# killing mites in the tank



## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

looking to see if anyone had any suggestions for killing mites in the tank. Ive never had a mite problem in my cultures or tanks but recently i noticed a huge outbreak of mites in my leaf frog enclosure. any help would be appreciated.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

change the substrate. You are probably seeing an outbreak of detritus feeding mites. 

Ed


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

that was my suspicion, will changing the substrate eliminate them or just stop the outbreak. I'm worried doing so will allow them to spread right back. I'm trying to locate the source of the problem. its a new tank only set up for about 2 months. it was populated with dwarf white wood lice and i added some more tonight. only a few plants and wood. what exactly do they feed on. if i have to i will be tearing the tank down tomorrow cleaning and resetting it up. also will hot water kill mites and their eggs.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

There is probably something in the cage that is causing the ideal conditions for the outbreak. If you have the frogs in the cage then the main source might be fecals... 

If you change out the substrate then you might change the microclimate that is making it ideal for the mites. 

Ed


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## puckplaya32 (Jan 6, 2008)

if the tanks small enough just put it in a large garbage bag, with a cup of dry ice in it and duck tape the bag closed. should kill the mites, but prob all your microfauna as well. and hold the frogs in quarantine for a few days while the tank is being treated with carbon dioxide


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

it appears these guys are spreading to a few other tanks, it definitely leads me to believe that something has caused this whether it be a change in supplements or something else. some of the effected tanks have been set up for years with no sign of mites. ed here is a pic are these the mites you are referring to. they don't seem to be a threat to my thums as the seem to like to feed on them. its the larger frogs that I'm worried about.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Steve,

Lets get them I'D'ed.....got a better pic?

Post and search here:

Ask What’s That Bug? | What's That Bug?


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

these things are tiny man that pick took some effort to get but ill see what i can do. that came from a spring culture i bought a little while ago and didn't show there ugly little heads till recently. worst part is i seeded my tanks with them and didn't even know it. they were hiding as babies among the springs.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Do they "cluster" at all?

If you squash a few...what is the color of the resulting smear?


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

heres a few pics but this is as good as they are going to get. it took some aluminum foil and a piece of paper to get these. 

























here is the smear i would say off white to clear so i don't think they are in any way parasitic.


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## sNApple (Mar 19, 2007)

if you have an outbreak, watch out.. they bite


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Detrivore mites don't tend to bite unlike say chiggers... 

They could easily be detrivores in which case they are harmless unless there are so many they are walking on the frogs enough to annoy them. 

The CO2 method may take more than a couple of days to work as many soil dwelling invertebrates can be fairly tolerant to CO2 unless you really displace the O2. 

Ed


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

will dwarf white wood lice help to combat their reproduction. if applied in sufficient numbers. i removed any decomposing plant matter and soaked the soil to push any excess nutrients through to the false bottom.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

I heard that woodlice do combat and limit the mite populations.


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

well ive been loading up on them in any tank that has any sign of mites.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Try to find the food source....general detritus...frog fecal matter or live plant tissue.

Since all your vivs are heavily planted, wooded, coco barked and moist to wet.....I think they may be firmly entrenched.

Hmmmm....gotta positively ID them.

I posted on the whatsthatbug forum with your pics.....


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## mongo77 (Apr 28, 2008)

I've had some luck with nature's chemistry mite spray. I used it on my lygo williamsi tank and had good results. I beleave it's suppose to be all natural, but I don't know how it will affect the frogs. Hope this helps!!


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

i was looking at this stuff i would like to get an opinion or 2 if it would be safe to use in my tanks. Products for Reptiles

mongo77 thanks ill be looking in to that as well.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

I wouldn't use it... the main active ingredient is thujone which is the same active ingredient in red cedar (liver toxicity). 

In the literature (one of the food culturing books) there was a recommendation to use isopods in enchytraeus cultures to combat mite infestations and I have had success using them in springtails colonies (before I switched over to yeast as a spring food). 

Please remind me.. this is a newly set up enclosure correct? If so then this may be a population explosion as the resources are perfect for some reason in the tank. 
If you are concerned about them spreading from tank to tank, if the tanks don't touch then run some double sided sticky tape around the outside of the tank to prevent the mites from being able to cross it. If you can't find double sided tape, roll masking table into a roll and apply all the way around the opening to the tank. 

Ed


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## Jason (Oct 14, 2004)

Why you getting rid of them?

Login

Journal of Herpetology
Mar 2009 : Volume 43 Issue 1
Diet of the Andean Frog Ranitomeya virolinensis (Athesphatanura: Dendrobatidae)
Mercedes Valderrama-Vernaza, Martha Patricia RamÍrez-Pinilla, VÍctor H. Serrano-Cardozo
pg(s) 114–123


Findings of interest...
------------------------------------------------------------
Males were slightly smaller than females.
Only 4/66 females were non-gravid, which may suggest that females breed all year long. Perhaps the "frogs don't breed year round in the wild" manta needs revised.

By prey number. 
85% mites. 
5% springtails
3.5% ants
2% beetle larvae


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