Niko Holstege hat geschrieben:
I'm a bit afraid it will all collapse on the fungus and queen, so I'll guess I have to move them today anyway (and maybe they can start a new fungus on brisque later?)
Hi Niko , becarfull when you move the fungus , make sure you collect all the fungus garden because they cannot make anouther without using part of the garden they are supplied with. Once that dies the colony will die also so be really carefull with moving the garden. Also the tiles that are glazed on one side are no good , upside down they will absorb moisture but this will just collect on the surface like a puddle effect because it carnt drain away under the tile. The fungus will not tolerate sitting in water even if its a 1mm thick will cause the garden to start to rot.
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The bisque tiles are really like a condensed gypsum or ytong block , they absorb moisture like tissue paper but with the gravity the excess water drains underneith, most tiles have groves underneith which holds the tile milimeteres off the floor of the container , this is where the excess water stays untill the bisque tile drys out abit and then it absorbs this water. That is this will only work as long as the tiles are not over watered
If you are moving the ants i suggest first sitting in a really well lit room , place your container with the colony on a large sheet of white paper or you could use a table with a light surface.surface needs to be slippery i mean not cloth !! or the workers will hold on and it will be impossible to collect them. Put the container you are transferring them to next to the container there in so you dont have to move from your seat. I suggest using a table spoon and a small paint brush , (the really small brushes kids paint with). You use the spoon to scoop up the garden and queen ( She should be curled up in the fungus garden when you disturb them. Gently brush the small fungus garden with the queen onto the spoon then gently lift it out and then lower it where you want it and slowly brush it off. You will have to be quick as the workrs will be going mad. The workers can be brushed up easily , a quick brush underneith them and they usally cling on for a few seconds , long enougth to tap them onto the fungus garden. Any remaining fungus can gently brushed up onto the spoon and then slowly brushed off onto the fungus garden. Also look out for larva ,pupae in the remaining stuff left behind as they do get scattered but a good eye should be able to pick these out. If you have trouble getting the rest of the workers out of the old container i usally turn it upside down over the table , give it a light bang so some workers drop onto the table then sweep these up by the brush method i explained already repeat this as many times as you need untill all workers are tapped into the new container, you should find if the colony is small 50 -100 , this all should take about 30 minutes. Once done leave them well alone for the rest of the day and night , then tommorow start offering food. They need to reorganise the garden again and the queen needs to settle down because she needs to get back to egg laying.
Dont rush , take your time,be carfull , and watch out if theres any soldiers they have a nasty bite !! also always move the fungus garden and queen first !, the workers wont stay in the new container without the queen and garden there.
This is how i moved mine and its the bestest way i have found but its my opinion and isnt law lol , it also means any mites or bugs ( i had jumping mite things with mine) that may be in the fungus are usally left behind.
Hope that helps abit more.