ANTSTORE World of Ants

[ashhad1]

Well i thought id make a mini pool in my arena were the water will be the only water source, now is this a good idea or not as i read in the german forum that its only bad towards smaller ants as they get pulled in by the water and die. The ants i have are Camponatus Ligniperda and wonderd if these ants would be fine with a pool?
The pool will first layerd by black plastic and made stable by rocks then the water is added and some sand will go on the water as a beach. I am thinking of doing this as it is more realistic like in forests which my ants need. Please post back if you think it will work or not.
Dont hesitate by discussing a little bt about my idea.

Thank you

[mikemeritus]

still standing water out in the open is a nono. its goes bad pretty fast, when i had snakes i had to change the water every day, dont really know exactly what happens but i think bacteria and stuff starts growing in it.

[ashhad1]

oh i c hmm i forgot about that aw man i really wanted to do it but what if i change it every day cuz i got this psecial water suck thing and then il refill the pool. So still a nono?

[miszt]

u culd use a fish tank oxygen pump, depends on big the pool is, u can get small ones, with a stone about 2.5-3 cm long 1 cm in diamiter, which pumps tiny bubbles into the water, its pretty powerful tho, and wil send allot of waves if its a very small pool

[ashhad1]

good ideas but I have given up on the idea for now but thank you for you 2, as you replied to pretty quick. Plus I just recieved my Camponatus Ligniperda

[Bob]

Its a good thing you gave it up. I would have said don't do it. The best thing is to have a damp environment as opposed to a dry one with water 'nearby'.

[ashhad1]

yup i thought that and your right

[Varban]

Uh I have a small little pool in my basin and don't have any problems at all. Might be just me though. If you are using a pool throw in a stick accross it like a natural bridge. That way if by a bad twist of fate an ant falls in it can try to get on the branch.

Another way to supply water is depending on the setup of course, in the arena if you have about 1 inch of soil you can fill a whole test tube with water and put a cotton plug on it. Don't fill just 1/4 of it as if you have a queen inside. Fill 3/4 or a bit more and plug it. Burry it in the soil and with some creative skills you can cover the entrace in such a way it looks like a small cavern and you don't see the glass at all. Voila you have water for quite a long long time. Maybe for a good year.

The only downsides I can think of is if you don't use enough cotton, the water might leak so use enough cotton. Also depending on the ants and the size of the colony it might be tricky to refil the tube once the water is gone.

[ashhad1]

Ya well il think about it since my ants moved out of the test tube yesterday il use the test tube as a water sources would be much safer plus id see how much water is left. But the cavern idea interests me

[Varban]

Ya well il think about it since my ants moved out of the test tube yesterday il use the test tube as a water sources would be much safer plus id see how much water is left. But the cavern idea interests me

I knew I had a picture somewhere

http://www.antstore.net/download.php?id=3058 <- Frontal View

http://www.antstore.net/download.php?id=3059 <- Top Down View

This is what I am doing. It's not perfect as i am having some troubles with my brood and colony still lives inside. But you can easily conceal it completly and just have a small entrance for the ants to go into.

[nepenthes_ak]

Why cover it with Soil? I leave mine open but not in direct light. Plus when you do take the soil off, if you ever do, they will get so stressed out.

[JimmyVe]

It is best to cover up the tube (nest) Queens like living in the dark.

I just cover up my tubes wit a peace of paper.

[miszt]

Apperntly adding a Tiny amount of washing up liquid will reduce the surface tension of the water, so your ants wont be pulled in

http://www.antstore.net/shop/product_in ... -10ml.html

I would be cautious using that however as sum detergants may contain chemicals which are toxic to ants...any idea what they use in the ant store one? £5 for 100ml is a bit excessive lol but then u do get a lil squeezy bottle wiv it

[JimmyVe]

no I'm sorry i don't now what they use. But it seems a little like a product you use to clean you dishes.

[Varban]

Why cover it with Soil? I leave mine open but not in direct light. Plus when you do take the soil off, if you ever do, they will get so stressed out.

I am trying to simulate a natural environment as much as possible. I am even growing grass in my farm atm