73 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

Have you got them any insects yet? Tiny colonies love house spiders- just be sure there have been no pesticides sprayed where you live.

[EmberMyAnts]

I’ve given them a worm and a roly poly and they didn’t even touch them!!

Edited by EmberMyAnts, May 17 2019 - 7:02 AM.

[rbarreto]

Did you cut them into pieces? Smaller ants somtimes have a hard time making it through the hard exoskeleton of some insects.

[EmberMyAnts]

I’ll make sure to try that next time. They also LOVED the fly! I put it at the front of tube, and, now it’s under the cover of the paper tube I made for them.

[EmberMyAnts]

Sorry I haven’t been posting, it’s just that, my ants give me nothing to post. Until now. They have about 3X the amount I started with, and, they are eating quite nicely! Only problem, is that my I can’t move them from their old test tube to the new AC test tubes! I know what the problem is, but can’t figure out how to fix it. Basically, they have a ring of spikes on the front so that it can easily fit the holes of all the AC equipment. The only problem is that now that elevates the tube and the ants can’t get in. I’ve figured out that if I put the tubes right together then one part of the tube connects neatly to the other side. Next problem; if I could I would just connect the tube their in to the AC portal, but the tube is too big, which therefore means that my new tube could actually fit inside the tube their in! ..... I’ve given them a dead ant queen I found in my house (how did they get in??) and they ignored it. AGAIN. Now they are pulling at the cotton seal and I have to figure out what else to feed them. Luckily, there is a solution there. When I open my compost in my back yard, a cloud of fruit flies spill out, so I just need to get a suitable net, catch them, and throw them in the fridge. Any other tips I could get?

Edited by EmberMyAnts, June 9 2019 - 5:30 AM.

[EmberMyAnts]

ARGH!!! I just tried to move my ants into the new test tube for the fourth time, and they didn’t even come close to the mouth of the tube! Can anyone, ANYONE tell me how to move 1/4 of a centimeter sized ants into a new tube when they are 3 inches in the back of a insanely wide tube?!

[ANTdrew]

With Tetramorium I would have no worries about forcibly dumping them. A feather can be helpful or a wet q-tip

[EmberMyAnts]

What if I hurt the queen?

[ANTdrew]

Just tip the tube up and tap it until she rolls into the other one. Tetramorium have relatively poor grip, so this shouldn’t be too hard, and I doubt she’ll get hurt. The tricky part may be getting out the brood that’s stuck to the tube. That’s where your feather comes in. Just gently lift up as much brood as you can. If you can’t get a few don’t sweat it; the queen will replace them in no time.

[EmberMyAnts]

Thanks a lot! I will try that in about 3 days and add a fly into the new one for their enjoyment.

[ANTdrew]

Thanks a lot! I will try that in about 3 days and add a fly into the new one for their enjoyment.

Sounds good! Let me know how it goes.

[NickAnter]

Not to criticize, but I think you mean Tetramorim immigrans and not Tetramorium immagrans. Probably auto-corrected to a different word.

[EmberMyAnts]

Thanks! How do I change that?

[ANTdrew]

Go back to your first post on the thread and choose edit. You can change the title in the full editor mode.

[Acutus]

I use the AC Test Tube Portals quite a bit and am not experiencing any problems. There are adapters to put on the end of the AC Test tube and they fit into the portals. Your regular test tube will fit into these same connectors just wrap cotton around the end of the glass tube and twist it into the connector. You may have to use a pencil point or something to ensure the cotton is all the way around to prevent escapes. then tape around the tube and connector so they don't fall off.

 

Needed stuff

 

Ac tube in connector in Port

 

Glass tube with cotton buffer in connector

 

Everything together

 

 

The other two holes need to be plugged. I sometimes just make a loop of tubing from one to the other or you can use the plugs provided.

[EmberMyAnts]

I’ve tried that, but my test tube’s mouth is equal to my biggest adapter! Mess...

[TennesseeAnts]

Use a piece of vinyl tubing that is one size smaller than your text tube.

[EmberMyAnts]

Well, my next test tube is actually an AC test tube, so it fits my portal perfectly. I'm also planning to cutting a Q-tip in half, getting it wet, sticking the brood onto it, placing them into my portal, and connecting the ants (when in new test tube) to the portal so they can take the brood back with the queen again. Or even just dumping them all into the portal and connecting new tube. Would that be a better idea? Also, how do you upload photos?

[disasterants]

So, I bought some ants from someone (thanks so much kounolous!) and, they are awesome! First thing I just watched in awe. Then I put them away and later fed them turkey (they didn’t eat much of it). The next day I took it out and replaced it with a drop of sugar water (either hasn’t seen it or doesn’t care for it). I’m trying to figure out when to feed these little guys, when to move them into another test tube, and when to move them into a formicarium. So far, I have the queen, ten ants, three larvae, and a few TINY eggs that I can just barely see. I don’t know how to put up a picture of them, so, can you help me with that? Also, the tube they’re in is bigger than all the rest, so, I can’t figure out how I’m going to connect the tubes and/or just put them into the formicarium. For ants of this size, do you think I should connect the tube to formicarium at 12, 15, or 20 ants? Thanks!
Edit: It’s the first of May, Wednesday.

try feeding them a wide variety of foods. I know tetramorium like dry cat food but real bugs would be best, 

[EmberMyAnts]

Thanks!