# Mites in tropical springtail



## porkchop (Aug 29, 2005)

Help?, mites have taken up residency in my tropical springtail culture.
Need i worry? and if so, how do i rid them from my culture?
I have mite spray (Zoo-med, Mite off), but dont know if it will wipe out culture.
All suggestions welcomed. Thanks in advance.


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## jmoose (Jun 21, 2006)

Mine was infected by spider mites (red ones ?) and since none of the spray killed them, I just flood the springtail container - springs float & mites drown - and moved as many springs as possible to new container
Good luck


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## porkchop (Aug 29, 2005)

ah i see, that would make sense (sink/float)
do the mites effect the culture? do they eat the larve?
my mites seem to be blackish.


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

My mites are rust colored, or is that just cause the coco fiber medium makes them that color?

Don't know about tropicals, fungus gnats killed all of mine the first time around, but the mites I have will finish a temperate springtail culture.

The only soulution I've found is to keep starting new cultures with the least affected cultures, and once you notice the mites, get rid of the culture.

I tried flooding a culture, refrigerating one for a while, a whole bunch of things, and the mites always win.

It has been suggested that rotating springtails foods can be to blame.

Perhaps getting a mite free culture and keeping it on a mite killing paper would be the best bet.

What I'd like to know, how do the mites get in there?


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