# Little things in Eco earth bricks



## Zack M (Aug 1, 2013)

Hi everyone. 

For the past few months, I've continuously seen little white and dark coloured insects in my snail/T tanks. And more recently in my Scorpion tanks too. 

Obviously no one can tell me 100% what they are but I'll give a description. They don't seem like springtails as I've had them in my cresties tanks before. 

All the tanks are Eco earth. And when I make it up, I use boiling water to expand the bricks. Which I would've thought would kill any eggs or anything in them. 

There seems two types. White and dark coloured ones in my snail tank, and only white in T/scorpions tanks. 

They both are small, and seem to walk/crawl rather than jump. They seem to look like little spiders, have a belly section and head, with legs/arms on the bigger, belly looking section. Almost like ticks, but a lot smaller. I've googled baby springtails and they seem alot like them, except they don't jump. 

I've cleaned the tanks several times and they keep coming back, on the snails I have seen little white creatures running over them, and I've cleaned them everytime. 

Except for the snails, they don't appear to be on the animals. Nor have any of them stopped eating. They all seem healthy and active. So these things seem harmless. 

And, all tanks I spray everyday, and snails and scorpions have a damp side and dryer side, they seem more prominent where it's dampest 

If anyone has encountered anything like this before what did you do? Or what can I do? 

Cheers


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## harry136 (Aug 2, 2012)

Microwaved the blocks before use to ensure they're no mites or other potential problems


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## corvid2e1 (Jan 21, 2007)

Yes, they are quite common, particularly if the tank is dirty, or too damp, but often "too damp" is the conditions the animal needs so not always easy to do much about it. They are a species (or possibly several species) of mite, but they are not parasitic, feeding on organic matter in the substrate. Your best bet to try to clear them would be to clean out the tanks and try a slightly dryer set up, obviously without compromising your animal's requirements. You can try microwaving the new substrate but to be honest, if it is dry then they are unlikely to be in there to start with, they just seem to appear from nowhere later on when the conditions are right. I too have seen them running over snails, presumably due to the damp surface, though whether this irritates the snail or not is hard to tell!


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