Jump to content

Mites


maylawrence42

Recommended Posts

HELP!  We have a MAJOR mite problem in my daughter's viviarium. Taking the desired bugs out and cleaning is not an option at this point.  We are talking about a 55 gallon tank with Hissers, darklings, Super worm beetles, dermestid beetles, earthworms, millipedes, and 2 types of isopods. The mites have always been there, but only in smallish numbers, so we just let them be in the "ecosystem" we had made. Then they just spiked. Covering the glass, the sticks, the food, and other bugs.  I ended up ordering lady bugs to eat them, and it seemed to work almost overnight. That was about a month ago. A few days ago the lady bugs just died off, and already everyone and everything is covered in tiny little mites again. I can't really I.d. the species, because they just look like khaki colored dots to me. I suspect that they are grain mites. 100% sure they aren't spring tails, as they don't spring and we are pretty familiar with a variety of spring tails. This tank is the result of more than 2 years of attention and study on my daughter's part. It started in a plastic shoebox and had grown from there. She's 12, so it means a lot for her to be so serious about it for so long.  How do we save this? Thank you

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not being able to start fresh I'd order some predatory mites (I believe Hisserdude sells them) and severely limit how much food goes in there.

 

Edit: I'd honestly probably not put in predatory mites myself. It could be an option though I believe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since the tank is 4 feet long we keep one side very moist, put not soggy. Wet enough to grow wheatgrass. The other side is kept dry so that the residents can hang out wherever they are most comfortable. 

I wonder if the mites can be fed to the aquarium when they're wiped off...  Waste not want not after all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...