HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I was changing my hermies food and when I picked up the dish I saw the tiniest little bugs I’m assuming they are mites they were/are under the dish and on the dish when I see them in the dish it’s no more than 10 or so...I can’t be sure it looks like a lot. When I see them in the substrate it is just a couple and honestly I try to kill them with my fingers. But I know there are more. I have read that there are good and bad mites. Maybe they are food mites because nothing has been changed in a while. Maybe I need to clean my tank more often...I have not noticed any on my crabs and I have not gotten anything new for almost a year. I last cleaned the tank months ago. I’m not too sure what to do. I have never seen this before. I hope this isn’t too much to answer and I hope my crabbies are going to be ok. I need some direction. Thank you for taking the time to answer me if anyone does.

I've no experience with this so hopefully someone else will chime in but I think there's a thread called something like "what's this bug in the crabitat?" that might be helpful!

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Daniellebusone22 wrote:I was changing my hermies food and when I picked up the dish I saw the tiniest little bugs I’m assuming they are mites they were/are under the dish and on the dish when I see them in the dish it’s no more than 10 or so...I can’t be sure it looks like a lot. When I see them in the substrate it is just a couple and honestly I try to kill them with my fingers. But I know there are more. I have read that there are good and bad mites. Maybe they are food mites because nothing has been changed in a while. Maybe I need to clean my tank more often...I have not noticed any on my crabs and I have not gotten anything new for almost a year. I last cleaned the tank months ago. I’m not too sure what to do. I have never seen this before. I hope this isn’t too much to answer and I hope my crabbies are going to be ok. I need some direction. Thank you for taking the time to answer me if anyone does.

Since you said they are attracted to the food dish and not on your crabs, I would guess they are food mites and harmless. They are attracted to the moist environment and food. You can try avoiding putting any fresh foods in the tank for a little bit to discourage them. I found an old thread from the HCA that might help you out too.
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/ph ... p?t=114196

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Hello! I didn't see you attach a picture, but if they were in the dish, my best guess would be that they are springtails. Springtails typically have a population burst and then they die off to a manageable population. Springtails are beneficial to your crabitat.

Here is a link on bugs in the crabitat. viewtopic.php?f=26&t=92537