good to have around, they eat waste and will eat mold and mold spores.

A few years ago we saw a big black spot on our driveway. Couldn't figure out what it was. Was it an oil spot? No. We kept looking and looking and it seemed to move. When we touched it with a twig, it dispersed! We thought it was alien life form. we even asked a neighbor to take a look. Somehow we found out they were springtails. How would they get in the tank? Can they multiply too much and take over the tank?

[LadyJinglyJones]

I'm jealous... I want springtails but have had no luck attracting them... and don't worry... while in times of plenty you may get the odd population explosion (just because that's how bugs work - they reproduce quickly when there's an abundance of food), you won't see numbers exceed what the tank can sustain in the long run.

[AwesomeHermit]

Not mites, springtails! These are actually good to have around, they eat waste and will eat mold and mold spores.

I didn't think it was a mite, thank you