7 replies to this topic

[Aewhistory]

So I have been slowly learning to keep ants in order to help my son.  We have about 8-10 queens, but only a couple are doing really well, so I don’t think I am doing a very good job.  We got a little Chromaides (sp?) colony last fall and they just started to get their first new workers a few weeks ago. We have them in a tube with a tiny little “outworld” attached (it is about 1.5” sq).  Then a few days ago we checked and the tube was flooded!  A few workers had died, the cocoons had drowned, but most of the rest of the brood had been moved with the queen and rest of the colony into the tiny outworld.  
 

So I took the tube off and noticed a rotten smell.  I removed all the dead stuff and compared “smells” and it seems as though the bad smell came from the water reservoir.  It was almost like something had gone rotten, but it was just water and a cotton ball.  I also use an animal safe disinfectant between using the tubes.  
 

Anyway, I set the remnants up in their new tube and outworld and checked back a couple days later.  I immediately noticed the queen was in the outworld and the rest of the colony was in the tube!  She was clearly wobbly and as I watched her she rolled onto her back.  I felt awful.  This is my son’s favorite queen.  It is a day later now and she is still alive, but just laying on her back and occasionally moving her legs.

 

I think she is going to die, but is there anything at all I can do?  Anything I should look for? 
 

Thanks for any help folks and best wishes,

aaron 

[SYUTEO]

Does the disinfectant contain Baking Soda (Sodium bicarbonate)? I heard they can kill ants.

[Aewhistory]

I’ll check in the morning.  I’m just putting my son to sleep now.  Man, I never heard that but if it does then I need to move all the ants pronto. In fact, it would explain a lot of the troubles I have had.  This disinfectant is supposed to be great for sensitive animals like amphibians, so I had hoped it would be fine for the ants.  After all, amphibians like frogs don’t like dead prey, so it wouldn’t make much sense for the disinfectant to kill the bugs they’re fed.  Then again, I am probably assuming more thought was put into this product than it actually received.

 

Now that you have me thinking of it, I will post all the ingredients tomorrow.  Thanks for the lead.  TTYL

[Antkeeper01]

I’ll check in the morning.  I’m just putting my son to sleep now.  Man, I never heard that but if it does then I need to move all the ants pronto. In fact, it would explain a lot of the troubles I have had.  This disinfectant is supposed to be great for sensitive animals like amphibians, so I had hoped it would be fine for the ants.  After all, amphibians like frogs don’t like dead prey, so it wouldn’t make much sense for the disinfectant to kill the bugs they’re fed.  Then again, I am probably assuming more thought was put into this product than it actually received.

 

Now that you have me thinking of it, I will post all the ingredients tomorrow.  Thanks for the lead.  TTYL

next time just rinse it out with water

[Aewhistory]

 

I’ll check in the morning.  I’m just putting my son to sleep now.  Man, I never heard that but if it does then I need to move all the ants pronto. In fact, it would explain a lot of the troubles I have had.  This disinfectant is supposed to be great for sensitive animals like amphibians, so I had hoped it would be fine for the ants.  After all, amphibians like frogs don’t like dead prey, so it wouldn’t make much sense for the disinfectant to kill the bugs they’re fed.  Then again, I am probably assuming more thought was put into this product than it actually received.

 

Now that you have me thinking of it, I will post all the ingredients tomorrow.  Thanks for the lead.  TTYL

next time just rinse it out with water

 

 

for some reason I was under the impression that cleaning the tubes required more than this because of microbial/bacterial issues?  I’m probably getting things mixed up.  I find this hobby a bit of a mystery for some reason.  It is weird, I’ve have up to 14 aquariums at a time, grown and bred dozens of different kinds of fish and aquatic plants.... but I really seem to suck at keeping ants.  Except for the ones that invade my kitchen.  Those I seem to have done a magnificent job turning into a large colony.

 

About this cleaning solution, I took a look at the ingredients and there isn’t much there, just two ingredients.  However, the one active ingredient has me worried.  The solution is 99.87% inert ingredient (whatever that means.... if it is just water then say water and if it is more than that list the ingredient!) and 0.13% alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride.  That’s quite a mouthful!  I have no clue what that is, but it doesn’t sound like something conducive to raising ants.  In fact, it doesn’t sound good for amphibians either.....  

 

Anyway, I am going to begin moving all of my son’s colonies to fresh test tubes.  This is going to be a major PITA.  I just wish I could send a very tiny traffic cop into some of these tubes to direct the ants to their new homes.  Anyone have a very tiny traffic cop around that I could borrow?

 

EDIT: almost forgot to update this but the Chromaiodes queen is still alive.... barely.  She lays on her back and moves a wee bit from time to time.  I decided to try feeding her from a very tiny pipette but even the tiny drop of protein and sugar liquid mix I gave her seemed like too much.  I wish I could think of something that might help her.  Anyone know a good ant vet?
 

Edited by Aewhistory, June 12 2021 - 4:25 PM.

[Aewhistory]

The Chromaides Queen is dead..... long lives the Queen.

 

I noticed something interesting last night.  The colony essentially split into two little parts: the brood and some ants in the tube and the dying Queen and two workers in the tiny outworld.  This got me to thinking that maybe I was wrong, that this wasn’t something to do with the cleaning supplies or anything.  So I coaxed one of the workers back into the tube to test a theory and, lo and behold, he was attacked by the group inside the tube!  As of today not only is the queen dead but so are the two workers who were with her.

 

So after their flood the colony got split up briefly as the ants got everywhere when I went to save them.  But they weren’t apart for any length of time.  At most 20 minutes and I think much less, probably 10 minutes.  Could this colony have really lost their common “smell” in that short of a time?  I ask because I am thinking that this queen was killed by her workers now, which is really a bummer.

 

anyway, I want to learn whatever I can from this.  Also, anyone around NJ have a Chromaiodes colony they’d be interested in selling?  My son is heartbroken and I feel awful, so I’m going to make this up to him as soon as I can.  Thanks!

[Antkeeper01]

that was me when i lost my pheidole colony

[SYUTEO]

It's best to catch multiple queens in one season because you don't know which queens are going to succeed. I made that mistake once and it was an awful experience.