23 replies to this topic

[Oddyseous]

So i'm looking around for my first Formicarium i'll be ordering Friday when I get paid and I was looking at this one: https://www.ebay.com...5.c100005.m1851

 

I was hoping to get thoughts and suggestions, this will be housing an Acrobat Ant (Crematogaster) queen, about 20 workers and the larvae etc... that they move in. They are currently in a coffee can with some dirt grass water and food because I wasn't expecting to find a queen when I did. I want to buy one located in the US to make shipping cheap and fast. Suggestions please. Thanks guys.

Edited by Oddyseous, July 24 2019 - 11:01 AM.

[Nanahira]

Acryllic formicariums are known to kill entire colonies (likely from trapped pheromones etc). Tar heel ants mini hearths are known to work pretty well.

[AntPhycho]

Acryllic formicariums are known to kill entire colonies (likely from trapped pheromones etc). Tar heel ants mini hearths are known to work pretty well.

Strange... I know of colonies that live for years in acrylic formicariums with no problems. Although I do love mini hearths as well  .

[Oddyseous]

I am a big fan of being able to throw in dirt and plants from outside (it's natural habitat) but at the same time I want to be able to watch their every move. It seems to be a tough balance and I would love more suggestions. 

[PacificNorthWestern]

"AntKeepingDepot" has a list of very good formicarium

ant keeping depot ships from ausie though...

[Oddyseous]

 

Acryllic formicariums are known to kill entire colonies (likely from trapped pheromones etc). Tar heel ants mini hearths are known to work pretty well.

 

Since I think we all would agree AntsCanada knows what he is doing, I have to admit, I'm a bit skeptical about your Acrylic comment. AntsCanada sells and uses Acrylic Formicariums.

Edited by Oddyseous, July 24 2019 - 11:40 AM.

[Canadian anter]

 

 

Acryllic formicariums are known to kill entire colonies (likely from trapped pheromones etc). Tar heel ants mini hearths are known to work pretty well.

 

Since I think we all would agree AntsCanada knows what he is doing, I have to admit, I'm a bit skeptical about your Acrylic comment. AntsCanada sells and uses Acrylic Formicariums.

 

85% of the people here feel AntsCanada has no clue what he's doing, though most of us appreciate him bringing the hobby to the mainstream.

Acryllic formicariums are known to kill entire colonies (likely from trapped pheromones etc). Tar heel ants mini hearths are known to work pretty well.

Some species of ants don't do as well in Acrylic, but many ants can certainly survive in them.

[Oddyseous]

 

 

 

Acryllic formicariums are known to kill entire colonies (likely from trapped pheromones etc). Tar heel ants mini hearths are known to work pretty well.

 

Since I think we all would agree AntsCanada knows what he is doing, I have to admit, I'm a bit skeptical about your Acrylic comment. AntsCanada sells and uses Acrylic Formicariums.

 

85% of the people here feel AntsCanada has no clue what he's doing, though most of us appreciate him bringing the hobby to the mainstream.

 

 

Seriously?

[Acutus]

I've got AC Hybrid Nests with C. Chromiaodes 2 huge colonies and they seem to do great. I have an AntWorld USA  which is acrylic and 3d printed and my Aphaenogaster fulva are going like gang busters, at the same time another AntWorld USA formicarium didn't work well with my C. castaneus colony. they hated it. just wrong formicarium for that species I believe.

Now I put that colony in a Tar Heel ants Mini Hearth XL and they started THRIVING!!!! I've bought another and am purchasing 2 more today,

For the size colony you are talking about I think you definitely want a THA Mini Hearth!

Edited by Acutus, July 24 2019 - 12:25 PM.

[Mercutia]

I would agree that some ants don't do well in acrylic formicariums (things like Formica might not take kindly because when they panic, they spray formic acid when panicked and there's really nothing in an acrylic formicarium that can sop up that mess and dissipated that). Most are just fine though.

 

I would suggest trailoring your formicarium needs based on what species you plan on keeping. Some will do better with different mediums.

[Oddyseous]

This is really stressing me out I really want to get something good that they can grow their colony in. Being the first ant queen I've EVER HAD I really DO NOT want them to die.

[ANTdrew]

Don’t stress, man. Crematogaster do great just in test tube set up in an escape proof container. I have a big colony I raised from a single queen living in this simple tubs and tubes set up. They now have several hundred workers with no signs of slowing down. A test tube isn’t glamorous, but its cheap and it works.

[Canadian anter]

Crematogaster cerasi and Crematogaster lineolata are some of the hardiest ants out there. Acrylic isn't ideal for them, and a wood based or cement based formicarium would be way better, but they would be able to survive either way

[Acutus]

This is really stressing me out I really want to get something good that they can grow their colony in. Being the first ant queen I've EVER HAD I really DO NOT want them to die.

 

 

Don’t stress, man. Crematogaster do great just in test tube set up in an escape proof container. I have a big colony I raised from a single queen living in this simple tubs and tubes set up. They now have several hundred workers with no signs of slowing down. A test tube isn’t glamorous, but its cheap and it works.

 

Like He said don't stress it at all. If you get a Tar Heels Ants Mini Hearth get the Bifuricated (2 levels) one for Crematogaster you can't go wrong and that'll be more space than you need for a while for sure! I'm gonna do the same thing for my Crematogaster colony.

But also like ANTDrew said just putting your test tube in a larger outworld will work great. Right now my colony is in an Ants Canada Testube hooked up to one of the Test Tube ports. I started with a small colony but it wasn't going well and I was down to 11 workers before I listened to ANT Drew now they're up over 100 workers.

[Oddyseous]

Don’t stress, man. Crematogaster do great just in test tube set up in an escape proof container. I have a big colony I raised from a single queen living in this simple tubs and tubes set up. They now have several hundred workers with no signs of slowing down. A test tube isn’t glamorous, but its cheap and it works.

 

Well I wasn't looking for an ant queen when I happened to find this group, so they're in a coffee can with dirt/grass food and honeywater. My problem now, is they have a section of larvae n such directly under the lid and I have no idea where the queen ant is inside this. I know where I saw her go into the dirt but no idea if she's moved. Long story short, I feel I need something with a big enough out-world to place the coffee can in until they naturally move out and I can see the queen is out of the coffee can. I don't want to risk digging them out and killing the queen. This is a full size large 1lb coffee can so it's really limiting my options. I've sent messages to people selling ant formicariums on amazon and ebay but they all respond with bad english and chinese writing as a signature so I don't think they know the normal size of a coffee can or that I can rely on fast shipping. I almost want to just buy a 20-30 gallon fish tank just to be sure but I'd rather not have a setup where I need to maintain adding stuff to the top so they can't escape. I may be leaving for africa in January if I get accepted to the peace corps and I want my mom to be able to take care of these for the 2 years i'm gone if that does happen.

Edited by Oddyseous, July 25 2019 - 7:01 AM.

[Acutus]

Not as big a problem as you think. you just make a hole in the top of the can or even in the side that the ants can get access to. You get your formicarium, for the record Tar Heels Ants is in North Carolina and Mack the owner is well versed in keeping ants, then connect the two with tubing. That may take some creativeness but definitely doable. Then you have to wait for the ants to get uncomfortable in the can formicarium and see that the new formicarium is a better place and they'll move. once you see the Queen in the new, mini hearths have a big window to see, separate the two then move any others over to the new nest!

 

Once the two are connected I would only feed them from the new outworld. Make them explore and find the new nest!

Edited by Acutus, July 25 2019 - 7:17 AM.

[Oddyseous]

Not as big a problem as you think. you just make a hole in the top of the can or even in the side that the ants can get access to. You get your formicarium, for the record Tar Heels Ants is in North Carolina and Mack the owner is well versed in keeping ants, then connect the two with tubing. That may take some creativeness but definitely doable. Then you have to wait for the ants to get uncomfortable in the can formicarium and see that the new formicarium is a better place and they'll move. once you see the Queen in the new, mini hearths have a big window to see, separate the two then move any others over to the new nest!

 

Once the two are connected I would only feed them from the new outworld. Make them explore and find the new nest!

Makes sense, thank you everyone for all your replies and help! I'll make sure to give an update when I have one.

[Mercutia]

It's also very easy for you to make your own formicariums. One of the easiest ways is starting using test tubes for founding chambers and then linking these together with tubing to expand the formicarium as they grow. You can also make your own using a picture frame and grout. There are plenty of tutorials on this forum outlining different materials, mediums, and styles you can use to make your own. Alternatively there are plenty of formicarium builders you can buy from but these can get quite pricey within North America. 

[Oddyseous]

I've decided to go with a Large Ant Tower from AntsCanada. It won't be too terribly large for my new queen and her 20 workers. It's also Modular so I can easily expand and it will give me time to work on my own monstrous design while getting them out of this damn coffee can lol. 

Edited by Oddyseous, July 25 2019 - 11:32 AM.

[Acutus]

Good Luck!! be sure to let us know how it goes!!