Tiny round white bugs invading FF cultures

[Pandapu]

i keep 3 FF cultures ontop of my 30gal tank next to the heat lamp since here in northern nevada it is still a bit chilly. but since the weather has started to warm up ive noticed tiny white round bugs on the glass cover of the tank. and noticed that there were hundreds of these tiny bugs all over and inside my FF cultures, at first i thought they were spingtails since i have them inside the tank but spring tails are skinny and long and these guys are small and round.
ive made new cultures and keep them away from the tank hoping these things dont come back.
any one have any idea what these are and if they pose any threat to my frogs.
thanks...

[Tony]

Mites. They won't hurt the frogs, and most darts love them, but they can negatively impact fruit fly production.

[Kurt]

They can wipe out fruit fly cultures.

[killerecho]

They are most likely mites. Did you notice the color? White or amber colored are probably grain mites and they tend to show up in ff cultures and compete with the ffs for food. They are a nuisance but not too damaging in a vivarium. Red or rust colored mites can be directly harmful to...well, everything. Those need to be eradicated with miticide or other forms of treatment.

Sometimes there's no way to be sure because there are thousands of species and they can be hard to tell apart. My advice is to dump the cultures and start over with untainted stock.

Yes, it's a good idea to separate your cultures from your tank, and even from each other. Some place the cultures on "mite shelf paper", which keeps them from migrating.

[Pandapu]

They are most likely mites. Did you notice the color? White or amber colored are probably grain mites and they tend to show up in ff cultures and compete with the ffs for food.

Yes, it's a good idea to separate your cultures from your tank, and even from each other. Some place the cultures on "mite shelf paper", which keeps them from migrating.

they are just white in color. where can i get mite shelf paper?

thanks guys. any idea where they come from?

[Tony]

they are just white in color. where can i get mite shelf paper?

thanks guys. any idea where they come from?

Here is one source: Anti-Mite Paper, 18 in x 10 ft Roll - Insect Genetics - Genetics - Life Science - Carolina Biological Supply Company

They often come in on the dry medium, and also get transferred when seeding new cultures. Discarding cultures after a month can help to reduce their numbers, but it is pretty much inevitable that they will show up.

[Pandapu]

awesome thanks. i already bought a roll.

yeah i usually start new ones at about 5 weeks but sometimes i dont have time or put it off since i always have at least one culture producing lots of flys. i just have to get better about it