5 replies to this topic

[BMM]

Hey everyone! So I’m thinking about how I want to design my first formicarium and was looking for some advice. Right now I’m leaning towards a naturalistic setup with the nest in the outworld. I recall watching an Ants Canada video where Mikey did this using some stones to create a sort of cavern. I was thinking about doing something similar, except a bit smaller. I’m hoping to keep a Tetramorium colony in it and I think this would suit them well.

 

These are my questions/concerns:

1. Are there any problems I should expect with using stone to make the chambers? Mold, effects of moisture, etc.? I imagine the type of stone may affect this.
2. What would be the best way to hydrate this sort of setup? I’d prefer to keep things simple, but I don’t know if misting or providing a test tube with water would be sufficient.
3. Does it matter if the grout I use to create the ground in the outworld is sanded or unsanded?
4. I’ve heard of using a screw to anchor the grout in the outworld container so it doesn’t shift or come loose. Is this a common problem? I think I’ve also heard of putting some silicone sealant around the edges of the grout to keep it sealed and in place.
5. How much ventilation is necessary? The container I’ll be using is roughly 9x4x4 inches.

Any and all feedback is appreciated!

[1000101011]

i'm not that smart but i think sanded grout is harder for the ants to dig into.

[iXvXi]

I would go on the side of using smooth stone if you're set on using stone.

I'm pretty sure Mikey used grout to hold it all together but I suspect you'd get the same results using hydrostone or something similar.

Humidity would be maintainable through the grout/hydrostone but I would still provide a water source. Mikey uses a water test tube attached to the outworld which I think you could incorporate if it's attached to the nest.

I don't have much experience with grout but I do with working with hydrostone. In the outworld, I believe sand is mainly used for a texture. I wouldn't think it would serve much benefit being in the nest area.

Silicone is a good idea as Tetramorium will squeeze into small openings.

Tetramorium would do well in nest with multiple small dens. They tend to nest in concrete I find.

As far as mold goes, keeping the nest damp to maintain humidity will likely cause it to mold faster. I'd side with designing the nest to maintain the humidity so you don't have to water frequently as you don't want your outworld damp. With both being in the same container, you may run into problems.

[BMM]

As far as mold goes, keeping the nest damp to maintain humidity will likely cause it to mold faster. I'd side with designing the nest to maintain the humidity so you don't have to water frequently as you don't want your outworld damp. With both being in the same container, you may run into problems.

My plan was to stack a few rocks directly against the side of the container so I could see into the chambers and use the grout to fill in the bottom and maybe some of the cracks between the rocks. Depending on how stable it is, I may need to use some silicone sealant to hold the rocks against the side. I only want to leave two or three small entrances into the rocks. Do you think this would be closed off enough to maintain enough humidity?

[iXvXi]

If you do use silicone make sure it has ample time to dry. Wet silicone is toxic to ants.

I would think it would hold humidity just fine. The opening would be small for Tetramorium and they'll likely personalize it with loose sand or whatever they find if you don't supply it (I give my colony some loose sand to move around as they're very active and I don't want them using trash instead). Once the colony is moved in you can throw something such as a piece of bark or a small rock and sand to close the opening more if you make it too big.

The end result you'll want no openings other than the one main entrance.

You can also add sand right onto wet silicone to hide it better, when it dries it will give a cleaner look.

[BMM]

Since my Tapinoma sessile workers show no signs of kicking the bucket, I though I'd make a test version for them and see how it goes. I used a smaller container, roughly 3x1.5x1.5 inches. I followed the standard procedure of using grout, sand, a few rocks, and a fake plant. The rocks came loose when I was brushing out the excess sand, so I had to use a little bit of silicone sealant to hold them in place. I formed a small cave between the rocks on the right for them to nest in. Overall I think it turned out pretty nice for my first formicarium. My only concern is the ventilation. I drilled 10 small holes on the top and I think that's enough to allow proper airflow. However, the holes are roughly 0.025 inches (0.64 mm) big. Do you think that the ants will be able to squeeze through them? I have some extra lids, so I could try again, although I'm not sure how much smaller I can make the holes.