Microscopic spider / crabs on acros

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Any chance you can offer info or suggestions on eradication of the mites?

Unfortunately, no - I know they are reportedly preyed on by some small fish, crustaceans, other mites, etc., but nothing common seems to eat them (predatory amphipods and predatory isopods would be my best guess for something that might prey on them at the moment; it's noted that these are not preyed on nearly as frequently as would be expected given their population numbers); they're too small for manual removal to really be effective; and dips don't seem to work (at least none that we've tried, though that makes some sense to me since these mites are arachnids, and even terrestrial arachnids are relatively bulletproof chemically).

So, I don't know of a good method to eliminate these or even control their numbers at this point.

 

[FishyJoe91]

Unfortunately, no - I know they are reportedly preyed on by some small fish, crustaceans, other mites, etc., but nothing common seems to eat them (predatory amphipods and predatory isopods would be my best guess for something that might prey on them at the moment; it's noted that these are not preyed on nearly as frequently as would be expected given their population numbers); they're too small for manual removal to really be effective; and dips don't seem to work (at least none that we've tried, though that makes some sense to me since these mites are arachnids, and even terrestrial arachnids are relatively bulletproof chemically).

So, I don't know of a good method to eliminate these or even control their numbers at this point.

Thank you for the info!

 

[VintageReefer]

Unfortunately, no - I know they are reportedly preyed on by some small fish, crustaceans, other mites, etc., but nothing common seems to eat them (predatory amphipods and predatory isopods would be my best guess for something that might prey on them at the moment; it's noted that these are not preyed on nearly as frequently as would be expected given their population numbers); they're too small for manual removal to really be effective; and dips don't seem to work (at least none that we've tried, though that makes some sense to me since these mites are arachnids, and even terrestrial arachnids are relatively bulletproof chemically).

So, I don't know of a good method to eliminate these or even control their numbers at this point.

Do you suspect all of our reefs have these? And peope are just unaware due to lack of a strong microscope to view them? Are these a natural and common part of nature and reef keeping that is just unnoticed by most people ?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Do you suspect all of our reefs have these? And peope are just unaware due to lack of a strong microscope to view them? Are these a natural and common part of nature and reef keeping that is just unnoticed by most people ?

They're relatively common in nature according to the scholarly sources I've looked at, but my understanding is that they're primarily benthic, and sometimes stick to specific substrates - they don't seem to be very common in aquaria, but they may frequently go unnoticed. I personally doubt that all tanks have these, but I would guess (based strictly off of how often threads with them pop up) that a decent-sized minority of them do (likely similar numbers as tanks with critters like tanaids and anthuroidean isopods).

 

[VintageReefer]

Unfortunately, no - I know they are reportedly preyed on by some small fish, crustaceans, other mites, etc., but nothing common seems to eat them (predatory amphipods and predatory isopods would be my best guess for something that might prey on them at the moment; it's noted that these are not preyed on nearly as frequently as would be expected given their population numbers); they're too small for manual removal to really be effective; and dips don't seem to work (at least none that we've tried, though that makes some sense to me since these mites are arachnids, and even terrestrial arachnids are relatively bulletproof chemically).

So, I don't know of a good method to eliminate these or even control their numbers at this point.

So we need dog/cat tick medicine? I joke but am half serious. Have people used things like that in reefs before?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

So we need dog/cat tick medicine? I joke but am half serious. Have people used things like that in reefs before?

You would be looking for a miticide; ticks require an ixodicide - Ivermectin (as Dooly mentioned earlier being effective) may work, as it's a miticide. I'm not aware of any other miticides being commonly used in aquaria, but maybe some of the Chem forum regulars or Jay might be.

 

[VintageReefer]

You would be looking for a miticide; ticks require an ixodicide - Ivermectin (as Dooly mentioned earlier being effective) may work, as it's a miticide. I'm not aware of any other miticides being commonly used in aquaria, but maybe some of the Chem forum regulars or Jay might be.

Thank you for the correction and pointing me in the right direction.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Thank you for the correction and pointing me in the right direction.

Ah, sorry, hope that didn't come across rudely! I got excited (and I tend to list unnecessary info when I do) as this was new info for me to read up on (both more info about mites and info about arachnid-related poisons generally).

Anyway, hope it helps (and thanks Dooly for that info about Ivermectin)!