mites?

kittykat · 01-20-2005, 04:35 PM

help! i think my babies have mites! i just checked on them, before going to bed, and i saw little bugs running around, next to the water bowl. what do mites look like? how do i get rid of them? what do i do? i haven't been this worried about babies, since i had my first child! lol thanks.
danielle

kuplakrabs · 01-20-2005, 05:12 PM

Some are white-they look like little grains of sand and some are black & red. I will see if I can locate a picture anywhere. BTW, mites are part of the family of arachnids and will have 8 legs as opposed to insects that will have 6.

There are mites that are parasitic (will harm your crabs) and there are mites that won't-ones that are only interested in your food dish. I am certainly no "bug" expert, but one way to try to get rid of them is to take out everything in the tank and sanitize it. Personally, I would throw out the substrate and replace it with new.
Boil items for 10 minutes and/or bake them at 250-300 for 30 minutes or if it is wood until dry-KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR OVEN so you don't have a fire start.

You will also need to bathe your crabs until no mites are visible. The problem with all of this is the fact that there may be eggs or mites themselves still inside the crabs shells that you can't see.
In a well lighted area, fill a dark container (will help you see them mites better) with room temp or ever so slightly warmer de-chlorinated water. Place one crab at a time in shell opening facing up (The water should be deep enough to fully submerge your largest crab). As your crab emerges watch to see if any mites are flushed out of it's shell. Pour the water off of the top of the container rather than pulling the crab up and out of the water because the mites will jump back onto the crab. Repeat as necessary until they appear to be gone. If the infestation is really bad, I would use half declor fresh and half declor prepared salt water. I also wanted to note that it is a personal preference as to whether or not to add stress coat to the bath water, but I would not recommend it.

None of the above is a guarantee that they won't return. To prevent attracting them in the first place, make sure you remove the food from your tank each morning. And be sure to always ISO new crabs for at least 3 weeks before you put them into your main tank.

Before you can really determine the proper course of action, you should try to find out what type of "nasties" you have in your tank. If you are not squeemish about bugs and they aren't harming the crabs you have the option of leaving them...they may help keep your substrate clean

Although, not too many people are keen on having uninvited guests in their tanks.

One thing to make note of...DO NOT use any type of mite treatment that can be found at a pet store. Hermit crabs are closely related to mites and whatever you use to kill mites, will kill your crabs.

I hope someone else can offer better advice

kuplakrabs · 01-20-2005, 05:27 PM

You can always place your crabs in a plastic tote or box with moistened, unprinted paper towels while you are doing all of this cleaning.

kittykat · 01-21-2005, 03:21 PM

when i came home from work, i checked my babies, and didn't see any bugs anywhere in the tank. they didn't look like grains of rice though. they kinda looked like gnats, but moved really fast. they were around the water bowl.
thanks for all the advise.
danielle

Aviate · 01-21-2005, 07:22 PM

rice? not rice, she said sand. What color were they? if you see them again, let us know... so we can try to ascertain what they may be.

kittykat · 01-22-2005, 09:14 AM

sorry, no they didn't look like sand. they were kinda gray/black, and they moved really fast.

Eric · 01-22-2005, 12:58 PM

KittyKat,

What part of the globe are you from & what is the daily temperature been around the past few weeks or so? I have had a knat looking bug or two once or twice when it was warmer out.

Wendy that was excellent advice, you are the Hermit Crab Queen. LOL. When we are done with this thread I will move it to the library.

Cappa

kuplakrabs · 01-22-2005, 02:13 PM

Cappa,
I spent about 2 hours last night researching insects and arachnids. I'd really like to get a scientific name for the mites that are commonly found on the crabs. I'd also like to be able to identify other bugs that may appear in the tank. Good, clear pictures are very difficult to find.

Crabs are crustacea and mites are arachnida, both of which are part of the phylum Arthorpoda, that is why they are so closely related.

Here is a link with some neat pics and a "family tree" that shows what I mean
http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Arthropoda

kittykat · 01-22-2005, 04:45 PM

i am in florida and it has actually been pretty cold for us. about 60 degrees outside.

kuplakrabs · 01-22-2005, 07:58 PM

Kittykat,
Did your bugs look like this? Could they be silverfish...they run pretty fast.

http://mcz-28168.oeb.harvard.edu/car.../Thysanura.htm

01-20-2005, 05:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
kuplakrabs "Second Molt, A Success" Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Western NY Posts: 500	Some are white-they look like little grains of sand and some are black & red. I will see if I can locate a picture anywhere. BTW, mites are part of the family of arachnids and will have 8 legs as opposed to insects that will have 6. There are mites that are parasitic (will harm your crabs) and there are mites that won't-ones that are only interested in your food dish. I am certainly no "bug" expert, but one way to try to get rid of them is to take out everything in the tank and sanitize it. Personally, I would throw out the substrate and replace it with new. Boil items for 10 minutes and/or bake them at 250-300 for 30 minutes or if it is wood until dry-KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR OVEN so you don't have a fire start. You will also need to bathe your crabs until no mites are visible. The problem with all of this is the fact that there may be eggs or mites themselves still inside the crabs shells that you can't see. In a well lighted area, fill a dark container (will help you see them mites better) with room temp or ever so slightly warmer de-chlorinated water. Place one crab at a time in shell opening facing up (The water should be deep enough to fully submerge your largest crab). As your crab emerges watch to see if any mites are flushed out of it's shell. Pour the water off of the top of the container rather than pulling the crab up and out of the water because the mites will jump back onto the crab. Repeat as necessary until they appear to be gone. If the infestation is really bad, I would use half declor fresh and half declor prepared salt water. I also wanted to note that it is a personal preference as to whether or not to add stress coat to the bath water, but I would not recommend it. None of the above is a guarantee that they won't return. To prevent attracting them in the first place, make sure you remove the food from your tank each morning. And be sure to always ISO new crabs for at least 3 weeks before you put them into your main tank. Before you can really determine the proper course of action, you should try to find out what type of "nasties" you have in your tank. If you are not squeemish about bugs and they aren't harming the crabs you have the option of leaving them...they may help keep your substrate clean Although, not too many people are keen on having uninvited guests in their tanks. One thing to make note of...DO NOT use any type of mite treatment that can be found at a pet store. Hermit crabs are closely related to mites and whatever you use to kill mites, will kill your crabs. I hope someone else can offer better advice __________________ Wendy *~Kindness and patience reap greater rewards than rigid intolerance.~*

01-20-2005, 05:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
kuplakrabs "Second Molt, A Success" Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Western NY Posts: 500	You can always place your crabs in a plastic tote or box with moistened, unprinted paper towels while you are doing all of this cleaning. __________________ Wendy *~Kindness and patience reap greater rewards than rigid intolerance.~*

01-21-2005, 07:22 PM	#5 (permalink)
Aviate "Never Molted" Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: East Coast Posts: 50	rice? not rice, she said sand. What color were they? if you see them again, let us know... so we can try to ascertain what they may be. __________________ -Aviate

01-22-2005, 12:58 PM	#7 (permalink)
Eric "First Molt, A Success" Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Staten Island Posts: 220	KittyKat, What part of the globe are you from & what is the daily temperature been around the past few weeks or so? I have had a knat looking bug or two once or twice when it was warmer out. Wendy that was excellent advice, you are the Hermit Crab Queen. LOL. When we are done with this thread I will move it to the library. Cappa __________________ Eric www.hermitcrabemporium.com www.thehermietavern.com

01-22-2005, 02:13 PM	#8 (permalink)
kuplakrabs "Second Molt, A Success" Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Western NY Posts: 500	Cappa, I spent about 2 hours last night researching insects and arachnids. I'd really like to get a scientific name for the mites that are commonly found on the crabs. I'd also like to be able to identify other bugs that may appear in the tank. Good, clear pictures are very difficult to find. Crabs are crustacea and mites are arachnida, both of which are part of the phylum Arthorpoda, that is why they are so closely related. Here is a link with some neat pics and a "family tree" that shows what I mean http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Arthropoda __________________ Wendy *~Kindness and patience reap greater rewards than rigid intolerance.~*

01-20-2005, 04:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
kittykat Hi, I'm New Here! Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 28	help! i think my babies have mites! i just checked on them, before going to bed, and i saw little bugs running around, next to the water bowl. what do mites look like? how do i get rid of them? what do i do? i haven't been this worried about babies, since i had my first child! lol thanks. danielle

01-21-2005, 03:21 PM	#4 (permalink)
kittykat Hi, I'm New Here! Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 28	when i came home from work, i checked my babies, and didn't see any bugs anywhere in the tank. they didn't look like grains of rice though. they kinda looked like gnats, but moved really fast. they were around the water bowl. thanks for all the advise. danielle

01-22-2005, 09:14 AM	#6 (permalink)
kittykat Hi, I'm New Here! Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 28	sorry, no they didn't look like sand. they were kinda gray/black, and they moved really fast.

01-22-2005, 04:45 PM	#9 (permalink)
kittykat Hi, I'm New Here! Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 28	i am in florida and it has actually been pretty cold for us. about 60 degrees outside.

01-22-2005, 07:58 PM	#10 (permalink)
kuplakrabs "Second Molt, A Success" Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Western NY Posts: 500	Kittykat, Did your bugs look like this? Could they be silverfish...they run pretty fast. http://mcz-28168.oeb.harvard.edu/car.../Thysanura.htm __________________ Wendy *~Kindness and patience reap greater rewards than rigid intolerance.~*

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