10 replies to this topic

[Naturenut1233]

Just wondering what people thought about acrylic formicariums. I have ordered a small setup that I really like the looks for a small colony as it grows, and I plan to grout the outworld and add in plastic plants, etc, but would you put grout on the inside of the nest area? Do ants tolerate acrylic flooring / compartments? 

Edited by Naturenut1233, September 1 2017 - 7:44 AM.

[ctantkeeper]

Just wondering what people thought about acrylic formicariums. I have ordered a small setup that I really like the looks for a small colony as it grows, and I plan to grout the outworld and add in plastic plants, etc, but would you put grout on the inside of the nest area? Do ants tolerate acrylic flooring / compartments? 

Although people often tend to focus on aesthetic design when reviewing acrylic formicariums, I have found them to be not as functional as other might lead you to believe. Just like all setups, they have their pros and cons :

 

Pros : 

- excellent visibility

- sleek design

- often easily cleaned due to being able to be separated layer by layer

- often "expandable" to some degree

 

Cons : 

- Acrylic flooring shows waste and dirt very well

- Acrylic flooring in the nest may lead to muscle atrophy in the legs of your ants, causing them to become "bow-legged"

- Acrylic formicariums offer no absorbent surfaces that would otherwise allow harmful substances (such as formic acid) to denature properly without coming in contact with the ants. Camponotus and Lasius as well as other formic acid spraying ants often fall victim to "formic acid poisoning" when kept in acrylic formicariums for long periods of time. 

 

Solution : Adding a thin coat of grout (approx. 4-7 millimeters) to the the inside of the nest would offer formic acid deposits a chance to properly denature and would prevent the ants from developing muscle atrophy. A thin layer of grout would also make the accumulation of waste and other forms of debris less noticeable. Hope this helps!

[Naturenut1233]

K, thank you. That is what I was thinking of doing as I love a natural look and wanted to block light into the nest anyways. Learn something new every day. Didn't know grout absorbed formic acid and denatured it until I was reading another post this morning. Nor did I know ants could get bow legged. 

[Jonathan21700]

 

- Acrylic flooring in the nest may lead to muscle atrophy in the legs of your ants, causing them to become "bow-legged"

 

Do you have an example of this?

[ctantkeeper]

 

 

- Acrylic flooring in the nest may lead to muscle atrophy in the legs of your ants, causing them to become "bow-legged"

 

Do you have an example of this?

 

I've experienced it first hand on multiple occasions. I'm sure that others might have noticed this as well. Sorry for not giving you the answer you may have wanted though.

[ctantkeeper]

K, thank you. That is what I was thinking of doing as I love a natural look and wanted to block light into the nest anyways. Learn something new every day. Didn't know grout absorbed formic acid and denatured it until I was reading another post this morning. Nor did I know ants could get bow legged. 

 

No prob. Glad to help. Any absorbent material would do. I recommend grout as it has mold resistant qualities. Btw, I was paraphrasing when I said "bowlegged". I really meant that the legs begin to splay outward, preventing them from walking in a normal fashion. I don't believe that is the correct terminology in this case.

[Connectimyrmex]

 

 

 

- Acrylic flooring in the nest may lead to muscle atrophy in the legs of your ants, causing them to become "bow-legged"

 

Do you have an example of this?

 

I've experienced it first hand on multiple occasions. I'm sure that others might have noticed this as well. Sorry for not giving you the answer you may have wanted though.

 

This happened with my Pseudomyrmex gracilis mexicanus in a test tube. She was a weird queen. (this was in Hawaii)

I think that acrylic flooring doesn't harm Ponera and other "slippery footed" ants. Those ants have a wider and more solid stance, thus making it harder for them to gain bow-leg problems.

[Serafine]

I think acrylics are generally okay for dry-loving ants. I would always apply a layer of substrate (grout or sand-clay mix) to the bottom of the chambers and passages, this helps the ants move (some ants can walk poorly on acrylics) and also tremendously increases the nest's ability to hold moisture. I wouldn't try to raise wet-loving ants (Myrmica, etc.) in acrylic nests, they dry out way too fast.

[drtrmiller]

Acrylic nests do dry out very quickly for a few reasons.  One, is that they typically have very tiny reservoirs that only hold a couple milliliters of water in a sponge.  Second, hydration occurs when the sponge is oversaturated, and excess water spreads out in between the layers of acrylic via capillary action.  For a short time, this results in acceptable levels of humidity for many species of ants, as some airflow between the layers is blocked by the water, and some of the water evaporates into the nest.  Water also evaporates outside the nest, and so the user is generally required to inject water into these nests every 2 or 3 days.

 

I personally don't like the fact that water spreads out in between the layers, because, while some makers have overcome this with small design changes, the effect can cause some nests to look very dirty over time, like in the example below:

 

 

Mechanically, thin acrylic sheet is not a material intended to be in contact with high relative humidity levels for extended durations, as water is absorbed into the material in a non-uniform manner, which can result in warping.  Most acrylic nests I've seen do not provide uniform clamping force for the screws to overcome this effect, so the pieces will sit less evenly over time, resulting in more water getting between the layers, and the nest drying out even faster.

Edited by drtrmiller, November 18 2017 - 1:58 AM.

[Serafine]

I find it quite interesting what Antkit recently did with acrylics. They massively increased the sponge chamber size on all nests and made a special series with a riffled bottom on some chambers to assist ants that have cocoons.
It's still gonna look quite ugly after a year or two (depending on the species) but then you can always disassemble and clean it (just don't use vinegar, that causes acrylics to crack).

[drtrmiller]

I agree the new ones look nicer. But do you see that long, unsupported edge of thin material? I do wonder how that will maintain its flatness over time, given the tendency of acrylic to warp in humid environments.

Edited by drtrmiller, November 19 2017 - 3:58 AM.