Tiny White Fast Moving...But Not On Snails.

[MLO]

Hello again all.

In the large enclosure in which I keep the (now three) adult snails, I've observed a large number of tiny white rapidly moving bugs. They will overrun the mushrooms that I put in as food and they appear to move throughout the substrate.

The only thing they don't climb on is the snails. I've examined them carefully several times over the past few days (once for a photo shoot I did on Saturday) and they are completely clean of these tiny white bugs.

I'm going to dump all the substrate and wash the enclosure this coming weekend, but what I'd like to know is if I should move the adult snails to temporary lodgings until then. I have a much smaller enclosure that I'm using for the baby snails I find (so far 10 and counting but that's another post) that is completely free of the bugs...should I move them there?

Also, this may be a long shot, but anyone else experience this type of infestation (tiny white non-snail congregating bugs)? I can't post pictures as they're too small to photograph...I'm hoping describing the behavior will help identify.

Thanks in advance for any help...

And a small token of appreciation...a picture from Saturday's shoot:

Quit sprayin' me...I'm fine

[ness]

Many keepers get tiny critters in their tanks - mites, springtainls, some af these can be white, fast-moving etc. They sound completely harmless to me, as they are not interested in your snails, just the food.

There is no need to remove them all, but there's no harm in just skimming them off from the top layer of substrate every so often so that when you look in you don't see a carpet of bugs in the tank Too many may (or may not) be irritating to the snails if they start to crawl on them, but it shouldn't be harmful.

Of course if you do want to remove them all then there's no harm in that either, but you'll almost certainly find some other colony of critters in a few weeks time, probably the same type.

Were your snails captive bred? If so it's possible that the critters came from their original home. Some keepers deliberately keep white springtails. They're fast-moving. You can identify them by seeing if they jump when you disturb them. They are interested in the food, but they do crawl on the snails too when their numbers are high. As previously mentioned skimming the top layer of substrate keeps their numbers to a more acceptable level.

[MLO]

Thanks for the reply!

The snails are not captive bred, but they were born in captivity. Some time in June, I picked up a snail that was in the middle of a well-trafficked sidewalk and decided to keep it for a while. The snail turned out to have fertilized eggs on board and laid them in the enclosure I made for it. Two of the eggs hatched, which led to the three adults I have now (not sure where the babies I'm finding are coming from...I haven't seen the adults mating, and I removed several egg clutches over the past several months).

From what you describe and what I've observed, these critters may indeed be white springtails. They are fast moving and I believe I have seen them jump occasionally (at least I think it's jumping...they are there, and then they're not). Why do people deliberately keep them? Where do they come from? Is it possible that the snails are eating them...as I've noticed from their poop that they do appear to be eating the substrate?

More pictures from Saturday


munch munch by c.j.h., on Flickr



have i seen you somewhere before? by c.j.h., on Flickr

[ness]

Your pictures are really nice. Lovely snails I imagine the babies must be really tiny!

Some keepers (myself included) keep springtails as they help to keep the substrate clean by eating old food and snail poo. However enough old food and poo is left behind for the soil to harbour the type of bacteria that snails require to aid their own digestion.
I find that I don't have to clean the tank out so often, and poo isn't much of an issue. When the tank gets a build up of mess and/or springtails I just do a partial soil change.



other keepers choose worms, for example tiger worms, and/or woodlice (either tropical or garden woodlice) to do the same job. Personally speaking, if I were to start again, I would choose woodlice and worms. But it's all just personal preference really.

Other keepers would rather not have anything else in the tanks, and again that's no problem.

[coyote]

It sounds like springtails to me. The snails may or may not wind up ingesting them when they eat the substrate, but even so I doubt they would be hurt by doing so.

Those are great pics and lovely snails!