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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 3:19:21 GMT 1
Hey, This is my first post on the forums, I will introduce myself a bit more in future posts but thought I'd contribute a little something to start. I bought a can of mini-meal worms from a website that cost me about £5. The can arrived and I opened it and was almost sick, I am new to this stuff, I have only opened the lid a crack because I'm so scared to look at them! I put two of these TINY meal worms into my formicarium and they landed in the nest, I checked back a day later and the worker ants had moved the worms and buried them in sand, guess it wasn't tasty enough, I am not sure. 1 week later I tried again, I dropped a worm in and checked a day later, surprisingly the queen was munching away on it and ate about 1/4 of it, then it was taken away and gotten rid of. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong but paying £5 for 1/4 of a meal worm that was about 1mm long is a bit steep! Hehe. On the tin it says keep refrigerated, but I don't think my family is okay with me keeping worms in the fridge! Haha! Ive had them about 2-3 weeks now and opened the can and the worms have amalgamated into a big ball of MOLD! It made me sick the first time I saw it! I'll do my best to get a pic before I chuck them out ! Value for money - 0/10 How much the ants liked it - 3/10 Would I buy it again - Never I am very new to keeping ants but I'm going to spend some time on the forums to learn more about food
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 3:24:36 GMT 1
Hi Sainter and welcome to the forum. I hope you like it here. Please bear/bare with us as we are undergoing many changes.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 3:27:43 GMT 1
Hello and welcome to the forum sainter! ;D Well 5 pounds seems a bit for a couple of meal worms. How many were in there? What species of ants do you have? It is normal for some species to bury there food. The mold is due to the fact that you did not refrigerate them as suggested. If you had stuck them in the fridge they would have lasted at least a week or two. I tend to freeze any insects I kill and let them thaw out before use. Also please remember to capitalize your "i"s. Flavus
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 3:43:24 GMT 1
Oh wow guys I'm so glad to have people chatting on the forums at 4am! I'm awake in the nights and sleeping during the day usually.
"Well 5 pounds seems a bit for a couple of meal worms. How many were in there?"
It was a tin of 1000 or so, but there is no way my TINY ant colony could eat 1000, they barely ate one.
If they were to eat all 1000, it would take 100 years, and once you open this can it lasts for TWO weeks! It says even if refrigerated it wont last more than 3.
I guess freezing would keep them for a LONG time but i honestly cant put this kinda thing in the freezer when i have family around.
Next time I'm going to try find a food that is easy to keep at room temperatures.
"What species of ants do you have? It is normal for some species to bury there food."
I have lacius niger, I'm new to ant keeping so apparently this is one of the easiest to look after. I have future plants for different ants but ill save it for another thread.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 3:50:35 GMT 1
We are dedicated. Well for 1000 it is a great price then. I have found the trick for freezing is to put it in a plastic bag and nobody inspects it. (Yes, I am a Bin Lid who found a way to use the family freezer for bugs. ) You will find that any dead meat will mold quickly. However if you go and catch bugs every other day and feed them like that then you would not need to store them. Or you could breed your own feeder insect colony of crickets, mealworms, etc. Flavus
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 3:56:21 GMT 1
Ive just opened the can to take a picture of it and im scared i have just inhaled leathal germs! ROFL! if you guys never see me again that is why. "Or you could breed your own feeder insect colony of crickets," My colony is tiny, i couldnt justify doing this, as much as id love to. When i get a new tank i will plan on feeding them bigger things but for now its not going so well. I ordered a colony off the internet and it came with about 5 workers and 1 queen. I accidentally killed 3 workers while trying to get them into the formicarium, they seemed to like saying in the test tube to much! So now i only have 1 queen and two workers. She laid larvae but they are not developing, im going to make a post to ask something about that now. P.S sorry about not using capitalised i's ! I play world of warcraft all day long and its a force of habit to type as quickly as i can !
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 3:58:42 GMT 1
I am not sure how much I want to see a picture to be honest. Flavus
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 4:07:12 GMT 1
I am not sure how much I want to see a picture to be honest. Flavus I'm with ya.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 4:11:09 GMT 1
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 4:13:07 GMT 1
Thanks.... I have lost my appetite....
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 4:15:23 GMT 1
My pleasure!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 4:16:36 GMT 1
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 4:22:12 GMT 1
Hehe so back to the topic, any suggestions on foods I can keep at room temperature ?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 4:39:42 GMT 1
Well it really depends.
Are you looking for just protein food items? Or are you looking for advice on what to feed the workers?
Keep in mind that most ants are happy to eat chicken, shrimp, crab, beef, etc. It really depends on what you have available. Anting is not hard as far as food goes except for specialized species.
I have never heard of Lasius niger burying their food but Myrm or another person who has kept the species for awhile will know better.
Flavus
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2011 4:46:21 GMT 1
Great , we have chicken in our house almost all the time so I will try using some of that!
The only problem I have is removing the food they dont eat, the other day I chucked a dorito and some bread crumbs in and it turned to mold very very quickly, and now I cant get it out. I think the only solution is to get a square shaped tank.
Do you guys use the thin glass formicariums or do you use the cube shaped ones? removing food in the thin ones is near impossible.
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