# Tiny bugs - anyone seen them?



## VonDingle (Sep 13, 2018)

I just noticed these tiny bugs showing up everywhere and have no idea what they are. There’s a lot inside the tank but they’re also crawling around the outside of it on top. They’re like the size of dust specs, I thought they were baby springtails at first but after staring at them for so long I have no idea. Anyone know what these are?


----------



## Woodswalker (Dec 26, 2014)

They look like mites to me, which are fairly common. They could be grain mites or the soil mites I see frequently in and around my setups. I couldn't begin to give you their genus or species, however. Perhaps Entomologist210 might be able to be more specific. He needs a bat-signal.


----------



## VonDingle (Sep 13, 2018)

Woodswalker said:


> They look like mites to me, which are fairly common. They could be grain mites or the soil mites I see frequently in and around my setups. I couldn't begin to give you their genus or species, however. Perhaps Entomologist210 might be able to be more specific. He needs a bat-signal.


Thank you! Are they harmful and do they ever go away? I don’t have have any darts in there yet but my springtails isopods and plants all seem very healthy


----------



## Woodswalker (Dec 26, 2014)

If they are grain or soil mites, they are not harmful to your frogs. I have accepted them as permanent residents, and I don't worry about them. The soil mites are, to the best of my knowledge, detritivores, eating the same things in your tanks as springtails do. They can outcompete your springtails, but that's primarily only a problem if they get into your springtail cultures. The grain mites can be an annoyance in your fruit fly cultures, but they don't really seem to cause much harm there, either, at least not in my experience. I really only see them in large numbers towards the end of a culture's life, around the 2 month mark.

They have even shown up in my frogs' fecal exams, and my vet was not concerned. So, unless you have some very uncommon mites, and/or worrisome symptoms in your flies or frogs, I would not be concerned.


----------



## VonDingle (Sep 13, 2018)

Woodswalker said:


> If they are grain or soil mites, they are not harmful to your frogs. I have accepted them as permanent residents, and I don't worry about them. The soil mites are, to the best of my knowledge, detritivores, eating the same things in your tanks as springtails do. They can outcompete your springtails, but that's primarily only a problem if they get into your springtail cultures. The grain mites can be an annoyance in your fruit fly cultures, but they don't really seem to cause much harm there, either, at least not in my experience. I really only see them in large numbers towards the end of a culture's life, around the 2 month mark.
> 
> They have even shown up in my frogs' fecal exams, and my vet was not concerned. So, unless you have some very uncommon mites, and/or worrisome symptoms in your flies or frogs, I would not be concerned.


Thank you so much!


----------

