Super Serious Mite Infestation

[Foxydiva3]

So I Am Having a Problem And Need Some Advice. I have had crabs a long time. and I Have in the past had some mites but nothing that a good cleaning would take care of. For some reason This spring I Had an Increadable Infestation, Proportions I Had never seen to the point that they were all over the sides of the tank and I food dishes. So Here is what I have done. I Have 32 crabs of different sizes and Species In a Large Bowfront almost 60 gallon tank. I use Lots of Drift wood for climbing and Coco Husk for substrate. I Took all My crabs out and put them in a plastic tub. I Took all the drift wood and Put it out side. I removed everything from the tank . Everything was taken outside. For the Tank I Cleaned it with Vinegar and Lemon Juice, I Soaked it twice and then I let it set outside for 2 days. THe Crabs Got Several slat baths and Fresh water baths. All the Food Dishes and Water dishes were soaked for a day in Salt water. When Putting it back together, I used all fresh coco Husk, I Did not put any of the Drift wood back in. I knitted a new hemp net and it was soaked and dried in salt water. I Also Cleaned Around the tank the stand and the light fixtures. Before adding the crabs back into the tank I Gave them one more salt and Fresh water bath. For two days since putting it back together everything had been great. no mites in sight. However They have showed up again. I def see them most around the food dish. I Have since the first infestation been Replacing their food and cleaning their food dishes Every day. So What to do next , This is a huge too do because My Tank is so large. Any Suggestions? Do mites come in the Coco Husk? I never had them when I Used Sand But My Crabs fair much better in the Husk. I have only seen about 10 But That Is Ten too many. I also Used Salt water when preparing the Coco Husk, Do Rollie Pollies Keep them Away. Let me know

[Wai]

Not sure if rollie pollies help keep them away as I haven't used them before. The mites might indeed be attracted to the coco husk. When I mixed some coconut fibre into the sand, I got a mite invasion. I haven't seen any mites ever since I used sand alone. The crabs do have a big moss pit in the tank too to give them a break from the sand.

[Foxydiva3]

Thanks for the response Wai, I feel I Have done everything and they are not bad right now like they were but I hate seeing the crabs itch once they get real bad, So for the summer I Will go back to full sand. In the winter I Will go back to the Coco Husk and Take my chances the Husk just keeps the heat in so much better! I might throw some rollie pollies in there to see what happens. Will they do ok in the Salted Husk?

[Wai]

Rollie pollies should be fine in salted husk. I'm not trying to say that coco husk will definitely lead to mites, as some people have been using it for years without any invasions. On the other hand, I got an invasion when I started using it, but I think it was just a mild case (the crabs weren't covered in loads of mites, but I could see a few in the bedding and on the wood pieces) compared to some of the ones I've read online.

[Foxydiva3]

Well right now it's under controll and I have had a few here and there in the past that a good deep clean would fix, But This was like 2012 Apocolypse Now In the Crab Tank It was nuts!!!! I think it might be from all the wacky weather we have been having it started getting bad when we had a few heat wave days. I will go to Sand for the summer No biggie and hope that keep them at bay until the winter.

[ladybug15057]

To the best of my knowledge rollie pollies are more a fungus eating as opposed to mites...
Have you been able to determine what type of mite you are seeing? Some can actually come from the foods (grains) we feed too?
http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... toryid=127

http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... storyid=12

and due to the size of your tank, it might be easier to order mites?

http://crabstreetjournal.com/xoops/modu ... storyid=11

[babesbarn]

I know this is a little late in reading but I read it before but came back today after visiting a PetSmart Store in Toms River NJ. The girl in the pet department could not have cared less when I very nicely brought to her attention the huge pile of white mold carpeting the interior of the hermit crab tank. The sponge was "black" and the crabs were very sickly. I asked her when they arrived and she was not sure but she did take out the visible mold with a papertowel and I could not believe she did not wear gloves. I said "please be sure to wash your hands for not only yourself but for the other critters you are caring for". She must have just rinsed out the sponge and then returned it back to the tank. Surely she did not put a new one in as I thought she would. And the water came right from the faucet. She knew nothing about their care but then she was in the middle of cleaning the inside of fish tanks.
I would not have even taken one of those hermit crabs home to take chance on spreading some unknown mite infestation or sickness that any could have. Keep in mind I got two of my hermit crabs from there a year and a half ago. My spiderman came from the boardwalk in a painted shell which has long been discarded.
The information on the links on this section of post has been helpful and I will keep an eye out for buggies although I have not seen any issues. And never had issues when using coconut substrate only for a year and a half. Now i have changed my substrate which is more inviting to the three fellows. They go into a molt eagerly and I do admit I do love to care for them. They are very well cared for to the best I can do and I have my hubby hooked and he smiles at me and knows where I am when it gets quiet in the house. Today, my babies have eaten uncooked sweet potato, cucumber, carrots and cranraisin. I will remove the food as always by evening and leave dry out for the night. Bacteria loves the dark and it always appears that the mold appears on wet foods in the morning. So dark is a no no for eating. Besides they play all day long and eat before dark. They are usually tuckered out by nightfall. hermies may be nocturnal but mine hang out with me and come when they see my hand go in! Hooray for hermies.

[ladybug15057]

babesbarn sounds to me like an e-mail or phone call to cooperate is in order. Please remember we are the hermies voices and one person CAN make a difference!