there are little white bugs all over the wood in my tank. only the wood, i haven't seen them on anything else... although i do have sand-colored playsand so they might just not show up. i've deep cleaned twice to try and get rid of them, i baked/boiled all the stuff that was in the tank and cleaned the crabs, and they go away for a few weeks but keep coming back. they're back again.
i've had two deaths in the past month, and never any before that. i've got one crab now who is going naked repeatedly (that's what the first one did). i can repost the emergency template if you really need it, but it's all the same information as was in the last one, and that's in my last emergency post.
can mites kill crabs?
how do mite-related deaths look? (what do sick crabs act like?)
how can i fix the problem?
if it doesn't match my case, then why have my crabs been acting so weird? i lost one and that was bad, but the one who's sick now is my original crab and probably my favorite -- and she's healthy and usually acts normal. (she just molted.)
i really need to know this. she's in a shell right now (last time i checked).
i think i'm going to go saltwater bathe everyone.
thank you.
mites & repeatedly naked ?
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Guest
Topic author
Mites! Ug! I'm sorry your fighting mites right now.
There is a Bug Sticky in Crabitat Conditions forum that talks about mites and the solutions to mites.
To me it sounds like the mites you have are the harmless but pesty kind. Mites that feed off the crabs you wouldn't find on substrate or tat items, but instead on the crabs themselves. On the abdomen, the joints, that is where you find the harmful mites.
I've had the pesty kind and they were hard to get rid of. I wouldn't mind so much if they didn't multiply to the point that they outnumbered the grains of sand 10 to 1. I had to clean everything, bake everything natural and do this several times before I got rid of them all.
There is a Bug Sticky in Crabitat Conditions forum that talks about mites and the solutions to mites.
To me it sounds like the mites you have are the harmless but pesty kind. Mites that feed off the crabs you wouldn't find on substrate or tat items, but instead on the crabs themselves. On the abdomen, the joints, that is where you find the harmful mites.
I've had the pesty kind and they were hard to get rid of. I wouldn't mind so much if they didn't multiply to the point that they outnumbered the grains of sand 10 to 1. I had to clean everything, bake everything natural and do this several times before I got rid of them all.
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Guest
Topic author
have you checked out the crabs really really good? sometimes it's harder to see them on the crabs.
when i had mites in one of my tanks, i ended up not cleaning it good enough the first time and had them again. the second time i did a double salt water solution to bathe the crabs in. and since they're all over the tank i set up a clean iso that had paper towels on the bottom, set it up with cleaned water dishes and food. then after i took out all the climby things and toys (and cleaned them by boiling or vinegar) i scooped out and just got all new sand that time. i baked it the first time and they came back, and i didn't feel like having that be the problem. then i cleaned the whole inside of the tank with vinegar, then salt water, then vinegar, and then kept rinsing it with the salt water until it didn't smell like vinegar anymore. and make sure you check all the silicone in the tank. sometimes, especially on older tanks, it can peel up and sand (and mites) can get in there. i let the tank and all the things air out and dry over night, and then gave the crabs another salt water bath in the morning just in case.
if they are actually on your crabs and you don't want to go the whole deep clean route, there's the predatory mites you can buy that will kill those ones. but i'm pretty sure they only eat certain types of mites, so you'll want to check out the crabs themselves really good and read up on that insect sticky about mites. a quick look you might not notice them on your crabs, if you can hold them and see if they'll come out of their shell a little and look at them under a light. also, when you bathe them check out the used bath water good, sometimes they'll be floating on the surface of the water.
(lol my ferret's name is Minou, and she's all white too like your cat!
)
when i had mites in one of my tanks, i ended up not cleaning it good enough the first time and had them again. the second time i did a double salt water solution to bathe the crabs in. and since they're all over the tank i set up a clean iso that had paper towels on the bottom, set it up with cleaned water dishes and food. then after i took out all the climby things and toys (and cleaned them by boiling or vinegar) i scooped out and just got all new sand that time. i baked it the first time and they came back, and i didn't feel like having that be the problem. then i cleaned the whole inside of the tank with vinegar, then salt water, then vinegar, and then kept rinsing it with the salt water until it didn't smell like vinegar anymore. and make sure you check all the silicone in the tank. sometimes, especially on older tanks, it can peel up and sand (and mites) can get in there. i let the tank and all the things air out and dry over night, and then gave the crabs another salt water bath in the morning just in case.
if they are actually on your crabs and you don't want to go the whole deep clean route, there's the predatory mites you can buy that will kill those ones. but i'm pretty sure they only eat certain types of mites, so you'll want to check out the crabs themselves really good and read up on that insect sticky about mites. a quick look you might not notice them on your crabs, if you can hold them and see if they'll come out of their shell a little and look at them under a light. also, when you bathe them check out the used bath water good, sometimes they'll be floating on the surface of the water.
(lol my ferret's name is Minou, and she's all white too like your cat!
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Guest
Topic author
I did, I gave all my crabs a bath (save one because I accidentally interrupted her during-molt. literally. 
) in heavily-salted water. I looked in the water and at the crabs, didn't see anything. they are small and sand-colored, though, so I'm not sure I would see anything. I can start a bathing regimen for a while, though. still need to check the sticky.
and I've done most of that, actually, but never with vinegar. it's always just been water, although I do take the tank outside and hose it down really well. I'll do vinegar next time.
the good news -- which I say hesitantly because I don't want to jinx myself -- is that Kitty (the naked crab mentioned in the title) has stayed in her shell for the past day and a half, which is good. when I gave her the salt water bath, I cleaned out her shell really well. some sand fell out, and I guess that was the problem. I'm really glad she's doing okay, I hope she stays okay.
the only weirdness is that she seems to have really poor control of her leftmost two walking legs. they're not fused or anything (I gently bended them), she just can't seem to move them well. I scared her purposely today and she withdrew, but the last joint on her second left leg stayed pointing ahead. ...but I can deal with that. she can withdraw fine, I'm sure she could still defend herself, and she's a little less agile getting around but I think it'll go away.
thank you both. next step: the mites.
) in heavily-salted water. I looked in the water and at the crabs, didn't see anything. they are small and sand-colored, though, so I'm not sure I would see anything. I can start a bathing regimen for a while, though. still need to check the sticky.and I've done most of that, actually, but never with vinegar. it's always just been water, although I do take the tank outside and hose it down really well. I'll do vinegar next time.
the good news -- which I say hesitantly because I don't want to jinx myself -- is that Kitty (the naked crab mentioned in the title) has stayed in her shell for the past day and a half, which is good. when I gave her the salt water bath, I cleaned out her shell really well. some sand fell out, and I guess that was the problem. I'm really glad she's doing okay, I hope she stays okay.
the only weirdness is that she seems to have really poor control of her leftmost two walking legs. they're not fused or anything (I gently bended them), she just can't seem to move them well. I scared her purposely today and she withdrew, but the last joint on her second left leg stayed pointing ahead. ...but I can deal with that. she can withdraw fine, I'm sure she could still defend herself, and she's a little less agile getting around but I think it'll go away.
thank you both. next step: the mites.