6 replies to this topic

[MysticNanitic]

My small Mymecocystus colony is beautiful, they are also disgusting.  They insist on puking or otherwise defiling my nice museum glass of a pair of minihearths.  It looks like the sneeze guard on a Sizzler salad bar that's never been cleaned.  Through the filth I can see their plump little bodies like ripe nectarines, barely.  

 

I had an idea last night in bed, while I should have been sleeping.  I once had a fresh water aquarium that also got filthy (maybe it's me!), and I used one of those magnetic cleaners with a felt covered magnet on the inside that you could move around and wipe the glass using another magnet or piece of metal, also with a soft surface, from the outside.  In the vast combined experience of this forum, has anyone tried something like this before?  I'm imagining crushed ant mishaps are a possibility, but it could be really great.  Seeing them is everything, particularly with this species.

[DDD101DDD]

The magnet will likely get attracted to a different magnet inside the mini hearth.

[MysticNanitic]

Hm good point, too many magnets going on in there. Perhaps when I move them into something bigger.

Edited by MysticNanitic, August 11 2021 - 9:17 AM.

[ConcordAntman]

The museum glass is its cleanest at the end of diapause. That’s the only time my big colony is subdued enough to remove the glass for cleaning. 

[futurebird]

I have tried this before and the results were VERY mixed. I was able to clean some of the gunk... but as others have pointed out the magnet was attracted to the other magnet in the set up and got caught. At one point trying to free it I almost broke the glass by pulling the outside away and the whole glass came up them SLAMED back into the wall. Thankfully no ants were mashed but it was close. 

 

So I gave up on that and moved them to an overhead nest where I can clean the glass by sliding it off, washing it then replacing it every month or so. 

 

Also they muck up overhead glass much less... though they still do muck it up. These are my Pogonomyrmex causing all this woe.

 

seed eating ants are just messy, maybe honeypots can be too?

 

My lasius ants are so clan. The Camponotus might put sand around the edges, but then they are happy. Pogonomyrmex just puke and poop on everything. LMAO.

 

Anyway just plan for their next nest to be a design that's better for watching. 

 

Alternatively you can deprive them of all dirt. But that always feels a little cruel to me. 

[ANTdrew]

Best thing you could do, I think, would be to quickly swap a new piece of glass after perhaps chilling the colony a while. I plan to do this with my Crematogasters’ Nucleus this winter. Some weird mineral deposits formed from condensation on their glass. It’s always something with these ants.

[MysticNanitic]

Ah you have tried a magnet cleaner! Though it sounds like a somewhat traumatic experience for the humans ant ants involved. So I’m hearing favor horizontal nests (not an option with M. mecicanus unfortunately, but I have some grubby little Pogonomyrmex rugosus up and coming). A littke cold spell before a glass cleaning or better yet, a swap, sounds like a winner for my small nest for the time being. Thanks all! If I revisit a cleaner-magnet I’ll post my woes.