Hi From Gloucestershire - Atta Colony

[RichardP]

Hi All,

I setup an Atta colony in august this year. Ants supplied by Andrew who was extremely helpful and supportive.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q8iyts7ek8vfj ... 8.mp4?dl=0

(edit) - Sorry forgot to give scale - the aquarium is 80cm long by 40cm wide and the fungus chamber is 20x10x10cm so the actual fungus is currently a cylinder of about 10cm diameter and 10cm tall.

A picture paints a thousand words so I attach a link to a video of my setup which was a bastardisation of ideas I'd seen. Professor Adam Hart of Gloucestershire University was very kind in letting me visit the university where they have a number of sizeable atta colonies kept in fish tanks and this formed the basis of my setup. Albeit I added fish, creating a dual biotope.

I'll be quite honest I was advised against adding fish as I was told that water borne ants can kill the fish if eaten but in six months I have had no problems and I have worked hard on the setup to try and minimise the amount of ants finding their way into the water. I have also created an "ant return system" using artificial plants, floating plants, and a strong surface water flow to ensure that any swimmers are quickly in a position to rejoin the upper level.

Anyways, I'm glad to have found such a resource and look forward to sifting through the large amount of posts on the forum.

[Deansie26]

Hey Richard, its nice to meet you and glad you have joined. Let me be the first to say I think your set-up looks fantastic! I imagine its a real talking point if its in your sitting room, I can tell you have took a lot if time to make it and it shows.
My only concern is it's expanding it, apart from an additional fungus box at the side of the one you have do you have any ideas on what you will do?
Jamie

[RichardP]

Jamie, you have exactly hit the nail on the head. Throughout the process of putting this habitat/display together it has been a case of solving lots of little problems as I go along. The one issue I have yet to resolve is how to expand it.

As you mention I already have another glass chamber ready to add alongside the first. In theory I have room enough for another one as well. I estimate this will last me another year, maybe a year and a half (If I start to regulate the amount of leaves I give them). But what then?

My ideal solution, which I am mentally working on at the moment is to try and work out a way of having the foraging outside the tank by making a tubular exit from the tank into an enclosure sitting alongside. I could then use all of the area in the tank for housing.

I would be very interested in people's thoughts though as to a possible solution. (Which to be honest was why I was so pleased to be pointed towards this forum).

[Britishants.com]

Very nice indeed, every dual set up
I've seen looks horrendous, swampy, damp and dank! Your set up looks completely opposite to that, bright, fresh, healthy and interesting. Look forward to your updates.

[Deansie26]

Jamie, you have exactly hit the nail on the head. Throughout the process of putting this habitat/display together it has been a case of solving lots of little problems as I go along. The one issue I have yet to resolve is how to expand it.

As you mention I already have another glass chamber ready to add alongside the first. In theory I have room enough for another one as well. I estimate this will last me another year, maybe a year and a half (If I start to regulate the amount of leaves I give them). But what then?

My ideal solution, which I am mentally working on at the moment is to try and work out a way of having the foraging outside the tank by making a tubular exit from the tank into an enclosure sitting alongside. I could then use all of the area in the tank for housing.

I would be very interested in people's thoughts though as to a possible solution. (Which to be honest was why I was so pleased to be pointed towards this forum).

There are many examples of pipe work linking nests to foraging tables on here Richard, have a look at the ants in captivity section, you may be thinking though how do I connect it to the tank without ants climbing up the pipe work and also if this is in your living room how can I make it look good. I don't know if you have heard of fluon (brand name) but its a powdered plastic paint that the ants cant climb. You could use this but its not a nice look in my opinion and need reapplying. Have a look at Andrews Blair Drummond safari park build in the elephant enclosure, you will find a device that he attaches to the vertical pipe which in turn attaches a little moat-its a nifty thing, he may make them himself. Also making the ants walk further for there leaves will help, something like a cork screw of pipe coming out of the tank would be interesting and provide more distance without taking up space.
Do you normally have a lid of the aquarium?

Jamie

[RichardP]

Have a look at Andrews Blair Drummond safari park build in the elephant enclosure, you will find a device that he attaches to the vertical pipe which in turn attaches a little moat-its a nifty thing, he may make them himself. Also making the ants walk further for there leaves will help, something like a cork screw of pipe coming out of the tank would be interesting and provide more distance without taking up space.
Do you normally have a lid of the aquarium?

Wow, yeah I just had a look. That could be something that works for me. I do have some other ant colonies (Lasius and camponotus) so I was familiar with fluon. I didn't feel it was going to offer the solution for this set up though because yes it looks ugly but also I felt that in a very humid atmosphere it would need a lot of reapplying/managing.

But I can see that the Pipe/Rope Moat could work. It would still need a lot of thinking about. Fortunately I have a few months to figure it out. Might be even quicker than that if I keep getting this quality of assistance.

I do have a lid for the aquarium that I push back a bit so that I leave a 2 cm gap at the top/front. This means that the front of the tank doesn't mist up but still keeps the internal humidity high.

[RichardP]

I have just had a lightbulb moment thinking about the Rope Moat concept.

The rope moat would actually be very difficult in my setup for one reason or another. Mostly because the moat itself is quite a large structure and you cant' attach it to the inside of the aquarium.

But, I was thinking about that and I realised I have a very large "moat" already - the water. So what if I had some weighted tubing that surfaced by the ants then went under water in a fixed u shape and emerged up the inside of the tank eventually emerging out of the top of the tank ready to be channeled into a feeding station.

Am I missing something or would that actually work? Keeping the very buoyant tube in position would be the challenge. Also the ants might not be able to traverse horizontal tubing?

Anyways, thanks for inspiring my thought process.

[Deansie26]

I do have a lid for the aquarium that I push back a bit so that I leave a 2 cm gap at the top/front. This means that the front of the tank doesn't mist up but still keeps the internal humidity high.

The reason I asked is if that was open top your walls would soon have mould on them, talking from experiencing this

[RichardP]

I do have a lid for the aquarium that I push back a bit so that I leave a 2 cm gap at the top/front. This means that the front of the tank doesn't mist up but still keeps the internal humidity high.

The reason I asked is if that was open top your walls would soon have mould on them, talking from experiencing this

Aaah thanks, well so far so good. As I say I have a small gap at the front.

[Deansie26]

I have just had a lightbulb moment thinking about the Rope Moat concept.

The rope moat would actually be very difficult in my setup for one reason or another. Mostly because the moat itself is quite a large structure and you cant' attach it to the inside of the aquarium..

But, I was thinking about that and I realised I have a very large "moat" already - the water. So what if I had some weighted tubing that surfaced by the ants then went under water in a fixed u shape and emerged up the inside of the tank eventually emerging out of the top of the tank ready to be channeled into a feeding station.

Am I missing something or would that actually work? Keeping the very buoyant tube in position would be the challenge. Also the ants might not be able to traverse horizontal tubing?

Anyways, thanks for inspiring my thought process.[/quote]

If you really wanted a rope walkway you could have something like this attached to your foraging tank and have the rope suspended from it using heavy fishing line but if I was you I wouldn't use rope as although it looks nice you will without a doubt get falling ants and this become a hassle quickly, especially if your married

The underwater pipe would work without a doubt and you could have it coming up through the feeding table if you wanted. That's what I done with the Atta colony I had, the pipe buoyancy wouldn't be a problem as the water doesn't need to be deep but if you wanted a biotope again and have it deeper-the pipe wouldn't need to go deep under the water.