Juvenile Springtails or Mites?

[spaghetti3000]

hey all. So I just ordered some springtails for my millipede enclosure. After a couple of days there are these small round “things” everywhere! I can definently tell what and adult springtail looks like, these guys are the same color and swarm the cucumbers is put in (see the file I put in. Sorry it isn’t the best and kind of gross) anything to concerned about? Thanks!

 

[Aquarimax]

Looks like you’ve got some mites there.

 

[PrimalxTyrantula]

Best thing I've learned when dealing with mites is remove the specimen into a containment area. And freeze the enclosure for 24 hours and then one day to warm back up. Any mites inside will be long dead.

Another set u can provide is offer food and remove when u see lots of them on it. Repeat process. But a good flash freeze will kill every mite

 

[Polenth]

They're mites. They're nothing to be concerned about as they're only there to eat the food. Once the springtails get going, the mite numbers will reduce.

 

[spaghetti3000]

I’ve done some more research. Seems like they are grain mites:/. I changed the leaf bed out and took out the food. None seem to be crawling on any of my pedes thankfully. Is the predatory mite solution an ok one?

 

[Polenth]

I’ve done some more research. Seems like they are grain mites:/. I changed the leaf bed out and took out the food. None seem to be crawling on any of my pedes thankfully. Is the predatory mite solution an ok one?

Grain mites aren't harmful. At worst, some will hitch a ride on a millipede. They're not parasites. They don't eat millipedes or their eggs. Most tanks will have a few around. They will reduce in number as the springtails get going. You don't need to toss everything over a few grain mites. You'll see other people doing it because people get the idea that all things in some categories are harmful (mites, nematodes, tiny flies and fungi are the common ones on the forum).

Predatory mites will eat grain mites, but they also eat anything else they can catch. That means you won't have springtails anymore. I don't know if baby woodlice and millipedes are small enough to eat, but I didn't take chances when predatory mites appeared in a pill millipede tank. I tossed all the substrate and started again. You don't want to be adding predatory mites on purpose, as they're a pain to remove.