Tank full of mites, two buried crabs- help!

Questions about unexpected problems.
Post Reply
hermitperson
Zygote
Zygote
Posts: 3
Joined: 22 Jul 2022, 06:00
Gender: Female
Hermit crabs: 2
Total gallons: 10
Total tanks: 1

Tank full of mites, two buried crabs- help!

Post by hermitperson »

I currently have two hermit crabs, Renee and Javier, in a 10gal tank. Both are buried in the substrate (all the way at the bottom- I moved the tank a bit ago and saw both of them on the bottom). I don't know if they are molting or what. Renee has been buried since June 6th, so almost two months, and Javier has been buried for a bit less than a month.
The problem is, recently I've noticed that my tank has mites. They are very small and white-ish colored. I've been really stressed about whether or not they are non-harmful mites or the bad kind of mites. But I can't check my hermits for any mites because they're both underground! I'm extremely worried.
I'm in a bit of a pickle because I can't clean the tank due to my buried possibly-molting crabs, but if I leave the mites and they are harmful, my crabs could die. I'm working hard to identify the mites, but I don't think I can do more than what I've done.
The mites, again, are small and white-ish. I first saw them in my water dishes, at the bottom in large numbers, with some floating on top. They've also appeared on my food dish. This makes me think they are the ok-kind of mites, but I'm not certain and that scares me.
Does anyone know what I should do? Literally ANY advice would be appreciated!!
User avatar
Wai
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2892
Joined: 01 Nov 2004, 14:12
Gender: Male
Hermit crabs: 2
Total gallons: 45
Total tanks: 1
Location: Victoria, Australia
Contact:

Re: Tank full of mites, two buried crabs- help!

Post by Wai »

What type of bedding are you using? I have used plain sand for almost all of my years, but did mix in some coconut fibre at some stage which shortly resulted in mite invasions. Have a look at my instructions on the Pests section.
Wai
Image
Post Reply