Bugs In My Tank? Quick Response Appreciated!

[Revasius]

I was cleaning out one of my crestie tanks and noticed these strange little bugs running around in the soil... They seem to be eating out of the food bowls and living in the bark? They don't appear to be on any of my geckos, so I didn't think they were mites. I have a couple questions:

1. What the heck are these?! I think they might be springtails, but I've never purposefully introduced bugs into my tanks.

2. How did they get there? I have bought plants from Home Depot, but I always rinse them very well before planting them. I also use organic potting soil (bagged) in my live planted tanks.

3. If they are harmful, how do I get rid of them?

Thank you!

 

[CrestedRick]

If they are springtails then they are beneficial to the tank. They will eat the mold and feces. What exactly do they look like? Are they shiny like silver? If so they're probably silver springtails. If they're white then they're normal springtails. By rinsing your plants what exactly do you mean? Just water or bleach/solution? I haven't used potting soil I use either the V2 or original version towards the bottom of this webpage. NEHERP - Substrates For Live Vivariums

 

[Aimless]

organic potting soil can come with phorid eggs, springtail eggs, and other things that aren't harmful. I wouldn't be overly concerned.

I wash my plants with insecticidal soap (a harmless pesticide) to help reduce chances of predatory insects from the plant store. it's been working well for a long time.

 

[Revasius]

They look like springtails, there are some whitish ones and some brown ones. Very small, no wings, and little antennae. The little ones seem to be lighter. I usually just rinse my plants with water before planting them .

 

[Revasius]

That's good to know. I was very concerned that it could be something harmful!

 

[CrestedRick]

You can use an insecticidal soap like Aimless said it use a 5% bleach solution with water to rinse them. That methods always worked well for me.

 

[TheresaB.C]

I have had crickets lay eggs in my moss hide befor. I ended up with about 200 baby crickets running around my tank. are they baby crickets by any chance?

 

[Revasius]

Thanks for the response! No, they aren't baby crickets, as the antennas are really short compared to those of crickets, and I've never introduced crickets into the tank. In fact, I believe they're silver springtails!

 

[Revasius]

My other question is that since I've also noticed them in my container of perlite that I'm using to incubate eggs in, will they harm the eggs? I believe they made their way into the incubator in the eco earth that the eggs were laid in...

 

[CrestedRick]

They won't harm the eggs, they'll do the same thing with the moss in the incubation container

 

[Revasius]

Okay, great!