Dust Mites on Fish Tank Cover A dust mite from a fish tank cover surrounded by mite droppings. The slight pink coloration is due to the stain that was added and only just starting to colorize the dust. Dust Consisting of Dust Mites, Dust Mite Droppings, and Bacteria There is a light, gray-brown band of dust on the bottom, diagonal edge of the open, black fish-tank cover. The dust consists almost entirely of dust mite droppings, along with mites and bacteria.

The Offending Fish Tank © 2009 Jeffrey C. May, M.A. A retired professional called me because of the allergy symptoms he suffered when he was home. Once he went to his favorite seafood restaurant with friends, and his nose ran so badly that he had to leave before he finished his meal. He had even been told to see a psychiatrist. (Comment: There were tropical fish tanks in his home and the restaurant. The underside of the cover of the tank in his home was colonized with dust mites, eating the high-protein fish flakes the man spilled on the cover, and flourishing in all that warm moisture.)

Jeffrey C. May is a building consultant, Certified Indoor Air Quality Professional (CIAQP), and author of My House is Killing Me! The Home Guide for Families with Allergies and Asthma (2001) and My Office is Killing Me! The Sick Building Survival Guide (2006), as well as co-author of The Mold Survival Guide: For Your Home and for Your Health (2004) and Jeff May's Healthy Home Tips (2008), all published by Johns Hopkins University Press. A former educator and organic chemist (M.A. Harvard University), Jeff is principal scientist of May Indoor Air Investigations LLC in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts.