HCA: Hermit Crab Association

i need help I literally can’t get rid of these mites! They are definitely food mites. I never see them on my crabs. And When I clean the tank everything looks good until like a month later and then they are there again. How often should I be cleaning my tank. Completely cleaning. Like new substate and stuff. Should I be giving crabs a “bath” I’ve never done this because I don’t want to stress them out. I have had mites for a long time and not too sure how to make them go away. I think my crabs are molting now. But I’m not sure. They are buried in the same spot for a couple days now and they are in their shells hanging halfway out with legs spread. I know they are alive because I can see tiny movements. Should I just keep them where they are until they are walking around. How often to clean tank completely. Thank you so much for taking the time to help me in advance.

There is no way to get rid of the mites, they live in our homes and are attracted to the heat, humidity and food in the crab tanks. You can manage numbers by carefully feeding or using predatory mites to decimate their numbers for a while. Honestly, I stopped even trying to do anything about them 10 years ago and just ignore them. I know they are there and I see them occasionally, but they don't bother me and they will never bother the crabs. Constantly cleaning can stress the crabs out though, and can disturb molting cycles which can cause serious distress and problems over time. The only time it can be done is if they are all above ground, but I did a completely teardown and sterilization the first time I found mites, and the mites were back three days later so it's kind of pointless.