24 replies to this topic

[Alacom]

How large is a colony? Tetramorium sometimes have small die-offs, but if you feed them a lot they should have a steady supply of new workers. If the ants were freaking out and when they curled up and were obviously in agony, that might be a sign of nerve damage and toxins. A test you could do is storing some of the workers in a clean test tube setup and see how they react.
(then you'd know if something is wrong with the nest)

The Tetramorium colony had around 40 members or more when they all died off. It was very sudden. The Liometopum colony had around 100. They’ve lost half or more in around a day or so. When I watch them, it just seems like they slow down and curl up when I’m not looking. I haven’t seen any spasms.

[jushi]

I would double check their nest humidity. Ytong is known to leak moisture, and this can cause some serious problems for your ants.

[Temperateants]

 

How large is a colony? Tetramorium sometimes have small die-offs, but if you feed them a lot they should have a steady supply of new workers. If the ants were freaking out and when they curled up and were obviously in agony, that might be a sign of nerve damage and toxins. A test you could do is storing some of the workers in a clean test tube setup and see how they react.
(then you'd know if something is wrong with the nest)

The Tetramorium colony had around 40 members or more when they all died off. It was very sudden. The Liometopum colony had around 100. They’ve lost half or more in around a day or so. When I watch them, it just seems like they slow down and curl up when I’m not looking. I haven’t seen any spasms.

 

I'd move those ants back to a test tube. You don't have to move ants into formicaria until they are ready. Plus you said you got them from amazon? I wouldn't trust them as much as THA or Antsaus.

[AntaholicAnonymous]

Sounds a lot like moisture issues to me.
Whatever it is I'd remove them from the current setup and let them recover in a test tube.
When they are in good shape again you could order a setup from the more reputable websites this one might not keep moisture very well.

[jushi]

 

 

Tetramorium aren't stressed out very easily. When I moved my tetramorium colony that was starting to dehydrate, the benefits were almost immediate, as the worker deaths stopped and the brood looked healthier. The only thing I can think of is the ants are dying from something in the AAC. Where did you get it? And how did the ants die? (please answer this question in detail)

I mean what is the nature of the death. Did the ants curl up, where the corpses cannibalized, did they freak out and go into unnatural positions?

Oh that’s what you mean. I got the AAC from amazon, and the tetramorium were able to thrive within it for around a month. In both cases the ants died by curling up. It literally seems like they’re dying by the minute.

 

 

Where can you buy AAC on Amazon?? I've looked everywhere and can't seem to find it.