HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I have pests in my tank, and if it isn't an infestation already, it's on the brink of one for sure.

What the bugs look like:

- All white/tanish

- Very small in size, possibly less than a millimeter and barely noticeable

- Too small to identify any other properties

Locations of bugs:

- Most are on the outside of the tank, this is what makes me think they are booklice.

- Commonly seen on the sides of lid and on the glass

- Have seen several bugs on shells and water bowls

- Can only see them on crab shells, though it isn't as dense as the lid.

- Either I cant see them, or no bugs at all on hermit crab's actual body

Other:

- Either they reproduce super fast, or they keep coming back even after i wipe them off with tissues or paper towels.

- I have given the hermit crabs that come out baths ever since I've noticed the bugs

- I have new substrate ready, however 2 out of 3 of my crabs are not coming out from underground, one of them is probably molting, the other one might be digging to help with stress.

- Humidity are inconsistent, they do range typically above the 75 mark but it can occasionally jump to 90. Temperature is a consistent 80-85

- Most substrate is jungle bed and eco earth with a bit of sand(new substrate will have mostly sand)

- 10 Gallon ontop of bookshelf made of wood

- I've been trying out tons of new foods, including greens, lettuces, eggshells, pellets(not anymore), and more. Next thing I'm trying are fish flakes.

http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... hp?t=92537

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Read the guide above if you haven't already.

I wouldn't personally feed fish flakes, they aren't even really good for fish.



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My stepdaughter had a tarantula and used jungle mix for it. One time she had gotten the jungle mix too moist and she had those bugs. The reptile store she got the tarantula from told her to change it bc the bugs would irritate the tarantula. (Make it mad). I image it might do the same to the hc's, but I am not sure. We do not have it anymore. She didn't take care of it, so I confiscated it from her. I then found a home for it at a Montessori school.

Food mites aren't harmful to crabs generally. They come with the territory.

Springtails and isopods are beneficial.



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Thanks for the ones who have helped so far, just would like to point out that I've read the guides before posting this, I still can't find out if they are Booklice or Mites.

I dont think they are harmful at this point(I have yet to see one on my crab besides its shell), but I want to make sure of what it can be, because I'm finding evidence that can show it as both booklice and simple food mites.

Can you post a picture? Booklice and food mites do not look the same.

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Food mites look like tiny sesame seeds with legs. Booklice have a definitive head, thorax and abdomen.



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A few pics could help too! After all, pics say 1000 words.

When they are in the dishes, do they make body rafts? If so, they could be springtails. But the fact that you see them outside the tat, I also sway towards booklice as well.

While I cant take the picture right now, I'll do it ASAP.

Either my eyesight is bad, but they do not have any notable features. They just look like moving dots. No legs, no thorax/abdomen shapes, just a tiny circle moving everywhere.

On the food dish, I dont see them making rafts, though I could be wrong.

Took the pictures.

I'm showing about 2-3 inches of the top of my cage for somewhat of a scale.

https://gyazo.com/ca911aea28cd88fb6f43f54d813c68d8

https://gyazo.com/134478debd7701e6d64b35c39540e3d0

They look like food mites.

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soilentgringa wrote:They look like food mites.

Hmm, I have to agree with you as well. They look like "one little blob" instead of having segmentation like booklice.

Yes, they dont have any significant body parts, just one big blob.

If they are food mites, then is it natural to find them outside the tank, and on the shells?

Alright, so good news, sort of.

They are probably regular food mites, because according to others in the thread they resemble the appearance of one, and after a simple check up on the tank, a huge swarm of the mites were discovered.

I can never be 100% sure that there are no crab mites, however I've given my crabs baths to help with that issue.

Things I still don't understand is why there are so many of them outside the tank glass, and why there are some on the shells of the crab.

I can guess that they are on the shells for travel and to share the food with my crabs, but I dont know why they are outside the tanks.

Still no signs of mites anywhere on the crabs except the shell too, so that's helpful.

Thanks to everyone who helped, and if there is anything else I should be concerned of, let me know! <3