4 replies to this topic

[DatTheMaster]

Just started toying with this idea a few weeks ago. I don't have a queen and I just captured what you see from an active ant hill in my back yard. The gel is advertised to supply both hydration and nutrition but I added the little dog treat for variety. If i can find any dead bugs I may try to drop them in. I'm currently testing the lighting and condensation conditions before setting in a new identical ant farm. Let me know what you guys think and I welcome any suggestions. 

 

https://www.youtube....tTheMaster/live

 

 

[Skwiggledork]

I love the idea of a live stream ant channel, but the gel nests are no good. They mold super easy and don't provide nutrition like they say they do.

[ponerinecat]

Please don't use gel formicariums. They have been proven on multiple occasions to be very harmful to ants. If you're just keeping workers I suppose it's fine, but I don't think they'll live under proper conditions.

[DatTheMaster]

I actually bought one more identical gel farm with the plan of streaming the tunneling from the beginning. The ants that I gathered are primarily in a container of dirt with a tube connected to the gel farm on camera. That's why it may seem empty at times because it's obvious the ants prefer to nest in the dirt. Does my setup alleviate some of the concerns considering the ants have an additional place to live? If so, what would you suggest as a means to attract them to the camera side? I've enjoyed watching them work and I am the most active viewer of my own stream. 

[Mercutia]

If you want them to dig in the gel, I suggest you remove the dirt entirely and leave only gel as an option. This includes not giving them and outworld at this time until they've adequately settled on making their nest in the gel.

 

However just to state, I don't endorse much the use of these gel farms, they are more trouble than they are worth. If you like seeing the tunnel making process, might I recommend you to something like the following:

https://www.amazon.c...5/dp/B07L6JDPPY

https://www.etsy.com...d2689:277625678

 

These are also farms you could quite possible make on your own however the medium is something specialize, a clay + sand mixture that doesn't allow cave-ins so easily so you'll be able to see the tunnel making process very beautifully.

 

Unfortunately, with a few workers you collected from the outside, those ants will not live very long and you will end up having to replace them frequently.