Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Critters in water

Good luck getting a close photograph of them. They are Hydrarcarina a term of convenience for water mites - microscopic spider-like mites adapted for life in the water. The different species are colors of green, blue, orange, brown and red. Most all the species are restricted to freshwater only a few species are found in brachish or salt waters and none are terrestrial. They are different from spiders in that water mites have the cephalothorax and abdomen fused into one round mass body segmentation is missing. Also they 6 legs and spiders have 8, thus water mites are NOT spiders. Water mites are most common where there is aquatic vegetation and water is shallower than 6 ft. Usually they are not a major diet of fish but small fish do eat them. There are probably at least 600 different species in North America and around 4000 species worldwide. Overall pretty neat little critters.