ANTSTORE World of Ants

[woutern]

Hey people,

I've been reading about ant farms for some time now and decided i want to begin one soon. I think i will buy the Alpha Ants Starters Set C which in my view is a nice farm to begin with. I still have a few questions about choosing the right ant colonie for me. I'm a 21 year old student at a university in the Netherlands and only have a small room for myself with no balcony or garden. So i want a colonie that doens't grow to big. I dont really like the look of the lasius niger (i know everybody is saying its the best to start with). I'm looking for a more special looking ant, seen some cool exotic ones but i read everywhere that its to hard to start with. So is there a species that is cool looking (big ants, cool jaws or with warriors) and doens't grow to big? My next problem is hibernation i dont have a place to put them where it is colder since i cant use the fridge or have a balcony or garden or are there species that dont need hibernation? Plus which stuff is recommended to by with the Alpha Ants Starters Set C (lamps, heaters, ect)

I'm still a newby here so maby i'm asking for the impossible if so i will settle for less.

Thanks

[jartok]

Componutes herculenus grow very slow and are huge but they need hibernation only exotics dont need hibernation and they are not for beginners so you really have one choice or the other. you could go for a messor barburas they hibernate at 10-15c and for couple months thoe

[thecowmaster]

But in netherlands probably it is cool, so you don´t have to put them in the fridge.

Unless there is is heating system in your university.

[Phasmid]

You need a south European species of some kind as they need little hibernation but can hibernate in an unheated room. I think there are some Messor species that apparently don’t need hibernation, I’m not sure which.
What ever you get needs to be able to turn around in a 10mm tube.
A small Camponotus sp would be good as the colonies grow slowly and they have large majors (a big Camponotus sp might get stuck).
Pheidole pallidula have nice soldiers but they are tiny and colonies can grow quite big.
Messor sp have nice majors but are not realy for beginners (apparently) and colonies grow huge very quickly if you give them enough heat.
Cataglyphis are polymorphic and look very nice, but I don’t know anything about them.

Just get something with colour

[woutern]

Oke thanks for the info. But maby i didn't frase it right, i live in a dorm so the ant are for on my own room not for in the university. I also have an aquarium of 60x30x30 it is possible to make a basin of it and connect it to a ant display. But without making holes in it for when i want to make it an aquarium again? The best thing about it is that it has build in lights for light and heating.

[highered]

I would personally recomend Polyrhacis dives as the workers are a bulky 6-8mm At room temperature they would just grow slower. Compotus would probably be ok too though.