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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2013 12:35:42 GMT 1
Hello everyone, my name is Peter (aka kepha) and I am new to this forum and new to keeping ants. Below I am going to share some details on what I am doing (with a couple of photos), what I am trying to achieve and some questions that I have which you may be able to answer in order to help me achieve this better as it is my first attempt. About 2 weeks ago I ordered a new colony of Messor Barbarus from www.world-of-ants.com/en/ which included a mated queen and roughly 20 - 30 workers. Currently they are still in the test tube that they arrived in, in a dark room at about 17degrees C awaiting me to finish the formicarium which I am trying to build for them. I ordered a 30cm squared glass basin from the same store as the ants: The photo was taken as soon as I opened the box, as you can see the sand spilled in delivery, but is all cleared up now! Somewhat being influenced by designes I have seen around the internet and somewhat taking the reigns on design myself I have started to turn this basin into the formicarium for the ants by introducing a piece of aerated brick: I have cut the brick to 30cm wide to fit perfectly in the tank and sanded it down a little so it fits flush against the glass. I bought a couple of these aerated bricks so I could experiment with different designs and allow for error, this is an example of what I am sort of going for: My question at this point is about a hudration system of some description. I have seen several different hydration systems dotted around the internet but I am not sure exactly how I might implement one into this design. I purchased the aerated brick because it appeared that many people liked to use this for its ease to carve and its ability to soak up water, I have done a couple of tests drilling holes into the brick and pouring water inside and it does appear to soak water up very quickly but not enough to make the nest sections wet... perhaps I need more water or to place the hole closer to the nests? I am also struggling to find information on just how much of the nest the Messor Barbarus species will need to be wet and how wet it might need to be? Once I have sorted this issue of hydration my plan is to finish carving out the nest on the front and sand them down to make them look more attractive, stick the brick to the glass to secure it and fill the area behind the brick with a solid substance that the ants cannot dig in creating a foraging area above the brick. Thanks for taking a look at my post, any comments, opinions or advice are welcome, and if I get a lot of interest I will continue to post pictures and updates of the development of the tank and the ants once inside. Kepha
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2013 13:17:13 GMT 1
welcome to the forum kepha, the project sounds good and looks good as well. i havent had any experience with messor barbarus, or infact areated nests.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2013 13:23:11 GMT 1
I have used aerated concrete nest's and my colony died, Not trying to discourage you at all! But I think my problem was I didn't get rid of enough dust and I didn't water it properly. Anyhow, welcome to the forum!! I also have kept Messor Barbarus which are a tricky colony to get started but once they are over 20+ workers you should be fine, and since you have got over that they will do spot on. I'm sure you already know they masticate seed's and like their protein, they also have soldier workers (Although they are not True soldiers) but dislike sugary substances, and are very fussy when It comes towards this. So If you see a bit of mold cropping up here and there on your seeds, don't worry, they feed off this stuff!
Welcome to MANF and I hope you enjoy your time here!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2013 14:18:49 GMT 1
I have used aerated concrete nest's and my colony died, Not trying to discourage you at all! But I think my problem was I didn't get rid of enough dust and I didn't water it properly. Hi Rubra, any advice on how I could water this to prevent myself from having the same problems as you? Also what type of farm are you using now if you are not using aerated brick? Even in the test tube the ants seem to be doing fine, the Queen already has a couple of brood and they were shipped with a variety of seeds inside the tube though I havent specifically witnessed them making ant bread they have stacked them all up at the dry end and put the brood at the damp end. I am trying to get the formicarium done ASAP because honestly (if ants can be) they appear bored in the tube, as there is a number of them already with the seeds stacked and only a few brood I don't think they have a great deal to accomplish inside there. Thanks. Kepha
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2013 15:56:15 GMT 1
Yes, many keep Messor Barbarus in the test tube until either the water runs out or they are over 20-30 workers but you already have that . You could moisten your Aerated concrete block by making a carving that runs behind every chamber and then fill that with a bit of water every day or two creating humidity allowing the ant's to drink and feel at home. Although I am not the best with Ytong and Aerated concrete nests . The nest I am using currently is housing my largest Myrmica Rubra colony about 200+ strong which is this one (You may want to translate this to English!) - www.antstore.net/shop/Ameisen-Starter-Sets-Ameisenfarmen-antfarm/Starter-Sets---XS-M-L-XL/ANTSTORE-Starter-Set-XL.htmlThis would definitely be capable of holding a Messor Barbarus colony but I have heard Messor barbarus do tend to enjoy just a large fish tank filled with sand/soil or loam which is practically an all in one arena, similar to the one you have already bought with your Aerated concrete in. Need any help I'll be here all day
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2013 16:22:59 GMT 1
Hey Rubra, I did consider getting a setup similar to the one you linked although the nesting area looked very thick and I was worried that the ants would do their best to dig away from the glass edges making it difficult to observe them. I notice that it is only 60mm though and I am not sure how big the ants would naturally dig a chamber. Perhaps I will try something similar to this in the future. The aerated bricks were only £1.20 so discarding them will not cause me any loss if I find an alternative method of keeping them would work better.
il have to keep playing with ideas for hydration. If anybody else reads this and has any ideas for hydrating the tank shown in my original post I would be grateful.
Kepha
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2013 16:56:10 GMT 1
Yes it is fairly wide, and ant's do tend to dig away from a light source, but I have got lucky and mine nest 50% in the connector tube and 50% underground which I can see, since there is sprawling tunnels almost everywhere, shame they don't use Most of it!
I also have a chamber beside the glass which is about 1cm thick, goes really far in which they often bring larvae up to since it is the closest area to my radiator.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2013 17:29:35 GMT 1
couldnt you buy some of that red see through plastic like they sell on queen ant shop it may seem dark for the ants so they are more likely to dig near the glass, but you could still view them
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2013 21:00:05 GMT 1
Just a quick update, I continued to carve some chambers out of the aerated block. I must admit I didn't really draw up a 'design' of any kind I sort of just went for it. I am quite happy with how it looks right now but I don't know what kind of chamber the ants will prefer so I did a variety of things so I can observe which ones the ants use. The L shape carve on the left side of the block is an experimental design for hydration which will be blocked off so the ants cannot access it and filled with water regularly to hydrate the chambers that are closest to it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2013 21:39:29 GMT 1
Looks neat but there are some things you need to know. First of all, those stones you are using need to be cleaned well as the dust particles left behind can cause harm to ants. Also, Messor barbarus like dry climates so don't worry too much about hydrating them. Too much hydration can cause the seeds they collect to germinate and cause mould ect ect. In my opinion Messors would far rather nest in a sand set-up than a pre made one. It takes the fun out of ant keeping if you ask me. Oh yeah, Messor barbarus do need some type of warmth as majors are only capable to grow in 23C+ environments from what I have read on other forums. But welcome to the forum and I hope you have fun with your ant keepping.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2013 22:14:24 GMT 1
Hi Antboy888, thanks for your feedback. I will be thoroughly rinsing the stone in the bathtub, getting rid of all of the dust before it finally gets used. I dont know how well the hydration is going to work but I am hoping it will offer a gradient of moisture being quite wet at the bottom left and very dry at the top and the right. The glass cube I have has holes drilled for expansion so following the advice I have received I may purchase a nest that I can put a sand mix in and connect it to the side and let the ants make the decision for themselves. I would like to try this nest now that I have put the money and effort into it though. It's all a learning experience for me right now!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2013 16:44:33 GMT 1
I have only ever seen one colony of ants (think it was a Camponotus species) that did well in one of those grey block in my seven years of ant keeping. Not saying that you shouldn't use them but I am not advising it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2013 13:11:09 GMT 1
Vasile (He has his own forum now) keeps Messor Barbarus in an Aerated concrete nest and they are now in their first year or two and are 200+ strong! I think It's a great Idea, how are you getting on now then?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2013 12:13:44 GMT 1
Hey Rubra, thanks for your support. The formicarium is taking a little longer to create now than I was expecting as the hydration system I tried didn't work so I am going back and trying that again...
For now the ants are still in the test tube but I will update here as soon as I get something working.
Do you have a link to vasile's forum? Thanks.
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Post by Myrm on Feb 8, 2013 6:31:47 GMT 1
Hello everyone, my name is Peter (aka kepha) and I am new to this forum and new to keeping ants. Hi Kepha Thank you for joining my forum. I am sorry it has taken me so long to say hi but I have been rather busy lately - I'm away from home for 7 months. You may be interested to know that I have just created a brand new forum that will be a more serious approach to myrmecology, the study of ants, and will run alongside this forum you just joined. It’s stuill new and therefore not vary busy at the moment but as more and more people join so the busier it will become (just as this forum did when it was new). Please do consider joining my new forum and help me to get it up and running and to make it as success as is this one. You can find my new forum by clicking here.Thank you Please note that I am having a few 'teething' proplems with the new forum at the moment in that I can't put new members into the appropriate member group, which means that as you're automatically put into the Newly Registered Members group when you join all your posts will need to be approved by me before they appear on the forum. I try to approve them as quickly as I can but it does depend on my workload. However, please do not let these proplems deter you from joining. Thank you.
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