16 replies to this topic

[TennesseeAnts]

Hi, I would like to know if this is a recommend nest, how many Camponotus chromaides ants it can hold and how often to water.

[CoolColJ]

You can see the water level in the tank from the outside and keep it filled to 60% level.
Usually last at least 2-3 weeks for me before I need to top up

Decent nest, but visibility is poor IMO, and hard to get good photos of the ants inside
I hate those ceiling formations he added

Edited by CoolColJ, November 22 2018 - 10:00 PM.

[ANTdrew]

I raised two successful Tetramorium colonies this year, one in a mini-hearth and the other in tubs and tubes set up. Both did well, but the only minor problems I had were with the mini-hearth. It’s just not suited for explosively growing species. Slow growing Camponotus may do great in it. It’s not as cool looking, but I think it’s hard to beat a ghetto tubs and tubes set up, really.

[TennesseeAnts]

Yeah I got the ytong version of it because it has no top formation things and it has two chambers on the top. Should be here in a week or so!

[Reevak]

I don't own one but I've always thought that it was really just a bunch of empty space. Most ants don't need or want one giant chamber. Also, it's not like ants (besides honeypots I guess?) can even use the empty space in the center of the nest. They can only stand on the walls/floor/ceiling so the nest is much smaller than it really could be.

[CoolColJ]

Personally I think the Atom C style nest is a better nest, but you don't get a compact outworld to go with it

[TennesseeAnts]

Also, it's not like ants (besides honeypots I guess?) can even use the empty space in the center of the nest. They can only stand on the walls/floor/ceiling so the nest is much smaller than it really could be.

Yeah I get what you are saying, but that can be said for most vertical (or horizontal) nests.

[TennesseeAnts]

I will post my thoughts on the nest once it arrives. ( It will be hard to beat either the Fortress or the Dicus though!)

[FSTP]

I've made facsimiles of the hearth-mini, and I do agree that this is a lot of wasted space. So in my little formicarium attempts I'm trying to make things more compartmentalized while still maximizing accessible viewing.

[Reevak]

Yeah I get what you are saying, but that can be said for most vertical (or horizontal) nests.

 

Not really. Most other nests have multiple chambers and tunnels that aren't too much bigger than the amount of space the ants need. The mini hearth is just one big chamber. Much bigger than any chamber most ants would ever need, meaning it's a lot of space the ants can't access (aka wasted space).

[nurbs]

It's not wasted space. The chamber in the Mini Hearth is optimal for its size. If you wanted to subdivide the mini hearth into three or four more chambers, you're going to have a very hard time observing them. You also have to remember ants love to hang. I've fit about 1000 Pheidole in a Mini Hearth just fine. 

 

There's no "one nest fits all". You have to look at the kind of ants you are keeping, and then decide what kind of nest they need. There is no other commercial nest out there right now other than the ones from Tar Heel that works for species like Myrmecocystus. I have about 20 Mini Hearths right now, all housing Myrmecocystus, and they do great.

 

 

 

[dspdrew]

I've never understood the stalactites.

[Kalidas]

I've never understood the stalactites.

Honestly it's probably just for aesthetics, it doesn't seem to serve an important function, and I feel most ants wouldn't build a chamber with random rocks hanging down from it... On purpose.

But it looks pretty cool(that is obviously an opinion.)

[nurbs]

It's not just for aesthetics. It increases surface area for the ants to hang on. Effective if you have something as small as a Mini Hearth and cannot subdivide the chambers.

 

 

 

 

I've never understood the stalactites.

 

 

I've never understood the stalactites.

Honestly it's probably just for aesthetics, it doesn't seem to serve an important function, and I feel most ants wouldn't build a chamber with random rocks hanging down from it... On purpose.

But it looks pretty cool(that is obviously an opinion.)

 

Edited by nurbs, November 26 2018 - 12:35 PM.

[Kalidas]

Oh well if it helps hanging ant species like Myrmecocystus Mexicanus and Navajo then cool!

[TennesseeAnts]

Yeah I never really thought about those stalactites increasing surface area. Makes sense though. I guess they made the ytong version with the chambers on the top to compensate for the lost surface area because they couldn't make the stalactites on the roof of the chamber.

(Hope this made sense!)

[DaveJay]

I'm pretty sure I read in the marketplace thread about the problems they had with a bad batch of "glue" that the new glue allowed for the stalactites for repletes to hang on, so I think that is the reason they gave for having them.