4 replies to this topic

[Saltynuts]

I know the basic set up.  Water in some of it, cotton to hold the water in, the remainder of the tube is where the queen stays and lays her eggs, and she's kept in via another cotton ball over the test tube.  Questions.

 

How much of the tube should be water versus how much should be left for the queen to nest?  I have a full size test tube and I've been filling the water up to a little more than half-way.  Don't know whether the queens like that much space or if it is better with more water and the queen in a tighter space.

 

Do I ever have to change the water tube before the water runs out?  Assuming it still looks clean/clear.

 

Should I ever add anything to the water, like sugar?  I know the queens don't need food until after their first set of workers, but might it help if I add a little something like sugar for some calories?

 

Should I put any dirt/sand in there so the queen maybe feels more "at home"?

 

At what point should I take the cotton that seals the queen in off so her workers can forage?  The kid I bought a queen from told me to wait until there are a couple of workers.  So I did.  So I put the test tube in a small plastic bin, and keep putting different types of food (and sugar water) outside the test tube in the bin.  But the ants don't seem to eat it.  At least not when I'm looking.  It's been like a month, and there are 15+ workers, I would have thought they would be eating significant amounts by now.

 

This is for solenopsis invicta if it matters, btw.

 

Thanks for any help!

 

[Spamdy]

All of these depends on what species you are keeping, the amount of water that you should place, you will need to know background knowledge on this, depending on the size of their founding chambers. Changing the tube: the times that you need to change the tube usually is because of mold and water amount, yes you will have to change tubes if they do run out of water. Should you add dirt/sand in test tube: usually this is not needed, but for some species they would rather prefer dirt/ sand like many pogomyrmex species.sorry this is out of place, should you add sugar water, this is not a necessity but try not to put it where the water is behind the cotton, this will result in mold. When should you add food and why ants aren't eating: first of all yes introduce protien when there is 1 or 2 nanitics, ants don't need much food themselves most of it goes to the brood, if your colony has ground from a few workers to 15+ I'm pretty sure they are eating the food, also be sure not to have portions too small or too big, also make sure what you are giving them is something they prefer. Lastly why would you buy solenopisis Invicta?! They are everywhere! Hope this helps!

[super_oil]

You don't have to give them a foraging area until they fill up most of the tube or run out of water, you can simply feed them in the tube, just make sure no food is left behind.

[Batspiderfish]

Feeding ants in the tube is more trouble than it's worth. Ants which are fed in-tube cannot dispose of garbage and will have to be disturbed every time food is added or removed.

We can't always be there to see when ants are foraging, but so long as they have a proper protein source (i.e. Drosophila flies) they are probably doing fine.

[Saltynuts]

Thanks guys.  I tend to put the food RIGHT outside the test tube.  It seems that if I put it any distance away they literally won't find it.  

 

Sounds like maybe it is not clear for this species the ideal amount of space in the test tube or whether they like dirt/sand in there.  Mine seem to be doing fine in half the test tube (the other half water), and no dirt/sand, so I won't change it up unless someone suggests otherwise!

 

Spamdy, hahaha, yea I bought one because I really wanted to get started but knew very little about ants, and finding a queen.  But now I know exactly what they look like and how to find them.  No more buying them for me!  

 

Thanks so much everyone!