49 replies to this topic

[JoeByron]

 

I think my biggest mistake was when I first started collecting ants, I got them confused with mice and kept killing them by squishing them into my little test tubes.

Once I realized mice are not ants, things really took a turn for the better.

Enough with the spam.

 

 

 

Sorry, I missed in the rules where humor, camaraderie and humility cannot be expressed in the forums. I'll do better for you. I promise.

 

However; If you are referencing the amount of activity I am displaying on this site, I have only had one comment void of topic related content. I do not understand why involvement would be an issue. Care to elaborate on why this causes you concern? If you can justify it, I'll gladly slow my pace of posting. Otherwise, don't be a bully.

[Lillyrose]

I think my biggest mistake was when I first started collecting ants, I got them confused with mice and kept killing them by squishing them into my little test tubes.

Once I realized mice are not ants, things really took a turn for the better.

Enough with the spam.

I thought this was one of the forums that required 50 posts before you could post in the marketplace and thought he was doing that.

That's what off topic is for. It sucks when you ask a question or ask for advice and get a notification that someone answered... just to get something like that.


I've thought of another common mistake to avoid and didn't see it .. if someone it and I missed it sorry

But putting the heat near the water! I made that mistake once and flooded the tube.. it was horrible

[Skwiggledork]

On the same note as putting the heat too close to the water part of a test tube, not using a thermostat to keep it from getting too hot, or not giving the ants a way to get away from the heat if it's too hot. I've lost many a colonies to overheating them.

[Lillyrose]

On the same note as putting the heat too close to the water part of a test tube, not using a thermostat to keep it from getting too hot, or not giving the ants a way to get away from the heat if it's too hot. I've lost many a colonies to overheating them.

Yes!

And some won't move! Even when they think it's too hot. Like, if you mess up and overheat the tube but they could go into the outworld .. sometimes they won't leave the tube. They'll just die because it's their safe place.

[AntaholicAnonymous]

I think one very common mistake is to bother the ants too much in their founding stage.
Especially in the beginning when you're excited about a queen it can be hard not to check every 20 minutes.

Or when something seems a little off and you want to help immediately you're often causing more harm then good.
I had to learn to let them sort it out themselves

[Skwiggledork]

I thought of another one. When moving the ants into a new setup, put one ant in at first to test your barrier. Nothing worse than dumping a colony in a new setup and having them all try to make a break for it. lol

[AntaholicAnonymous]

I thought of another one. When moving the ants into a new setup, put one ant in at first to test your barrier. Nothing worse than dumping a colony in a new setup and having them all try to make a break for it. lol

I use fruit flies for that.
I make big setups so a swarm of fruit flies is the most effective way to test meters of barrier

[Skwiggledork]

 

I thought of another one. When moving the ants into a new setup, put one ant in at first to test your barrier. Nothing worse than dumping a colony in a new setup and having them all try to make a break for it. lol

I use fruit flies for that.
I make big setups so a swarm of fruit flies is the most effective way to test meters of barrier

 

That is ... so much smarter than I am. XD

[Dumpling]

Honestly, my best advice to starting out is just to get involved in communities with experienced keepers. Formiculture is great, however my personal favorite is Discord, where you can get real-time advice in case any mistakes or questions are more urgent.

If you want something specific, I'd say that investing in good equipment the first time around is a good idea. I've seen people try to skate by on bootleg materials and end up spending more time and money in the end because of the products falling short. 

Speaking of equipment, you'll typically hear that baby powder barriers are good. This is true, however only talcum-based powders. Most commercially available baby powder is corn starch based, and this stuff doesn't work at all. If you're going to use talc instead of fluon/PTFE, make sure you're getting talcum and not corn starch.

I know that this thread is old, but I decided to reuse it to ask a question about barriers instead of making a new thread. If I used a talcum based baby powder, what exactly would I do to use it. For example do I mix i it with water or something? Thanks in advance.

[aznphenom]

 

Honestly, my best advice to starting out is just to get involved in communities with experienced keepers. Formiculture is great, however my personal favorite is Discord, where you can get real-time advice in case any mistakes or questions are more urgent.

If you want something specific, I'd say that investing in good equipment the first time around is a good idea. I've seen people try to skate by on bootleg materials and end up spending more time and money in the end because of the products falling short. 

Speaking of equipment, you'll typically hear that baby powder barriers are good. This is true, however only talcum-based powders. Most commercially available baby powder is corn starch based, and this stuff doesn't work at all. If you're going to use talc instead of fluon/PTFE, make sure you're getting talcum and not corn starch.

I know that this thread is old, but I decided to reuse it to ask a question about barriers instead of making a new thread. If I used a talcum based baby powder, what exactly would I do to use it. For example do I mix i it with water or something? Thanks in advance.

 

You mix it with alcohol.
Here is a video on it
https://www.youtube....h?v=MWFbKhZrPr0