# mites in tank what can be done ?



## catman25 (Jul 17, 2007)

obviosly flys were to close to frog tank just wondering what i ca do .. thanks


----------



## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

I doubt there is anything you can do to get rid of them. You could try gassing the tank with co2 (frogs removed) but it may not work. Mites are darn resilient creatures...I belive they have found mites in the tiles on the space shuttle that have survived going to space and back.

The good news is they probably won't hurt you're frogs.


----------



## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Remove the cultures from your being near your tank. Over the summer I was keeping my cultures on my tanks because I didn't have any space at my parent's house. Because of this, my tanks were ridden with mites. Once I did some serious rearranging and was able to move the flies off of the tank, the mites stopped being a problem.


----------



## catman25 (Jul 17, 2007)

ok.. cultures removed and thrown out obvously they were nasty too... . Its to the point that the tops of the tank you can see then congregate ,,, gonna see if over night they disapate... i just dont like crawly things that i can see... spiders, ants ... but mites are like there but not unless you look then if you take the time to realluy look there are 1000's..


----------



## NathalieB (Apr 23, 2007)

I have never seen the mites that infest fruitfly cultures survive inside the vivs for long. as soon as their food-source is gone they will be gone too and the ones that do survive inside the viv tend to get eaten very fast here.

if you want them gone asap I would clean the most of them of (just sweep them of with a wet kitchen towel or something like that) and maybe put a thin layer of salt on your top to get rid of the rest.


----------



## defaced (May 23, 2005)

That's what I was getting at dude, once the cultures are gone, the problem will get under control itself.


----------



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Mites are nasty and can be a pain...I have had them infest tanks to the point I lost the frogs. As already stated if you removed the cultures keep an eye on the tank and they may go away. 

In my case I have issues with sphagnum based tanks where over time dead ffs and frog poo cover cover the top of the sphagnum as it does not drain. Then the mites move in... I have had tanks where the ground moves and the frogs almost never come out of the plants.


----------



## NathalieB (Apr 23, 2007)

yeah that could happen, but those are different mites than the ones in the fruitfly cultures, aren't they?


----------



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

I have never investigated it that far, but they looked the same. Just easier to see on the dark substrate over the white or clear FF container. It is my understanding there are 1000's of types of mines, and even mites that kill other mites. The type I get run from white to tan, and are very small. They seem to thrive on humid locations.

With that said I have had good success keeping them out of my cultures, but I still get the occasional infested tank. As I redo tanks without sphagnum they have seemed to do much better. 

Also worth noting that things like this could be problems with my specific setups. Each climate, house, area of the house, tank, etc, are unique so it is very tough other than to offer general ideas.

Good luck,


----------



## slaytonp (Nov 14, 2004)

Just curious Kyle, but what kind of sphagnum are you referring to that doesn't "drain?" Garden variety "sphagnum peat moss" doesn't drain well. It is fine, dense and dark brown, and tends to get soggy. I never use it in a vivarium. This is the fine nursery "garden peat," meant to be shoveled into dirt to add some organic material. The long, light brown sphagnum moss, (Canadian or New Zealand,) which sometimes even comes alive and grows, is a very different substance, and certainly does not only drain, but doesn't seem to harbor much of anything that isn't beneficial, and has a kind of antibiotic quality that discourages stem and root rot in plants--I've had a lot of experience using it to grow "impossible" seeds, such as the rare Frailia Cacti collected from the Ritter expedition back in the 1950's. You have a lot more experience than I do with with tropical tanks however, and as you pointed out, each climate and experience is different. I still buy long brown sphagnum in bulk. 

On the other hand, I've never had a mite "problem," although I've had mites the frogs just eat, or certain spider mites on new plants that the humidity and some rinsing off eventually eliminates. 

You said that you've had mites infest your tanks to the point you lost some frogs. Were they skin mites of some sort? Or did the mites attack them directly or just annoy them to death? 

I'm not questioning your expertise, but just wondering about all the stuff I've missed out on in my own experiences with dart frogs, which are admittedly only a few years of hobby keeping.


----------



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Oh im no expert...  and not problem... Just simply relaying my experience with it. In my case I am talking about long fibered Sphagnum. I agree it in some case can be a great substrate but in my opinion it does not drain well enough for misted tanks. It is great a filter but in the wrong way. So for example if this is used over leca the poo and dead ffs will not drain away, thus creating a film that quickly turns into algae. Now I am not sure if the mites love the dead ffs and poo or the algae but after the top of the sphagnum becomes covered the mites take over. I am sure this is area, region, and many other variables that come into play here. What is interesting is that peat does not seem to have the same problem and I can use jungle mix which is mainly peat and some other stuff with much better results. Now with all of that said it does take some time and sometimes more than a year or so.

For example I can even get a infestation of springtales to the point the ground is moving in the tank. Another thing worth noting is that I mainly keep thumbnails so they often do eat the mites and etc but not fast enough for the tank size. I also am a cronic over feeder which I am sure does not help the issue. Even now that I have moved to feeding 3-4 times a week I still feel I over feed at times.


----------



## stchupa (Apr 25, 2006)

kyle1745 said:


> I also am a cronic over feeder which I am sure does not help the issue. Even now that I have moved to feeding 3-4 times a week I still feel I over feed at times.


Darn you caught yourself. I knew it :wink:


----------

