My isopods have mites

[SkittlesTheJumpingSpider]

Hello everyone, I am new here. Recently, I was feeding my pet isopods fish flakes, and I saw this VERY tiny white creature running on their wood where the fish flakes were. Turns out, now there is a mite infestation in my isopod enclosure. (I stopped feeding fish flakes for now, until I get springtails) I don't think they're parasitic, because I don't see them on the isopods (I think they're grain mites) I can't get a picture of them, because they're so small, but they basically look like very tiny white dots.

If anyone knows how to get rid of them, I'd really appreciate that.
Thank you!

-SkittlesTheJumpingSpider

 

[Spoodfood]

They’re grain mites more than likely. Completely harmless, they are like free springtails. To get rid of them you can dry all of your enclosures out, leave a catch cup next to the enclosure with a dead prey item or piece of carrot for 24 hours, rinse and repeat. But mostly when they’re in my tarantula enclosures I just dry out the top layer of substrate and they congregate in the water dish. Dump it out, rinse it. Do it again if I have to. They don’t explode that way but I’m sure it doesn’t completely get rid of them. But as I said they’re harmless.

 

[SkittlesTheJumpingSpider]

They’re grain mites more than likely. Completely harmless, they are like free springtails. To get rid of them you can dry all of your enclosures out, leave a catch cup next to the enclosure with a dead prey item or piece of carrot for 24 hours, rinse and repeat. But mostly when they’re in my tarantula enclosures I just dry out the top layer of substrate and they congregate in the water dish. Dump it out, rinse it. Do it again if I have to. They don’t explode that way but I’m sure it doesn’t completely get rid of them. But as I said they’re harmless.

Thank you so much for the response! Okay, that makes me feel a lot better, I was getting a little worried when I first saw them. I'll try the catch cup technique. Thank you!

 

[Ponerinecat]

These don't sound like grain mites or any sarcoptiform to me. Those don't really "run" and more just amble around. Often movement is hard to discern unless you watch for a really long time, they kinda glide over surfaces. Any details about how the body was structured? The usual suspect would be a mesostig but other groups are possible too.

 

[SkittlesTheJumpingSpider]

These don't sound like grain mites or any sarcoptiform to me. Those don't really "run" and more just amble around. Often movement is hard to discern unless you watch for a really long time, they kinda glide over surfaces. Any details about how the body was structured? The usual suspect would be a mesostig but other groups are possible too.

Thank you for the reply.

It's a little hard to tell the shape of the mite's body, as they're so small, but it seems like their body shape is kind of like an oval. I usually see the mites on the lid of the isopod's enclosure, so it's hard to see their top side. It seems like they're always on the move.

Are Mesostigs harmful to isopods?

 

[Ponerinecat]

Not to my knowledge. They're usually predatory on smaller inverts, although certain species can be parasitioids/parasites on insects or vertebrates. These are the same type of mite you often see hitchhiking on beetles.

 

[SkittlesTheJumpingSpider]

Not to my knowledge. They're usually predatory on smaller inverts, although certain species can be parasitioids/parasites on insects or vertebrates. These are the same type of mite you often see hitchhiking on beetles.

Okay, thanks for the response.