8 replies to this topic

[Auait]

As I said, I'm very new to this whole ant Colony world. It's my 12 old son. That's very much into all this. Has been watching you tube video for years now. And I thought he is old enought to have/start his own Colony. With help from me and mostly all of you guys who are willing to help teach us on how to go about all this. So I thought what better way, then to write it down. Where everyone and myself can see us go step by step. And get the added help along the way when needed. I looks on Amazon, and antscanada. At what they call ant farms. And nothing looked like something my son or I wanted. One, price being a big thing and two didn't really look like a good living kind of thing. And I want them to have the best love they can here. That being said we are going with the good old diy style. We designed something we thought we would like. Using our old 10 gal fish tank.
This is what we got so far, what do you guys think about the design? Do we need to change anything?

[ANTdrew]

Welcome! That’s cool you’re helping your son with this. What species do you plan to keep in the tank? What will the nest part be made of, and how will it be designed?
Escape proofing in tanks like this can be challenging; how do you plan to do that?

[DDD101DDD]

Most colonies would grow out of a nest of that size, so you'd need to connect more over time. You shouldn't put a colony in a nest of that size right away either, and the waterfall might cause there to be more humidity, which could make the barrier you decide to use less effective. Ants also tend to drown in liquid quite easily, so small colonies should definitely not be there in my opinion. Otherwise I think it would be a pretty neat outworld.

Edited by DDD101DDD, July 11 2021 - 6:51 AM.

[futurebird]

If you have made tanks with water features before go for it, but I think a water feature might make damp areas in the outworld that will make your ants want to move where you can't see them.

The lower humidity and moving air from ventilation in the outworld is what makes ant prefer the nest chambers in most cases. But, if you make it so there are no moist nooks it might be fine. I love looking at and thinking about plans for nests. Though my focus is nests that make photography easy!

 

Do you know what kind of ants you'd like to keep?

 

Ants Canada products are OK. Not terrible, not fantastic IMO.

 

Have you seen tarheel ants? or underground citi on etsy?

 

Though really design can't be done without know what type of ants and what size the colony is. 

 

Are you starting from scratch with queens? Gonna by or be given an existing larger colony?

 

I think if you can get a queen with about 5 to 15 workers that's the easiest way to start. No long wait and you are past the risky stage where queens tend to die esp for us beginners. 

[Auait]

Ok, I'll cut out the waterfall. I have made them before in other projects. But I don't want to risk having the ants die. As for ant thinking of getting Tetramorium immigrans (Pavement Ant). Seeing as they are good starter ones. And I was hoping to use the lid that came with the aquarium, just using metal mesh to cover the holes. And the 2 inches of p jelly around the top to stop them from going to the top. As for the nest I watched videos on making plaster nest. But was hoping we could do sand or dirt. Letting my kid see them make it themselves kind of thing. Is that a bad idea to start with?

Edited by Auait, July 11 2021 - 9:20 AM.

[futurebird]

Pavement ants are fun. They are very good at escaping and ant barriers help, but can't be fully trusted IMO. Consider a container like this one:

 

https://www.aliexpre...#3564#16062#566

 

Which can be modified. I've been looking for something like this in glass myself if anyone has suggestions. 

 

This one is also good for a starting colony:

 

https://www.etsy.com...me_recs_5&crt=1

Edited by futurebird, July 11 2021 - 9:48 AM.

[Auait]

Ok, was doing more reading and checking out your links of different things to check out. In doing so. I also learned that Tetramorium immigrans can have Colony up to 10,000 in 2 years. I didn't think they would grow so fast. And don't have the room for that large of a set up. Do you guys have a suggestion on a slower / smaller Colony for beginners.? Much thanks as well.

[That_one_ant_guy]

Hmmm well if you want a slower beginner species colony maybe think about raising carpenter ants, and because of their size a barrier would have more effect on them.

Hoped this helped and good luck!
-That_one_ant_guy

Edited by That_one_ant_guy, July 11 2021 - 2:36 PM.

[DDD101DDD]

Hmmm well if you want a slower beginner species colony maybe think about raising carpenter ants, and because of their size a barrier would have more effect on them.

Hoped this helped and good luck!
-That_one_ant_guy

In the long run, they do get quite big though.

 

 

Temnothorax colonies are fairly small, so they might be good. However they might not be too interesting due to their small size and colony size. If you decide to go with them, you could probably get rid of the nest portion and have a normal vivarium.