The number of species of mites on us , around us, on our frogs, around our frogs, is huge.
Grain mites are a good supplemental food source with the understanding that most all foods we feed our darts are supplemental. Most mites in our vivs and cultures (bulk-wise) are grain mites. The amount of predatory mites in our vivs are almost non-existent.
BTW, for those who think that terribilis will only eat large food stuffs, I'll take a fern panel infested with mites and let them sit on it picking off mites all day. They will, and they do.
Grain mites are only bad for springtail and other cultures (and those allergic to mites). Not darts. Not tiny, tiny little darts (I have a fern panel in one of my 'rarer' grow out vivs right now) , not big ones.
So, have no fear. Use them as food without worry. Grain mites do not suck blood.
Rich
They will scavenge a carcass, but for healthy frogs they are a snack not a threat.
BTW, my vet assures me of their harmlessness.
Tony Wrote:They will scavenge a carcass, but for healthy frogs they are a snack not a threat.
Right, not for sucking blood, more cleaning, a good thing.
Rich
RichFrye Wrote:The number of species of mites on us , around us, on our frogs, around our frogs, is huge.
Grain mites are a good supplemental food source with the understanding that most all foods we feed our darts are supplemental. Most mites in our vivs and cultures (bulk-wise) are grain mites. The amount of predatory mites in our vivs are almost non-existent.
BTW, for those who think that terribilis will only eat large food stuffs, I'll take a fern panel infested with mites and let them sit on it picking off mites all day. They will, and they do.
Grain mites are only bad for springtail and other cultures (and those allergic to mites). Not darts. Not tiny, tiny little darts (I have a fern panel in one of my 'rarer' grow out vivs right now) , not big ones.
So, have no fear. Use them as food without worry. Grain mites do not suck blood.
Rich
^ Agree 100%.
I've been getting them in my iso cultures. So, I feed them out to my froglets. They look like good eating.
Mites:
1. Inevitable
2. Controllable
3. Sometimes beneficial
4. Instructional (we all need to go thru the experience of dealing with them)
5. Never a "game over" issue
6. No need to curse over them - unless you specifically ordered a bunch of FF cultures in the mail and need FF production ASAP.
7. No biggie unless you are allergic and get itchy easily
8. Just another part of this cool hobby
9. Everyone (honest people) deals with them at some point
10. No need to be a'scared
Its interesting to see others using mites for food too. Its not something that is talked about much, but I use them as well. I often times take off the lids of older cultures that have mites and leave them in a tank for the frogs and froglets to eat. There is some balance involved as Phil mentioned, if they are everywhere they can be annoying and itchy, and they can reduce the productivity of your cultures if you let them become too abundant.
It's probably better to NOT have them, than to have them.....
and it's certainly MUCH easier to keep them low and in check thru prevention than to go backwards / having to try to deal with a bloom or infestation.
They are def of lesser "food value" - than FF, as well.
some thoughts.
I just read a post where someone added ladybugs to an established vivarium to eat the mites ect. Frogs will eat grain mites. I would think ladybugs would be a dangerous food item for dart frogs.
Yeah I just read that... I was also going over the FF thread. I look at mite infestations as a good thing. Obviously I don't like them crashing my FF cultures but when I get one so infested that that the media is moving in the cup. I grab a spoon and add a spoon to any viv that is producing froglets or about to.
I know of a frogger that has mites all over the place they were even crawling on the outside of his rack. I wonder if a booming mite infestation in the viv translates to a higher production of healthy froglets?
Just thoughts....
-Byron