Bugs!

SebbyCrab · Post by **SebbyCrab** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 3:31 pm

When I had book louse in my tank it did not seem that they jumped. It didn't seem like they particularly bothered the crabs either, they just drowned in the pools a lot.

Mike120 · Post by **Mike120** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 3:33 pm

When I said that they were common, I meant that I've heard some people have orders from LHC that had them. The symbiotic relationship came from a theory that I made. The silverfish would eat food that the crab would leave behind, therefore a clean environment. If there is no food for the crab, the crab eats the silverfish. It makes a lot of sense really.I was left with almost no information and the picture looked fuzzy.

Jedediah · Post by **Jedediah** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 3:52 pm

suebee, booklice can't jump. They walk and many species even have wings (but it seems that the species most common in crabitats don't).

suebee · Post by **suebee** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 6:25 pm

I dont know that hermits eat silver fish, they are a odd bug the silver wipes off of them and i dont think anything eats them..I think they eat paper. They are known to eat wall paper paste and are found in dry areas. I think one that found its way into a crab tank might of fallen in. I dont think its a common thing for them to be any where around crabs. More so around books and paper goods.. cabinets and dry areas. i have a old home and do find silver fish from time to time but not in or around the hermit crabs..

I never had any kind of mites or spring tails but ever since the lhc break out ive had so many emails for help ive been trying to take some notes.. thats good info about the spring tails thanks.

samurai_crab · Post by **samurai_crab** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 9:17 pm

I've always heard the opposite to be truthful about silverfish. Most people have always told me they like humidity and thats why you find them in bathrooms. If that were the case then the crab tank would be a nice place for them, but doubtful that they would normally live with crabs in the wild.

Wikipedia says they live on a diet of sugars and starches (wallpaper glue is a sugar/starch I think). Also says they are common in basements, bathrooms, garages, closets and attics and that they need 75 to 95% relative humidity. So in that sense the crab tank would be good for them.

I haven't heard of anyone getting crabs with silverfish on them from LHC, mites yes but not silverfishes.

Jedediah · Post by **Jedediah** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:12 am

Silverfish definitely need high humidity (80-90% are ideal), they are not a common pest found in books and such unless you have a damp/mold problem anyway. They do feed on paper and other weird stuff. As crabitat pests, I would say they are much less common than mites, fruitflies, gnats, booklice and springtails, despite being so often found in houses.

Firebrats, who are a related species and look like hairy silverfish, prefer a warmer environment and less humidity, they can sometimes be found in book, but they are much less common than silverfish. I bred them for a while for my frogs and the escapees I had from a container left open moved into the bearded dragon tank. I did find one in the crabitat and he lived there for a while, but all the others avoided it.

They both belong to an old order and are less advanced than other insects, but they are well adapted and interesting. Silverfish have a lifespan of up to eight years, which I find pretty amazing for such a small animal.

suebee · Post by **suebee** » Thu Mar 17, 2011 12:19 am

my library is where i see silver fish.. i hate them.. if i leave papers on the desk for too long i will find one under them. ive never seen a mite, booklice or springtail, but silver fish.. omgosh they also are always in the recycle bin where we keep the news papers in the garage.. we have antique cars in there so i know there is no mold.. and i have some very expensive books in my library.. no mold there either. maybe it doesn't have to be mold wet for them.. but ive never seen any near my pet room where the humidity is higher.

HartnellHermit · Post by **HartnellHermit** » Thu Apr 07, 2011 11:25 pm

those look like springtails to me. I found them in my tank for the first time last fall. They apparently help with cleaning up the crab poop, but I also get them in the food dish. They are a light blue-grey metallic color and they do jump, as their name implies. I must add, that since I found the springtails, I have not seen any mites in the food dish.

Post by **JediMasterThrash** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 9:17 am

Could it be a fly larvae os some kind? I had fruit fly larvae in my pool once. No legs though.