White aquarium bugs that can jump on humans????

[Sarah146]

I work at a pet store and the other day a few staff members were cleaning out the betta fish display when they found some white, mite like bugs, which were almost translucent. We emptied the whole system and tried to suck up the bugs through a gravel siphon. Since then we have treated the system with vinegar and are cycling it again, hoping that will get rid of them. Bear in mind we don't have access to good parasite treatments in the region. But since then, all 3 of us have experienced red, itchy bites on our skin, on places like our backs, necks and legs. One of the staff members is the worst, and she was the one who did the most cleaning and had the most contact with the infected system. Does anyone know if any aquarium bug can transmit to humans? Does anyone have any idea of what these might be, and how we can make sure we don't get them again in our betta system? TIA!

 

[Colin_T]

Were the white bugs in the water or on the surface?
How did they move about?
Any pictures?

 

[Sarah146]

Mainly on the surface. They were crawling, didn't seem to be jumping but who knows. We didn't get any pictures unfortunately. But they looked like little white mites with a long body.

 

[Fishmanic]

Sorry to hear about this issue. This incident serves as an example to show our members how important it is to wash your hands after putting your hands in your tank(s).

 

[Retired Viking]

Sorry to hear about this issue. This incident serves as an example to show our members how important it is to wash your hands after putting your hands in your tank(s).

I agree, but you should also make sure your hands are clean before putting them into the tank

 

[Colin_T]

You sometimes get small white/ gray insects (1-2mm long) on floating plants but they don't normally bite people and some fish eat them.

Did the staff handle anything else that day, bird seed, hay, new dogs?

 

[Barry Tetra]

You sometimes get small white/ gray insects (1-2mm long) on floating plants but they don't normally bite people and some fish eat them.

Did the staff handle anything else that day, bird seed, hay, new dogs?

It might be 'grain mite'. found them when feeding my ducks.