Mites in fish tank

[MAV]

Not sure if anyone can help me here but would be thankful for any ideas.

I have a Juwel 240 Tropical fish tank all set up and no reported problems.

Where you lift the lid to the tank "the flaps if you like a hundreds of tiny white mites that if you go to touch them will jump everywhere. I believe they are there for the damp and any mould spores and seem to thrive. I have a spray bar that spits a fine spray on the underside of the flaps. They were there before I installed the spray bar so turning it off will not help.

I have tried to kill the colony with steam from and iron and spraying boiling water, this obviously kills them but they come back.

Does anyone know how to permently remove these litle B******ds.

Also they do not seem to drown they are so light they float.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Mike_Noren]

They're not mites, they're springtails, primitive insects. You'll find them in pretty much every tank which has floating plants - they feed on e.g. rotting plant matter and fungi, and any fish food they may find. They're basically harmless, although they may chew on the live plants as well, and frankly I would suggest ignoring them.

If you would like to eradicate them, removing their food (floating plants etc) and improving ventilation may do the trick, as may increased surface circulation.

Insecticides will kill them, of course, but may also kill your fish.

[MAV]

Thanks mike