10 replies to this topic

[AdiAtta]

Hey there,
I am from Germany and I am really new to all this! I got a full big setup for my Atta Texana a few weeks ago with my Queen and a bit of Fungus. I‘ve read and followed everything I found about taking care of the attas. My humidity is 91% , temperature about 77f but my fungus is kind of getting smaller the last days instead of growing.😢I am not sure what to do and will be really thankful if someone can help me out!

[ReignofRage]

Do you have pictures of the setup? Sometimes pictures can speak more than words do. It sounds like you have them in too big of a setup, possibly? Additionally, what are you offering them "food" wise?

[AdiAtta]

As I said I am total new here and I am not sure how to post pictures here - help?
I got the set with dried roses and I gave them some fresh raspberrie leaves but they kind of prefer more the roses.

[AdiAtta]

Here some pictures 🙈

[AdiAtta]

Here the pictures

[AdiAtta]

Here the pictures

Attached Images

• 
• 

[mbullock42086]

the humidome is too small, IMO.  Probably raining large condensation droplets onto it and damaging it. 

 90 percent seems rather excessive to me.   it could just be that you have larvae now and they're eating the fungus, but for sure, that fungus does not like excessive moisture.


EDIT: Now that i noticed a worker in there, its probably the larvae and workers just eating it.

 

Edited by mbullock42086, October 4 2024 - 12:26 AM.

[AdiAtta]

the humidome is too small, IMO.  Probably raining large condensation droplets onto it and damaging it. 
 90 percent seems rather excessive to me.   it could just be that you have larvae now and they're eating the fungus, but for sure, that fungus does not like excessive moisture.
EDIT: Now that i noticed a worker in there, its probably the larvae and workers just eating it.

As far as I was told when the fungus is nearly to the top i must change it to a bigger one. And in the humidome I do not have drops of water so it can rain on it it’s not even foggy on the inside.
Well if I have larva eating it- is that good or bad? will the destroy it?

[ruth]

Hello, it's normal that the larvae eat the fungus, the fungus Is Made for the eggs, larvae and ants to eat it, you can feed them with Rose petals and stems, also with oat to control the moisture, but the humidity is ok from 70% to 90%. I recommend you to read "Leafcutter ants" by Bert Holldöbler and Edward O. Wilson they both are really great myrmecologist.

But your colony Is looking fine, if you got the substratum in a pet stores I recommend you to change it with natural substratum, you can pick it from a forest or any you see near of a wild Atta colony because natural substratum contains things the ants need.

Edited by ruth, October 4 2024 - 6:06 AM.

[ruth]

You can also try with dead vegetable matter, including bits of leaves, plant seeds and fruits (carefull with insecticidas and fruits that contains citric acid), as well as insect feces and corpses but be carefull with insects because they can have parasites.

It's also important for you to investigate about the fungus and maybe you can try to pick a small piece of the fungus to make another to give It to your ants. Most cultivated fungi belong to the basidiomycete family Lepiotaceae (Agaricales: Basidiomycete), most of them belong to this two genera: Leucoagaricus and Leucocoprinus or Leucocoprinae.

Good luck

Edited by ruth, October 4 2024 - 6:16 AM.

[ruth]

I am amost sure that the fungi is getting smaller because they need more food, but try to check if there is a bad fungi on it, for example the Escovopsis which Is highly dangerous. The acidic pH of the fungus has to be of 5, if pH rises to 7 or 8 parasitic fungi beggin to grow.

If you find any parasitic fungi tell us, I may have some ways to end with It.