6 replies to this topic

[roncruiser]

Hello, this is my very first post.

I have a small colony of Camponotus Sansabeanus.  About 60-75 ants as of today (3/26).
The colony was at ~15 when I first got them back in August 2022.

They've been housed in the formicarium shown in the photos since the very beginning.
https://photos.app.g...U3WMkBRU81dGT16

Everything is fine in general!

Recently, about three weeks ago, they moved a bunch of the eggs, larva and pupae into the water test tube w the blue sponge.
It's like a 50/50 split between the main formicarium and the test tube.

A couple questions:

1- The water in the test tube is about gone.  I'd like to refill the water.  How do I get them to move out?
2- How do I properly grow the formicarium through addition keeping the future of the formicarium in mind.   What is the next logical step?
Should I add another test tube, or add another formicarium just like the one I have already?

They seem happy and thriving.

 

[ConcordAntman]

Looks like you’ve got a nice colony going there. If you want to encourage your ants to move out of the test tube, make it a bit uncomfortable for them. Gently heat the tube with a light or a hair dryer. When they move back to the nest, remove the tube and plug the port. Your current setup seems modular so if you want to expand the nest I suggest just adding another. Make the connecting tube just long enough to bridge the nest walls so the combined nests will abut each other and minimize the overall footprint. 

[Full_Frontal_Yeti]

A mini like that should do well for them until somewhere in the 100-200 range. I hear they should look like they are packed into the space to know they could use some more nest room.

 

They will basically be as fussy as they can be, in terms of keeping eggs, larvae, and pupae in optimal temperature/humidity conditions. They just found the tube offered it a bit better than the nest maybe, but not that the nest is bad. They just will take that .2% improvement if it is available. Letting the tube get cold and dry will see them move the brood back out. You could also heat it but then you have potential to over heat and harm them.

I have a small  Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis colony in a mini. I gave them a lot of outworld to explore, but won't move them out of the mini nest until they get up over 125+ or so.

 

The mini is in the back left there, side exit tube to the outworld. The queen spends almost half her time out in the tube. Just is her hang out spot and sometimes she comes all the way out into the first outworld for some apple.

Edited by Full_Frontal_Yeti, March 29 2023 - 8:36 AM.

[ConcordAntman]

A mini like that should do well for them until somewhere in the 100-200 range. I hear they should look like they are packed into the space to know they could use some more nest room.

 

They will basically be as fussy as they can be, in terms of keeping eggs, larvae, and pupae in optimal temperature/humidity conditions. They just found the tube offered it a bit better than the nest maybe, but not that the nest is bad. They just will take that .2% improvement if it is available. Letting the tube get cold and dry will see them move the brood back out. You could also heat it but then you have potential to over heat and harm them.

I have a small  Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis colony in a mini. I gave them a lot of outworld to explore, but won't move them out of the mini nest until they get up over 125+ or so.

I agree with F_F_Y, be careful with the heating. I just find that it gets the outliers movies more quickly than chilling. 

[ANTdrew]

I’d advise just gently shaking the stragglers out of the tube and into the outworld.

[Katla]

So one thing i have in mind with THA is to get a 2 faced Atrium and set it in the corner of a tank

So i can see them and their in an outworld

and yes shaking the ants from the tube in the outworld should be fine, they will look for a nesting ground in any case

[AntsCali098]

1 - I'd agree with antdrew. If you don't want the ants and brood in the tube, they'll be fine if you tap them out into the outworld of the main nest. If there are any stubborn workers that remain in the tube after taping, just gently nudge them out with something like a qtip or tweezers. It's hard to say, but they may've moved brood to the test tube because it was either too humid or dry. How much is the nest hydrated? I wouldn't say it's a space issue, as it seems like the ants have a little bit more room to grow into.

2 - They look pretty fit into the nest now, but once you feel they need more space, I'd advise simply connection another mini hearth to their current one (they are magnetic). You could also connect a mini hearth xl to the current nest if you feel they need that much space.

Edited by AntsCali098, March 29 2023 - 10:11 PM.