92 replies to this topic

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

I feed my colonies with nanitics 2-3 times a week.

[cooIboyJ]

Should I just check up on them whenever I feed them or is it fine if I check on them a little more than that?

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

Every week. check on them once you feed them. If they are small 2 times a week.

Edited by GOCAMPONOTUS, August 15 2024 - 9:11 AM.

[Artisan_Ants]

How often should I feed them? Once a day? Every two days? Twice a day???

For a young colony it really depends on how fast they eat. I would recommend every once every two days or once every week. It's really up to you when you want to do it. Just keep in mind that if you over feed them, then they may not accept it and the food would just mold.

[cooIboyJ]

How often should I feed them? Once a day? Every two days? Twice a day???

For a young colony it really depends on how fast they eat. I would recommend every once every two days or once every week. It's really up to you when you want to do it. Just keep in mind that if you over feed them, then they may not accept it and the food would just mold.

I’m probably going to do it once every 2-3 days but in smaller amounts. The main reason I’m going to feed them this often is because I like watching my ants

Edited by cooIboyJ, August 16 2024 - 6:25 AM.

[cooIboyJ]

How much should the ratio of honey to water be if I want to dilute the honey?

Edited by cooIboyJ, August 16 2024 - 11:59 AM.

[ANTdrew]

How much should the ratio of honey to water be if I want to dilute the honey?

Use sugar instead of honey. Mix it in a 1:4 parts ratio.

[cooIboyJ]

Would it be fine if I soaked a piece of cotton with sugar water and put it in the test tube?

[ANTdrew]

Yes. Read this:
https://www.formicul...view=getnewpost

[cooIboyJ]

I’ve given the ants their cotton soaked in sugar water and now there are seven nanitics!!!!!!!! Also is it fine to feed them fish food as a protein source for a bit? Because I still need to go to petco and get some mealworms and fruit flys and in want to give them some protein and I have some extra fish food on hand.

[ANTdrew]

They may accept it. Try it out.

[rptraut]

Hello coolboyJ;

 

I used to use small cotton balls for water and sugar/water, now I use small pieces of cosmetic sponge.   They're very fine sponge made for makeup removal that I get at the dollar store.    I cut them up with scissors to size and I make sure they're saturated with solution the first time I use them.   You can read more about it here    Feeding Time at the Zoo - General Ant Keeping - Ants & Myrmecology Forum (formiculture.com)

 

 

I started out using cotton balls like at the top right: the small ball was for sugar/water and the larger for water- so it would last longer.    Plus, when it came to refilling them with an eye dropper, I knew which was which.   I now use pieces of sponge like on the feeding tray at center.   Sponge is easy to cut to shape and holds a lot more liquid than cotton.   I use a triangular one for sugar/water and a square one for water.   I can also put small pieces of protein on the tray as well or put it on a separate tray.    I use the same system when feeding a colony in a test tube.   I use smaller pieces of sponge and a smaller tray, but it's sized to fit sweetly into the test tube so it's quick to put in and take out with tweezers.   Have your replacement tray prepared and make the switch quickly to avoid escapes.  Blow gently on them and they'll often retreat.

 

I've never kept B. patagonicus, but my B. depilis colony likes chicken, liver, and dog food as well as flies and other insects.   Yours will probably accept a wider variety of foods as the colony matures and gets larger.   Try different foods and see what they like.  

 

If this is your first colony of very small ants, let me warn you about one thing.    If you give them flies, mealworm pieces, anything that they can get into, they will.   I'm sure I threw a few nanitics out in the garbage because they were inside the carcass, still cleaning, when I threw it out and I didn't realize.   Now, when I feed them, I set day-old pieces like this aside in the formicarium for a day so they can evacuate, just to be sure.   I don't have that problem when I feed them meat products.     Good Luck

RPT

[cooIboyJ]

I’ve given the ants one of my fish food pellets but I put the test tube away too soon to see them discover it for fear of disturbing them too much. But I’ve really noticed that this species of ant is not very light sensitive; they just keep carrying on with caring for brood and such. Even though I’ve heard that formicinae ants are very light sensitive.

Also I’m pretty sure that they have been drinking the sugar water I gave them because their gastards are full of a milkyish liquid which looks similar to sugar water.


I’ve also caught another Brachymyrmex patagonicus queen, and I’m going to include her in this journal!

Edited by cooIboyJ, August 17 2024 - 12:28 PM.

[cooIboyJ]

Any idea to why they are so little light sensitive?

[Artisan_Ants]

Any idea to why they are so little light sensitive?

My Brachymyrmex depilis queen was pretty much the same. When I checked on her every week, she barely moved to the light and just stayed still. I notice that when there are more members in a colony, the entire colony get lets stressed to light, gradually increasing as the population of the colony increases (they will still be pretty sensitive to vibrations, especially randomly occuring ones like if you accidentally knock a test tube with ants in it or something like that).

[ANTdrew]

Most ants are sensitive to sunlight. The light in a house is many orders of magnitude dimmer than sunlight.

[cooIboyJ]

I have put them in the sunlight and they reacted a little bit more but not that much .

[cooIboyJ]

I’ve checked on the colony again and the workers have not touched the fish food pellet I gave them.(sorry for lack of pictures on this journal, all I have for taking pics is my iPhone and that is not very good for taking close up pictures).

[cooIboyJ]

The ants have been eating the fish food and have scattered some of the crumbs around the front cotton ball. Here is a pic:

[cooIboyJ]

I’ve caught 10 more Brachymyrmex patagonicus queens but since I have so many I’m probably going to sell them, can you guys give me any tips on where and how to sell them? I was thinking of selling them to stateside-ants.

Edited by cooIboyJ, August 21 2024 - 7:56 AM.