ANTSTORE World of Ants

[R3dFox]

Im looking at ordering a few more bits and bobs off the site when my ants get here. Any suggestions on what i should buy?

Im going to get some plastic plants, and a plastic rock thing with water basin in it. tho i dont want them to nest under the plastic rock so ill cover it up somehow or bury the entrance.

I was going to get some food too. Proberly the dired crickets and flies, only probelem is where to store them? will they start to rot? and do they need to be kept in a fridge or somthing?

what is that little bottle of stuff that comes with the starter kit? is it honey? and if not would it be a good idea to buy some off here or just pick some up from a shop?.

Sorry to ask so many questions lol. This is turning into quite a newbie guide tho.

[Sced]

Yes, the pit is honey, it will last your colony a long time. You can store food in the fridge, and i beleive it will las around 6 months but im not 100% sure.

[mpir]

I think that basin does not come with a lid. Yes, ants will escape from it if you don't do something to prevent it.

The little bottle you are talking about is probably PTFE. It is a teflon liquid that you apply around the edge of the basin and it prevents ants from escaping. If they want to climb over it, they fall back in. In some other topics it has been discused how to apply it corectly.

[R3dFox]

by basin i do mean the feeding arena that comes with the starter kit. But if that dosnt have a lid to it i saw on here about using cooking oil?

So if i put cooking oil or PTFE around the top will i need to re-apply oftern?

Or could i just put come netting or somthing over the top?

With the food going in the fridge that would be a problem, as i dont think my mother would be too pleased about having a tub of dead flies in her fridge lol. But as its dried out do they definatly need to be in the fridge?

I might have to get a mini fridge for my room or somthing.

[R3dFox]

one last question (hopefully lol)

Im wondering about keeping the soil in the farm istelf damp?

Sced said to spray it once a day. But i also read about putting a tube down to the bottom of the farm, then putting clay on top and then the sand/loam. And then put water in the tube so it soaks in.

Which is the better way to do it? and does the larger starter kit come with a extra tube and clay?

[mpir]

Cooking oil, parafin oil, some people use talcol powder... but all this things have a major drawback... you need to apply it every two or three days. It's a lot of work when you have 30+ colonies.
This is where the PTFE kicks in. Depending on moist level of the room or basin you only have to apply one or two times a year. And the applied strip can be much narrower then when you apply oil.

You can put some netting over the top but as the colony number gets higher you can expect some ants escaping while you'll uncover the basin and feed them. A lot of ants escaping.

Both watering sistem described are good. The second is maybe a bit more sofisticated and more practical as you don't have to open the lid every few days and disturb the ants. All my ants are for now in ytong nests.

Oh.. and about the ant food... put it into some non transparent tupperware box, close it well, put it into the fridge and threat everybody who would dare to open it. It's cheeper then an extra fridge.

[R3dFox]

I prefer the tube and clay way of keeping the ground moist. But the clay doesnt come with it? and cant get it off this site. And i would have to order a extra tube. Which tube would i get? the thin water tubes like this?



Or the tubes ants climb in like this?:




My ants should be here any day, if not today!. But im still trying to convince my girlfriend to let me have them straight away.

I still need to get a few things. Like some thick black card. I will think about getting some more stuff off the antstore at a later date cause i have absolutly no money at the moment lol. But i will get some plastic plants and rocks at some time.

I was reading over some of the diarys and one of them was from the uk, with a Lasius niger colony, and he got them in feb and put them straight into the farm without carrying on hibernating, and according to the diary they were very active and coped fine.

So when i get the ants i will have a look to see how active they are and may put them straight in

[JimmyVe]

I was reading over some of the diarys and one of them was from the uk, with a Lasius niger colony, and he got them in feb and put them straight into the farm without carrying on hibernating, and according to the diary they were very active and coped fine.

You always have people that don't respect the hibernation, it only harms the colony in years (the queen don't live as long, she produces less eggs, ect...) But if he receive them late February and they where in hibernation from October it is not so bad, if you are receiving them this week it is still to early.

For keeping the ground moist you better take the green one. If you need a connection to another world for your ants you can take the other one.

[R3dFox]

so get the green tube. Some potters clay which i could buy from a art shop or somthing? Stick cotton wool in both ends and put it into the farm. How much water should i put into the tube per day/week?

Dosnt the clay come in ball form? already moist?...So how would i get it into my farm. and would the tube just settle under the layer of clay?

[JimmyVe]

Depends on the species you keep in it, for Lasius niger i do it about once a week. not to much just to keep it moist. (depends on the size of the nest)

i think you misunderstood it. To fill up your farm you better use loam and sand or a mix from these both. The clay you can use at the bottom of your farm.

I would do it like this:
- bottom of clay
- the water tube
- sand and loam mix

[R3dFox]

No, i didnt misunderstand. I know to put the sand and loam in, i was just describing how to set up the clay.

Someone said about 10% clay and the rest sand/loam.

So you say not to put the water tube IN the clay....just on top of the layer of clay? So what does the clay actuallly do? and where can i get it from?

I ordered the ants on Saturday, so hopefully they might come tomorrow or if not on monday do you think?

[Sced]

depends which starter set you ordered, two of them come with 200g of clay granulate, so that should be enough.

Both basin and farm have lids.

which starter set did you get?

[R3dFox]

i got the bigger starter kit. Not the glass one.

http://www.antstore.net/shop/product_in ... farm-arena

^ that one.

If it comes with clay would it come with a water tube aswell?

and enought sand and loam to fill the farm and arena?

ill get some plastic plants and stuff but not till a later date.

[Sced]

the connection tube you get is really big, so you could cut a peice off and still have lots left for the connection, so you should try that for the water tube/.

[R3dFox]

so does the starter kit im getting come with clay?

What exactly does it come with. Cause it dosnt have an english description.

So how much water should i put in per day or week?....Like how many pippette fills?

How should i set up the clay, tube, and sand/loam. some say the tube in first...then the clay...then sand/loam

but someone above said put the clay in, then the tube then sand.

I think it makes more sence to put the tube in then then the clay then sand...