53 replies to this topic

[drtrmiller]

Overview:
 
Just in time for antkeeping season, Formisazine™ Ant Assist aids antkeepers of all levels of experience in keeping their ants safe from mold and bacteria that may be lurking in the water supplies of test tubes, formicaries, or liquid feeders. Versatile, safe, and economical enough for everyday use, Formisazine™ is destined to become the next staple in the hobbyist's arsenal of antkeeping accessories.

From Gamergate.com.au:
 
"Most antkeepers know the frustration of mould growing on the cotton wool inside the test tube. The only likely solution is to move the ants out of the affected test tube and into a new one. In order to move the ants we have to make it uncomfortable or undesirable for the ants so that they move relatively quickly. By doing this, you are not only inducing unnecessary stress on your ants, but you also run the risk of a more permanent suffering."

Features & Benefits:
 

• Reduce stress to ants and eliminate maintenance by providing water that resists spoilage
• Use full-strength as a replacement for plain water in test tube founding nests to retard bacterial and fungal growth
• Promote cleanliness using Formisazine™ to hydrate sponges or other refillable media in any standard formicarium
• May be used as a drinking water alternative for ants or other insects wherever sanitation is a concern
• 250 ml of ready-to-use, life-extending water for test tubes, formicarium hydration, and even drinking

Formisazine Use Cases:
 
Use for test tube colonies: Formisazine™ eliminates the stress and time-consuming process of rehoming ants from moldy or putrefied test tubes by retarding the growth of microorganisms like bacteria and fungi that frequently overtake the water reservoir or cotton plug.

Use for formicaries: Use Formisazine™ to hydrate a formicarium sponge or other hydration media to extend the life of the media by inhibiting new scum biofilm buildup.

Drinking water replacement:  The 100% insect-safe formula is an excellent source of vitamin C, making it a perfect replacement for water in liquid feeders.  The liquid may also be added full-strength to un-hydrated water crystals and fed to feeder insects such as crickets or roaches, where sanitation is an even greater challenge.

Extra long life: The generous 250 ml bottle does not require refrigeration, and has a shelf life of 5 years from the date of manufacture.
 
Instructions for use:
 

NOT A DISINFECTANT. Product is precisely formulated to prevent growth of microorganisms when used at FULL STRENGTH and with clean media. DO NOT DILUTE.  DO NOT use in dirty or contaminated areas. Use as a replacement for plain water in test tubes to retard bacterial and fungal growth. May be used to hydrate clean sponges or other clean refillable media. May be used as a drinking water alternative for ants or other insects.

 
Availability:
 
See shopping links in the signature below.
 
Available now in the US on   Amazon.com.
 
Coming in 1-2 weeks to the UK and Australia.
 
Canada and other countries coming soon thereafter.

Edited by drtrmiller, May 9 2017 - 10:38 PM.

[Antking117]

I saw this, but seemed to pricey for a water replacement. how much do you have to put in the reg water to help prevent mold?

[Serafine]

It's much too pricey as an everyday water replacement but I can see a use for it if you can use it just once per month or so, to disinfect all the formicarium sponges/perlite reservoirs.

[drtrmiller]

I can see a use for it if you can use it just once per month or so, to disinfect all the formicarium sponges/perlite reservoirs.

Formisazine™ is not intended to be used as a disinfectant.  It will not kill fungi or bacteria in contaminated areas, but will only prevent microorganisms from proliferating and overtaking a medium when used from the start.
 

How much do you have to put in the reg water to help prevent mold?

 
Formisazine™ is not an additive or conditioner.  It is precisely formulated and intended to be used full-strength in uncontaminated areas to prevent the growth of microorganisms that may become harmful to ants if allowed to proliferate.
 
 
 
As usual, I will hardly entertain complaints about a novel and unique product like this actually costing a reasonable sum (how about you try inventing and selling something new to a handful of hobbyists?).
 
When sufficient feedback is obtained on these generous, 250 ml bottles, I intend to introduce a larger economy size, making it even more attractive for mature and serious hobbyists.  The 250 ml bottle is quite sufficient for most everyone else, and will last a very long time if used as directed.
 
Formisazine™ is not formulated to resolve a problem after the fact—it is not mold killer.  It is formulated as a preventative to keep mold and bacteria from growing in fresh test tubes or other use cases as outlined in the instructions.  It is precisely formulated to allow ants and other insects to come into contact with it, and even drink it, without any risk of harm or repulsion.

Edited by drtrmiller, May 9 2017 - 10:38 PM.

[Serafine]

It will not kill fungi or bacteria in contaminated areas, but will only prevent microorganisms from proliferating and overtaking a medium when used from the start.

Which is exactly what I'm talking about. Use it once per month or so to PREVENT mold, not to remove it.

As usual, I will hardly entertain complaints about a novel and unique product like this actually costing a reasonable sum (how about you try inventing and selling something new to a handful of hobbyists?).

It doesn't matter how unique and innovate a product is if it doesn't fit the market price. The Egyptians had super innovative steam machines and could have started the industrial revolution 3000 years ago but they didn't because they were too expensive.

When sufficient feedback is obtained on these generous, 250 ml bottles, I intend to introduce a larger economy size, making it even more attractive for mature and serious hobbyists.  The 250 ml bottle is quite sufficient for most everyone else, and will last a very long time if used as directed.

Now if the 1l bottles have a reasonable price these might become interesting.

Edited by Serafine, April 1 2017 - 4:19 AM.

[Loops117]

Waaaaat. You already released it?

[Antking117]

Waaaaat. You already released it?

I've seen it on amazon a while, he just now posted it

Edit : i don't see it on amazon anymore tho.

Edited by antking117, April 1 2017 - 4:52 AM.

[ctantkeeper]

 

I can see a use for it if you can use it just once per month or so, to disinfect all the formicarium sponges/perlite reservoirs.

Formisazine® is not intended to be used as a disinfectant.  It will not kill fungi or bacteria in contaminated areas, but will only prevent microorganisms from proliferating and overtaking a medium when used from the start.

 

How much do you have to put in the reg water to help prevent mold?

 

Formisazine® is not an additive or conditioner.  It is precisely formulated and intended to be used full-strength in uncontaminated areas to prevent the growth of microorganisms that may become harmful to ants if allowed to proliferate.

 

 

 

As usual, I will hardly entertain complaints about a novel and unique product like this actually costing a reasonable sum (how about you try inventing and selling something new to a handful of hobbyists?).

 

When sufficient feedback is obtained on these generous, 250 ml bottles, I intend to introduce a larger economy size, making it even more attractive for mature and serious hobbyists.  The 250 ml bottle is quite sufficient for most everyone else, and will last a very long time if used as directed.

 

Formisazine® is not formulated to resolve a problem after the fact—it is not mold killer.  It is formulated as a preventative to keep mold and bacteria from growing in fresh test tubes or other use cases as outlined in the instructions.  It is precisely formulated to allow ants and other insects to come into contact with it, and even drink it, without any risk of harm or repulsion.

 

Whoa Terry, lets calm down a bit. Know one here is saying that your product is useless, just that it might be a bit to pricey for the average ant keeper to afford. Remember, most of us are teens, children and young adults, who don't have much in terms of disposable income. I know how it must feel to put so much work into something and take great pride in it, only to have others criticize it. Constructive criticism can be hard to deal with sometimes, but we just need to find a way of dealing with it. I can see the use of something like this, but from my perspective it's usefulness if outweighed by it's cost.

[drtrmiller]

Is there a single person here that can provide an honest estimate of how much it costs to manufacture, distribute, and sell this product on Amazon (Hint 1, Hint 2), along with an estimate of how many bottles you think could be sold per year to antkeepers in the US, Canada, UK/EU, and Australia at $15 USD each? Bonus points for calculating the cost per use for various sizes of test tubes.

If anyone is even remotely close to the figures I used to price this item, I'll be more than happy to ship you a completely free bottle, including shipping costs, anywhere in the world.

I just really can't stand when people who have no idea how much things cost can decide that $15.00 USD/EUR is too expensive for the other people who have the concerns that may be addressed by this product, and who want the convenience of a ready-to-use, easy-to-use liquid in a bottle. Mayhaps if you spent more time critiquing the product itself and asking sincere questions, and less time complaining about price, I and others would feel better about investing our limited time, energy, and money into making new discoveries, convenience products, and formicaries available.

Also see: Why Formisazine?

Edited by drtrmiller, April 1 2017 - 11:53 AM.

[Zeiss]

I do not understand why people are telling Terry to calm down for protecting his product.  I am willing to bet you guys have no idea how the process works for creating his product, the time it takes, development, etc.  I see it unfit for people to complain about the price when they had nothing to do with creating the product.  

 

On another note, I like this, Terry.  I will have to get my hands on some soon to test it.  

[Kevin]

Well, I have nothing better to do.

 

Cost per bottle: $1.59

Fee per bottle: $0.99

Referral fees: $2.25 (everything else)

Fulfilment fees per bottle: $2.41 (lightweight and small)

 

Total per bottle: $7.24 + manufacturing costs (electric, machines, maintenance, etc)

 

I estimate you sell under 600 bottles a year.

 

For my standard, I use 125 x 16mm test tubes. I fill them about 3/5 full of water, so that’s about 15mL of liquid. Different sized test tubes don't necessarily require more (or less, even better) water. 25132.74 Cubic Millimeters = π8^2(125)

~25.13274 mL is a full testube (125mm x 16mm).

25.13274/5 = 5.026548

5.026548*3 = ~15mL

 

250:15$ 15$/250 0.06$ per mL

15*0.06$ = 0.90$ per test tube

 

Terry makes about $7.76 USD on every purchase, if my calculations were correct. You pay about 6 cents (Yeah, 6 pennies. You probably can find this under your couch), or 90 cents for a 125mm x 16mm test tube filled 3/5 full. For the time, research, and development it took to make this product, I think $15 is completely worth it, and I will likely be ordering some in the near future.

Edited by Kevin, April 1 2017 - 12:49 PM.

[Serafine]

This is a product that will absolutely benefit from large item sizes, like 1l bottles, 5l tanks or even larger ones (and mass production, but that's most likely unrealistic).
If it has a regular expiration date of 5+ years there's no sense in selling this particular product in 250ml bottles. That's like selling single sugar cubes.
 

I just really can't stand when people who have no idea how much things cost can decide that $15.00 USD/EUR is too expensive for the other people who have the concerns that may be addressed by this product, and who want the convenience of a ready-to-use, easy-to-use liquid in a bottle. Mayhaps if you spent more time critiquing the product itself and asking sincere questions, and less time complaining about price, I and others would feel better about investing our limited time, energy, and money into making new discoveries, convenience products, and formicaries available.

Again, it doesn't matter how unique or innovative your product is, the price needs to fit the market. There's a ton of awesome stuff we could do or develop (jetpacks, supersonic passenger jets, nuclear powered space ships) but they don't exist because either the market isn't there or they can't be manufactured/sold for an acceptable price.

I can see a market for this product but only if it is possible to find some way to decrease the price per unit. Because at the end of the day what you're competing with is distilled water and that's very much an uphill fight.

[drtrmiller]

Ding ding ding.  We have a winner already.  It's approximate, but close enough.

 

Kevin, test tubes are sold by the outside dimensions, and the shell wall of glass tubes is about 1 mm, taking 2 mm off the inside diameter.  So the per-use cost will actually be slightly less.

 

But the other parts of your answer are very close (Amazon eats up over 1/3 of the actual product cost for any $15 item, even before the cost of the product, advertising, exporting, and other business costs), though your estimated sales per year (600 units) is greatly exaggerated.  I think the first year Sunburst was on the market, it only moved just over 100 units worldwide, across all bottle sizes.  It's doing a bit better now; but still this is not the herp market, where that 600 unit figure would be on the very low end of realistic.

 

People don't understand how unreasonable it is to expect a manufacturer to develop, test, and sell a completely custom, specialty product for a couple bucks per unit, when there are only a handful of hobbyists that would even be interested in purchasing such a product.  If Formisazine was priced at $10 instead of $15, roughly half of the payments I received would go into Amazon fees and fulfillment/shipping. Then just imagine I sold 100 units, at a $4 profit margin per bottle (up to 25% of which goes right into taxes!)—I'm supposed to make 100 bottles of this stuff, export it to 2 other continents and acquire regulatory approvals from a dozen countries, all for an extra $300 to $400 per year in personal income?  Yeah right...

 

So I've got your address, Kevin, and I'll send you a bottle to test out.  I'll also be sending Zeiss a bottle, because he's been a member here a very long time, and I greatly appreciate his pointing out the silliness of people complaining about the price of something without knowing anything about how much it costs to run a business, or the risks involved in bringing a new and novel product like this to market in the first place.

Edited by drtrmiller, April 1 2017 - 1:24 PM.

[Vanko]

And, if it is not a secret, what this is made of?

[drtrmiller]

And, if it is not a secret, what this is made of?

The ingredients are listed in full on the product page and product label.  It contains food-safe pH buffers and preservatives that are tested fully compatible with ants and other insects.

 

Unlike other products that could inhibit the growth of microorganisms, Formisazine will not repel the ants, nor will it harm them if they drink it.  In fact, Formisazine is an excellent source of one of the primary acids found in many fruits—ascorbic acid—also known as vitamin C.  Consequently, it may be more nutritious than plain water as a drinking water alternative. 
 

I can see a market for this product but only if it is possible to find some way to decrease the price per unit. Because at the end of the day what you're competing with is distilled water and that's very much an uphill fight.

 
Distilled water does not have preservatives to keep microorganisms like mold and bacteria from growing in the water or on the cotton or other media.  When ants contaminate the moist cotton with food, waste, and other particulates, mold will develop.  Distilled water also has too few H+ ions to have a pH sufficient for preservative efficacy.

Edited by drtrmiller, April 1 2017 - 1:27 PM.

[Kevin]

Ding ding ding.  We have a winner already.  It's approximate, but close enough.

 

Kevin, test tubes are sold by the outside dimensions, and the shell wall of glass tubes is about 1 mm, taking 2 mm off the inside diameter.  So the per-use cost will actually be slightly less.

 

But the other parts of your answer are very close (Amazon eats up over 1/3 of the actual product cost for any $15 item, even before the cost of the product, advertising, exporting, and other business costs), but your estimated sales per year (600 units) is greatly exaggerated.  I think the first year Sunburst was on the market, it only moved just over 100 units worldwide, across all bottle sizes.  It's doing a bit better now; but still this is not the herp market, where that 600 unit figure would be on the very low end of realistic.

 

People don't understand how unreasonable it is to expect a manufacturer to develop, test, and sell a completely custom, specialty product for a couple bucks per unit, when there are only a handful of hobbyists that would even be interested in purchasing such a product.  If Formisazine was priced at $10 instead of $15, roughly half of the payments I received would go into Amazon fees and fulfillment/shipping. Then just imagine I sold 100 units, at a $4 profit margin per bottle (up to 25% of which goes right into taxes!)—I'm supposed to make 100 bottles of this stuff, export it to 2 other continents and acquire regulatory approvals from a dozen countries, all for an extra $300 to $400 per year in personal income?  Yeah right...

 

So I've got your address, Kevin, and I'll send you a bottle to test out.  I'll also be sending Zeiss a bottle, because he's been a member here a very long time, and I greatly appreciate his pointing out the silliness of people complaining about the price of something without knowing anything about how much it costs to run a business, or the risks involved in bringing a new and novel product like this to market in the first place.

Ah yes, I was thinking about finding the ID but I couldn't find my calibers to see what it was, but the rough estimate works, because it is still a good price. I didn't want to under exaggerate either, I was going to go with 400 or 500 at first Can't wait to test it, it will be used on my Apheanogaster.

Edited by Kevin, April 1 2017 - 1:26 PM.

[Serafine]

I assume there aren't any long-term studies about how this (especially the methylparaben part) will interact with the endosymbiotic bacteria of Camponotus species?

[Mdrogun]

 

And, if it is not a secret, what this is made of?

The ingredients are listed in full on the product page and product label.  It contains food-safe pH buffers and preservatives that are tested fully compatible with ants and other insects.

 

Unlike other products that could inhibit the growth of microorganisms, Formisazine will not repel the ants, nor will it harm them if they drink it.  In fact, Formisazine is an excellent source of one of the primary acids found in many fruits—ascorbic acid—also known as vitamin C.  Consequently, it may be more nutritious than plain water as a drinking water alternative. 
 

I can see a market for this product but only if it is possible to find some way to decrease the price per unit. Because at the end of the day what you're competing with is distilled water and that's very much an uphill fight.

 
Distilled water does not have preservatives to keep microorganisms like mold and bacteria from growing in the water or on the cotton or other media.  When ants contaminate the moist cotton with food, waste, and other particulates, mold will develop.  Distilled water also has too few H+ ions to have a pH sufficient for preservative efficacy.

 

You're missing the point. Distilled water costs almost nothing compared to this product and if your city has decent tap water you can simply use that, which costs like 9 cents a gallon. I understand that this product is cool and all but the price is simply way too high to compete with tap water. I very rarely have issues with mold in test tubes and nests, and I simply could not justify the cost of $15 for buying such a small quantity of product. Some of my colonies drink a lot of water and they're not even that large. I would have to drop so much money on a product like this that it's just completely unreasonable.

 

On a different note, I do like a lot of your products. I have a Grotube HS that is probably one of my favorite formicaria of all time.

Edited by Mdrogun, April 1 2017 - 1:37 PM.

[drtrmiller]

I can not compete with distilled water, which sells billions of gallons annually.  This product can not be compared to distilled or bottled water.  Taste Formisazine—it is not just water!

 

Again, a simple Google Search will reveal lots of antkeepers who have had problems with mold or other organisms growing in test tubes and other places.  Surely because any of us uses distilled or bottled water and rarely if ever encounters an issue, do we deny the fact that others may similarly use distilled or bottled water and experience a different, possibly suboptimal result?  Contamination most often arises due to the technique and level of care in assembling test tubes, not solely the source of water.

 

The intended audience of Formisazine is the novice antkeeper who wishes to guarantee they won't have any issue with mold or bacteria growing in their test tubes, formicaries, or liquid feeders.  Vendors who sell ants may also benefit, given their business critically depends on keeping every queen and colony as viable and healthy as possible.

 

If you're confident in your abilities to prevent mold and bacteria from growing in test tubes and formicaries, and know exactly how to deal with the problem should it arise, then it is possible you wouldn't benefit as much from Formisazine as an individual who is less confident in his or her abilities.  For those antkeepers I see every week complaining about mold or bacteria, Formisazine offers the guarantee of problem-free antkeeping in a very convenient bottle.  And again, if you have never experienced the problem that is resolved by Formisazine, and don't expect to have the problem, then there is no need to complain about the price, because why would you consider buying something you don't even need?

Edited by drtrmiller, April 1 2017 - 1:59 PM.

[Reacker]

 Formisazine®, 

The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, aching, coughing, stuffy-head, fever, so you can rest medicine for ants. Ask your Myrmecologist if Formisazine® is right for you. 

 

 

Warning, side effects may include: hallucinations, sexual addiction (to you for the ants), decrease in semen, nasal sores, fungal infection, unequivocal repudiation, tumors benign and otherwise, constipation, diarrhea, night terrors, existential despair, imbalanced electrons, vomiting,  thorax sores. If your antennae remain erect for more than 4 hours after taking Formisazine®seek immediate medical attention.