Hypoaspis any danger to snails?

[pinkunicorn]

I am not sure where these guys came from though I suspect it's the organic potting soil I've been using as substrate combined with warm weather. But I've a HUGE number of some Hypoaspis species in every tank, especially my achatina tank (when I open the tank I get mites crawling on my hands!) On the positive side there's no fungus gnats or snail mites, and they've even eaten all springtails and I suspect they also eat snail poo considering how well the populations are doing. But they do crawl on top of snails as well when there is a lot of them. Baking the soil and thorough washing of tanks doesn't seem to get rid of them or they simply come back.

So I wonder if they pose any danger to the main occupants of my tanks? People buy and add H.miles species into their tanks, but I'm not sure which Hypoaspis I have (there's hundreds of species, all quite similar). Anyone else get these mites out of nowhere?

[scarral]

I have some little red mites, but the snails seem to be happy anyway. I have a picture here:

m.flickr.com/photos/97249293@N05/9282211691/lightbox/

I don't think I have as many as you describe though. And as you say, they just came one day, as did the lottle white worms. The only thing I planted on purpose were the springtails.

[muddydragon]

I'm sorry i'll be no help in this, i don't have any experience with mites (thankfully!) but if the snails are looking happy and healthy my guess would be they're no problem

[vickyholt13]

Sorry I've not had mites in my snails lately and when I do years ago they went with the predatory species I purchased then these died when the food source died.
Sorry I have little experience with them but as muddydragon said if there not bothering the snails the snails and there eating and acting fine I wouldn't say they were a problem although I wouldn't like them myself in the tank sorry I know its not much help

[tsrebel]

That is very strange. I've bought hypoaspis to take care of some other mites in the past, and they seem to die out as soon as they are out of food (meaning other mites, fungus gnat larvae, springtails and other small creatures. They don't harm snails. Are you really sure they are hypoaspis?

[pinkunicorn]

They look a lot like some Hypoaspis species. They're brownish, about 1,5mm with legs included... I've heard that the mites should die out once food runs out, which tells me these are NOT Hypoaspis miles mites, but since there is so many of them another variant could live longer, I think.