5 replies to this topic

[WestLA_DO]

So I've got my 1 year old P californicus colony in a 10 gallon tank. They're doing really well. Probably at or close to 1000 workers now (or maybe even more). I'm starting to get worried they're going to outgrow this 10 gallon tank pretty quickly. For anyone that has a mature P californicus colony or knows this species well, what kind of setup do you have them in? How many workers can I expect in year 2? Should I be thinking of creating a 20, 30, 40 gallon setup for them soon? Thanks for any input you can provide!

[anttics]

I heard they can reach 50000 workers. A question. what subrstrate or soil are you using for strong tunnels. I plan to move a colony of 10000 workers into a large terrarium.

[Straywolf94]

I have a few starter colonies this year and am surprised to hear they grow that quickly.  Do you guys just have a dirt formicarium in a tank or what is the setup like?  

 

Here's some info I took away from one of the documentaries on youtube:

 

Edited by Straywolf94, August 19 2018 - 3:26 PM.

[WestLA_DO]

I heard they can reach 50000 workers. A question. what subrstrate or soil are you using for strong tunnels. I plan to move a colony of 10000 workers into a large terrarium.

 

Thanks for the response. For the soil, I actually just went to a location I knew there were natural colonies of P. californicus (using dspdrew's map) and dug up a bunch of soil from around that location, put it in a couple trash bags, came home, and sifted out any large rocks and debris (I got about 50-60% yield so be aware  you're going to need a lot of dirt). I didn't bake it, but you might want to consider doing that if you get dirt from the wild. I got lucky that the soil was clean and I didn't kill my colony.

 

I think others have said on here that they use a 50% clay 50% sand mixture if you're going to buy soil.

 

10,000 workers? Is that your V. pergandei colony? good luck man! Interested to hear how that goes. Are you thinking like a 20/30/40 gallon tank? I think I'm going to pick up a 30 gallon tank soon and start construction on a new large dirt tank with an inner hydration for my colony especially now that I know how large they may get and my 10 gallon setup probably will be outgrown by next year.

[WestLA_DO]

I have a few starter colonies this year and am surprised to hear they grow that quickly.  Do you guys just have a dirt formicarium in a tank or what is the setup like?  

 

Here's some info I took away from one of the documentaries on youtube:

 

 

Thanks for the response. This is pretty cool. I'd say I'm maybe ahead of the curve slightly. I may be able to house them in the 10 gallon tank for another year or two, which is somewhat of a relief. Given yours and anttics' responses, seems like I'll just have to monitor their tunnel digging and how crowded they are in the tunnels.

 

I basically built what dspdrew built with his 10 gallon tank: http://www.formicult...-29-2017/page-3. Starting with his August 2, 2015 post about the 10-gallon tank a few posts down the page. I have a 10-gallon tank with an inner acrylic box for hydration and to keep the soil and digging medium close to the glass. I got the tank from Petsmart and acrylic sheets from Orchard Supply Hardware. Cutting the acrylic sheets was probably the most difficult and time-consuming aspect of the whole thing. But I have to say this setup has worked out great except that the ants do make a mess on the glass in some tunnels so over time, some tunnels can be difficult to see into. Also, I don't think I've seen the queen except for a few times and now that the colony has so many workers, it's worse than trying to find Waldo, but I continue to see new eggs, small larva, and lots of brood so I know she's alive in there somewhere.

Edited by WestLA_DO, August 21 2018 - 5:23 PM.

[anttics]

Hello I'm ready to start with the terrarium. Unfortunately. Drews terrarium idea could not hold this massive colony. My plan is to get soil from my hunting grounds. Tunnel colapse should not be an issue. My only concern is hydration, mould. One of my ideas is to place the k23 bricks on the sides cover with vinyl so no water could enter. Place a pcv tube from which i could hydrate the bricks. Cover them Barely passing the brick's entrance. I also plan to make a hole in the back of the brick for access to dirt tunnels. in the middle of the terrarium. They could also use the soil in the middle for tunel. It will be kind of a hybrid. So I will need to water the dirt when ever i feel like. Since their bricks will have more than enough humidity. I hope i was able to explain it well.