can any1 shed some light?

[Jess *Trumpton GALS*]

can any1 shed some light please: every now and than i get these things in my tank, they are white very small (about 2mm)and extremly thin and wriggly. one minute theres nothing there and than "hello". they arnt on the snails just the sides of the tank. once i wash it out with soapy hot water they are gone.

im thinking it might be the same as what leah was getting, but they dont appear that often.

also what can i use for emergancey bedding for my snails, as when i made this last discovery it was late and i had no soil (oooops)

[(¯`·._.·[Samm]·._.·´¯)]

Yes, they are a type of mite.....they hide in the water, and in the snails shells etc

* petsnails.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=pests&action=display&n=1&thread=4439 *

Little bit of info on there... i tihnk thats what you mean

Also, they wont harm the snails, they will be ok i think untill you get some more substrate

-Samm

[Paul]

I don't think they sound like mites, they sound like nematode worms.



They can grow up to about 1 cm long, and they multiply rapidly in food. If you had a reasonably powerful magnifying glass you will probably be able to see the odd one trapped on the snail, in the mucus. I reckon that is why it's almost impossible to get rid of them.

They don't appear to be parasitic or harmful to the snails, though I imagine large quantities may become irritating. There are a few things you can do to reduce them significantly:

Remove soiled food as soon as possible. This is by far the best way of keeping numbers down.
Put all food in plastic dishes so their access to soil is limited
Place food in a less humid area of the tank. It is sometimes worth keeping a corner quite dry and putting the food there.
Increase ventilation
Regular substrate changes/sterilisation and bathing snails.
Wash hands between dealing with different tanks and use different equipment to do so.

I think they are more common than people realise, there are a few signs that can help you discover them.

You may see food shimmering ever so slightly
You may spot fine lines drawn on the sides of the tank, through condensation

[Paul]

Just to add, that I would consider any actual mite potentially harmful, particularly if they are white and tiny like the ones you observe on slugs and snails in the wild. They are probably a species of Ricardoella, blood-sucking mites that congregate and feed inside the pneumostome (air-hole). There are beneficial, harmless mites but I wouldn't take a chance.

[(¯`·._.·[Samm]·._.·´¯)]

Doh, Im wrong again

hehe

Good job theres people like paul AROUND

[Jess *Trumpton GALS*]

when people say mites you generally think of fleas and dust mites etc.. but these are defo wormy things.. i do keep the food in a bowl and i dont usually remove because its ALL been eaten..lol

thank you so much for ALL information! so far touch wood.. *finding nearest woody object* all is clear

thanks again all!

[(¯`·._.·[Samm]·._.·´¯)]

[ness]

Hi, I left a post on another thread called "midgey things", and sound like the larvae of the completely harmless sciarid fly or fungus gnat. They are clear and look white with a faint darker line down the middle, and are roughly 2mm long. They are like catterpilars without legs. Quote from my other post:
"These are sciarid flies (probably), also called fungus gnats. The eggs live in certain types of forest bed soil purchased at pet stores and other peat based soil. The eggs hatch when you add water to the soil. They live off snail food, especially old snail food but are completely harmless, that is, until you try to grow seeds in your house. The larvae of these gnats have killed off almost all of my Lythops (Living Stones) and Astrophytum (species of cactus) seedlings. These critters don't attack older plants and they don't bother with any animals, so unless you are trying to grow mushrooms or seedlings it's perhaps best not to worry. Or you could try using John Innes soil, apparently the flies don't like this (though I've not tried it with my snails so please don't blame me if the snails don't like it either). Hope this helps, good luck everyone x"