9 replies to this topic

[Nawor3565]

Sorry if I sound agitated, but I've been dealing with this problem for awhile and had no luck solving it. Basically, the majority of my test tube setups fail in one of three ways:

 

1. The biggest cause is just the tubes getting moldy. No matter how well I clean the tubes beforehand, they always seem to start growing mold within a couple weeks, and are totally covered in as little a month or two. I'd say this problem alone has wiped out half of my queens/small colonies. They never seem to want to move into a different test tube, and if I force them, they usually freak out and either eat their brood or stop producing it at all. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here. Maybe I just have to sterilize my test tubes, cotton balls, and water super well?

 

2. A few hours or days after making the setup, a small amount of water will leak through the cotton and onto the floor of the tube. Obviously, the queens really don't like that. I tried simply not pushing the cotton ball down as far, but it still occasionally happens. I end up needing to, again, move the queen to a new setup, which they really don't like.

 

3. The ants refuse to actually search for food. Once the first workers arrive, you need to start feeding them. I know you can place a small amount of food inside the tube, but I don't like to do this because it both makes the cotton mold way faster and it's very easy to get escapees. I've tried both putting the tube into a small takeout container and putting the food nearby the open end of the tube, along side 3D printing a small room with a removable cover that fits on the end of the tube. They usually either end up not ever leaving the tube, or moving OUT of the tube and into the small room, which defeats the whole purpose.

 

What would you guys recommend I do to either prevent these problems, or deal with them when they occur? An idea I had with the mold is to put a small drop of food-grade hydrogen peroxide into the water before adding the cotton, and then shining an ultraviolet light onto it for awhile. The H2O2 + UV light combo is one of the best ways to sterilize water, and because the UV breaks down the H2O2, I should be left with just oxygen gas and some ozone, which I'll let sit for a few days to dissipate before putting any living thing inside of it.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

If you have that many problems with test tubes, I would advise you to buy a Mini Hearth from Tarheel Ants. These can be used to found colonies easily without any of the issues inherent in test tubes. I don't think sterilizing the test tubes would help that much with mold; there are microorganisms everywhere at all times, except maybe in medical labs or NASA clean rooms. As for flooding, it may seem counterintuitive, but I think you need to push the cotton in further. I always try to push it in far enough that the water comes up very close to the surface of the cotton. This prevents air bubbles from forming, and generally makes my test tubes last much longer. You might also want to try using larger cotton balls in proportion to the test tubes, for a tighter fit. You can put their food on a little piece of wax paper and slide that in. If you can get a fruit fly culture, use those for food as they are loved by all ants, who tend to eat the entire flies, reducing the risk of mold. Cricket legs are the next best thing. I actually wouldn't recommend using test tubes at all until you get to the stage where you can't afford to buy real formicaria for all of your ant colonies (this stage will come much sooner than you think). 

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I too, have hated test tubes in the past, though I never had major mold issues and was more worried about random flooding.

[Nawor3565]

Well, I'm glad to know what at least I'm not the only one who's had issues with test tubes.Those mini-hearths look pretty good, although they're definitely on the pricier side with how many queens I have in hibernation. However, the design looks pretty simple, and I wonder if I can't make something that would work just as well using my 3D printer and some hydro-stone.

[ponerinecat]

Push the cotton in fast with a half tube of water to avoid air bubbles. Mold is unavoidable, ants carry spores on them. To make them forage, put the food into a small tinfoil plate in the nest and dispose when done.

[nurbs]

You'll always get mold, but it shouldn't develop that fast unless there are other factors at play that you may not have mentioned.

 

First problem is your cotton ball is too small. It needs to be large enough to go into the tube firmly. I use jumbo cotton balls from Kroger and 20mm test tubes. It never get leaks. 

 

Second is of course make sure the test tubes are clean, which in your case I think they are. Use bottled water. You're not adding sugar to the water, right?

 

What causes mold is moisture, organic matter and heat. If you are heating your ants near the water reservoir and also feeding the ants inside the tube (without an outworld), the ants will stick the uneaten food on the cotton ball and mold will develop fast. 

 

Also, what species are you rearing? Some are super clean (like C. quercicola, which keep there test tubes so clean I've NEVER seen mold in it, even after a year), and some are absolute slobs (C. modoc and C. laevigatus).

 

Take a picture of your setups. 

Edited by nurbs, January 24 2020 - 8:21 PM.

[Nawor3565]

You'll always get mold, but it shouldn't develop that fast unless there are other factors at play that you may not have mentioned.

 

First problem is your cotton ball is too small. It needs to be large enough to go into the tube firmly. I use jumbo cotton balls from Kroger and 20mm test tubes. It never get leaks. 

 

Second is of course make sure the test tubes are clean, which in your case I think they are. Use bottled water. You're not adding sugar to the water, right?

 

What causes mold is moisture, organic matter and heat. If you are heating your ants near the water reservoir and also feeding the ants inside the tube (without an outworld), the ants will stick the uneaten food on the cotton ball and mold will develop fast. 

 

Also, what species are you rearing? Some are super clean (like C. quercicola, which keep there test tubes so clean I've NEVER seen mold in it, even after a year), and some are absolute slobs (C. modoc and C. laevigatus).

 

Take a picture of your setups. 

I'll definitely try getting the larger cotton balls, hopefully it should prevent any leaking.

 

I always make sure the tubes are super clean, I often let them soak in H2O2 or wash them with a little isopropanol (I rise them well afterwards). Trying bottled water is a good idea, I'd never put anything like sugar in their water.

 

The heat is one thing I didn't mention. I keep the test tubes with the heat-loving species on a heating mat around 75*F, with a good gradient so they can choose where to be. I try to never feed them in the tube itself, so hopefully they aren't bringing the food inside and storing it on the cotton.

 

Mostly species native to upstate NY, C. Pennsylvanicus, Prenolepis imparis, and Lasius Niger are pretty much what I've got. The C. Pennsylvanicus are the worst with the mold, followed by the Prenolepis, but I haven't had any problems with the Lasius and mold.

 

My setup is super simple, it's somewhat dismantled right now since most of my colonies are in hibernation, but it's basically just a test tube stuck to the corner of a small tupperware container with a bit of double-sided tape. I set a piece of aluminum foil on top of the test tubes to keep it dark inside, but that's otherwise it.

[ANTdrew]

How about going bioactive by trying to introduce springtails to your set-ups? I’ve had success with some tiny white ones I find living in ant nests, but that was in natural dirt set ups.

Edited by ANTdrew, January 26 2020 - 7:21 PM.

[Serafine]

1. The biggest cause is just the tubes getting moldy. No matter how well I clean the tubes beforehand, they always seem to start growing mold within a couple weeks, and are totally covered in as little a month or two. I'd say this problem alone has wiped out half of my queens/small colonies. They never seem to want to move into a different test tube, and if I force them, they usually freak out and either eat their brood or stop producing it at all. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here. Maybe I just have to sterilize my test tubes, cotton balls, and water super well?

 

Wash your hands as well and use sterile cotton from the pharmacy. Depending on the ant species you may eventually get mold but it should take it's time - also not all mold is bad, bacterial mold usually doesn't bother most ants at all (and force-moving them does way more harm than having them sit in a dirty tube).

If you think your water is the problem you can simply boil it in a pot, put it in a cup and when it's cold enough (room temperature) fill the test tube with it.

You can also offer them a small pile of sand, my Lasius niger put it onto their wet cotton to suppress mold growth after they had stuck trash to it before (it actually worked).
 

2. A few hours or days after making the setup, a small amount of water will leak through the cotton and onto the floor of the tube. Obviously, the queens really don't like that. I tried simply not pushing the cotton ball down as far, but it still occasionally happens. I end up needing to, again, move the queen to a new setup, which they really don't like.

 

You should use water at room temperature or slightly warmer. Cold water will expand over time and push through the cotton. Also make sure your cotton plug is actually thick enough, when it's too small you get massive leakage. And avoid temperature fluctuations that make the water in the tank contract and expand or cause condesation.

I also recommend a second cotton plug at the front and a pastic straw as entrance, this vastly reduces evaporation (my tubes usually last for 6-10 months).

 

3. The ants refuse to actually search for food. Once the first workers arrive, you need to start feeding them. I know you can place a small amount of food inside the tube, but I don't like to do this because it both makes the cotton mold way faster and it's very easy to get escapees. I've tried both putting the tube into a small takeout container and putting the food nearby the open end of the tube, along side 3D printing a small room with a removable cover that fits on the end of the tube. They usually either end up not ever leaving the tube, or moving OUT of the tube and into the small room, which defeats the whole purpose.

 

They most likely forage at night (many small colonies do) and they require so little food that you can't even tell if they took anything unless you feed super small items like fruit flies. A proper liquid feeder (like the byformica Galileo feeders) is a really good investement for a small colony - bird feeders work well for larger ones but small colonies can a bit problematic. Super small test tubes (1x4cm) can also work as a sugar feeder.

Edited by Serafine, January 27 2020 - 9:04 AM.

[RushmoreAnts]

These are two of the most common problems with test tubes. You're not doing anything wrong.