Atta - Aquarium setup

Let everyone see the story of your colony(ies) over time. Pictures, developments, success and failures, what works / what doesn't, and your plans for expansion as time goes by!
RichardP
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Re: Atta - Aquarium setup

Post by RichardP » Fri Oct 14, 2016 7:08 pm

That was my conclusion also...

Short term plan is to step up the culling.

Long term I need to think about extending the setup. Which won't be easy just based on where it is now and what room i have to expend in.

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Acromyrmexbob
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Re: Atta - Aquarium setup

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Mon Oct 17, 2016 10:35 pm

Richard, the other option you have would be for me to come to your place and install a commercial type setup. Doesnt need to be big but it would cater for your colony, be easy to look after and would look great for your people to see. Just a thought, now your colony is showing its potential for growth you could go with it and have something fantastic to show off to folks visiting.

RichardP
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Re: Atta - Aquarium setup

Post by RichardP » Mon Oct 17, 2016 11:01 pm

Acromyrmexbob wrote:Richard, the other option you have would be for me to come to your place and install a commercial type setup. Doesn't need to be big but it would cater for your colony, be easy to look after and would look great for your people to see. Just a thought, now your colony is showing its potential for growth you could go with it and have something fantastic to show off to folks visiting.
I would love that.. Sadly, I don't think I have the room (although you may be able to design something to fit the odd space) and I''m not sure I have the fiscal resources at the minute... Sadly I've invested all my resources in an aquarium and glassware!!... That said I could always sell the aquarium I suppose.. Maybe it's something you could have a look at and give me a quote/spec for.

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Acromyrmexbob
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Re: Atta - Aquarium setup

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Wed Oct 19, 2016 12:02 am

Typical bloody accountant.
I would love to give you some ideas. I think the whole point of designing an enclosure is to cater for the space available. A picture from a distance might be useful. We could all design it together! A Leaf Cutting Ant forum design. Good exercise. And you might actually get inspired at the end to do something with your existing colony. Actually, personally, I think the main problem is that your setup is expanding organically and you are reacting to the expansion of the ants which means that you are always behind them and always having to fix problems that their increased numbers are causing. This is a recipe for disaster and is the main cause of people losing interest in them, both at the hobby level and in establishments where they are displayed. The key is to plan for the end game and allow your ants to populate a system that will cater for them at all stages of their colony life cycle. If it was me I would be tempted to say that Leaf Cutters are a good advert for your business, they indicate all of the qualities that we all want to advertise.... efficiency, teamwork, organisation, getting the job done, division of labour etc etc. So I would be inclined to used the area you currently have as a nest area with a proper escape proof tank, and run a clear acryllic pipe entirely round your room to a spot as far away from your ants as possible and have them foraging to a feeding table there. This would mean that your ants were able to grow and forage without outgrowing their enclosure and you would have a fabulous spectacle.

Richard: Darling, Andrew said we should make the Atta colony much bigger, he says it will be good for my business
Richards wife: Tell him he's an assh*%e!
Richard: Theres no need to be like that sweetheart, he's only trying to help. And you should see his new ant room, its really nice.
Richards wife: You don't have the fiscal resources for anything like that right now, I told you to tell him that.
Richard: I just dont want to say no to him, he might not like me any more.
Rustling and dragging sound.
Richard: Darling, what are you doing......
Richards wife: Heres your case, go and bloody live with him in his big bloody ant room.......

RichardP
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Re: Atta - Aquarium setup

Post by RichardP » Wed Oct 19, 2016 4:17 pm

Andrew, I agree that the organic growth of the setup is it's issue. I think with Atta, you really need to have it all squared away before you start.

I'll post a picture of the space.. see if we can come up with something.

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Re: Atta - Aquarium setup

Post by RichardP » Sat Nov 12, 2016 6:39 pm

Been meaning to update for a while.

A few weeks ago I had another pretty major escape. The green forest backing I used in the aquarium became dislodged and formed a bridge. I think it was like that all night. A lot of ants "in the wild". My wife was very good again.. no messing..

I've recently been worried about population control (the ants were swimming across the moat in numbers - see previous post) so I bought a "pooter" (bug catcher) and hooked it up to my hoover. I could suck up 60 or 70 ants at a time (pop them in the freezer). I did this a few times and the escaping stopped (whether the two were related I don't know).

So they all seem very happy.

If you remember I bought a "skimmer" to clean the surface water which is where most of the dumping happens (fungus waste floats). So, that was working well - until (about 5 months ago) the ants had a massive clear out of the fungus and they were dumping a phenomenal amount in the water each day. So, at that point, I was changing the surface skimmer filter 3 or 4 times a day and, where the residue was building up in the filter, the water being sucked through was being coloured yellow. After about 3 weeks they stopped dumping so heavily but it took ages to get the water clear again. (I was doing 25% water changes every three days as well).

Anyways, they've just started clearing out again - but this time I've stopped the surface filter and now I just get a long glass and skim the residue off the surface. This is much less hassle and the water remains untainted.

It is worth noting that dumped fungus residue doesn't materially affect the nitrates/nitrites etc of the aquarium water (reference one of the Antstore forum comments from recent post). In fact, I am convinced that the fish can use it as a food source.

Anyways, I am a bit worried about further growth and set up development but at the moment.. all seems great.

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Deansie26
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Re: Atta - Aquarium setup

Post by Deansie26 » Sun Nov 13, 2016 6:31 am

Nice update Richard, I wish my wife would be as understanding with major escapes, what's your main food of choice at the minute? Have you tried quinoa yet? Mine love and it's a main food source now along with privet. Andrew tried it and they rejected it, strange.

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RichardP
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Re: Atta - Aquarium setup

Post by RichardP » Sun Nov 13, 2016 10:02 am

Hi Jamie, I haven't tried quinoa yet.. they don't sell it at my local shop. I've just given some Bramble, some cherry laurel and some forsythia. But mostly I've been giving ash as there is an ash tree a couple of doors down that for some reason shows no signs of shedding it's leaves.

I've also been supplementing with porridge oats every day.

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Deansie26
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Re: Atta - Aquarium setup

Post by Deansie26 » Sun Nov 13, 2016 12:25 pm

Ill need to try cherry Laural again as it was taken by a previous colony,

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RichardP
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Re: Atta - Aquarium setup

Post by RichardP » Mon Dec 05, 2016 5:29 pm

Quick update.



The big escape was where the last bit of remaining decorative backing in the aquarium fell forward and formed a bridge. It must have been like that for nearly 24 hours - they were everywhere.

Anyways, no more decorative backing!!

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