crab parasite

Question
I was bathing my crabs, when i removed one of them from the water, I saw something that resembled a small silverfish (oval shaped, bilateral body) only it was white. It did not appear to want to leave the shell, as it returned quickly. I have checked my other two crabs and found no evidence of this organism. Is this a parasite, and what should I do about it, if anything?

Answer
Dear James,
thank you for your question.
Usually, mites that suck the crabs blood are red and keep themselves attached to the crab's mouthparts and joints. They look like the mites on this daddy longlegs:
http://www.arthropods.de/arachnida/acari/trombidiidae/trombidiidaeSpec01.htm

Insects don't prey on hermit crabs. The only insect that can be harmful for them is the humpbacked fly. Try bathing the crab again in saltwater to flush the bug out. Firebrats (related to silverfish) are sometimes found in crabitats, but usually not in a crab's shell. Did you buy the crab recently?

I don't think that it is something harmful, but it's hard to say for sure without a picture. If you can get the bug out, can you try and take a photo of it? I'm interested in bug that turn up in crabitats and I wrote a guide to them, so I would like to include your bug in it.
You can take a look at the guide here:
http://www.hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=30282&start=0
maybe you can find your bug in it?

I'm sorry that i can give no definite answer to your question, but I hope it helps you a bit
Jennifer