I've tried keeping Weaver ants, Oecophylla smaragdina 4 times and haven't had great success, the first colony
seemed to be doing well, then the queen started walking around
outside the nest and I found her dead
The second time I
bought a queen with eggs from a UK seller, this had been labeled as
queen with brood and after I'd paid they changed the wording to eggs.
I wouldn't have gone for this if I'd known before as even just brood
I knew would be difficult. She seemed fine and was tending the eggs
but then I found her dead.
Third colony was doing
well until I moved them (the whole set up as changing their tank),
soon after I noticed less activity then they died out (I know it
could be a coincidence on the move but...)
The colony I have now
I've had for a few months from Ants from Asia and appears to be thriving.
For housing I had been
using weeping figs (Ficus benjamina),
small plants that have done well but lose a lot of leaves which is
obviously not ideal when a nest is in the middle. I then added a
peace lily (Spathiphyllum)
that seemed to do well with a nest quickly made in a leaf I'd bent
over to stop it touching the side glass.
Recently I added a large dumb cane (Dieffenbachia) which
again they moved into a large leaf I'd bent over and since moving into
this they are hardly on the peace lily even though it touches the
dumb cane and they walk on the floor around its pot. Because of this
I have taken it out.
Enclosure
basics;
All
glass fish tank, 48 x 60 x 60cm, water level to the top and heated to
around 26oC (housing a Serrasalmus geryi since
you asked). In the middle of this there is a strut holding up a tray
that the plant sits on. Lighting is 2 x T5 tropical lamps on for
around 11 hours. I will probably add more lights and I'd like to try
adjustable ones so instead of moving the plant around I move them.
Over
the tank (sitting on the glass bracing) is a glass open fronted
“box”. 48 x 60 and 75 cm high. I would have gone higher but a
shelf above stopped that. The front has sliding panels, like a
vivarium.
As
the plant was quite leafy and would have easily touched the sides I
used a section of green gardeners netting to wind around it holding
the leaves in. I expect this is good for the ants as its easier to
join leaves but its unlikely to be nice for the plant as limits air
movement and light access.
Description
Dienffenbachia showing green mesh and first nest built in bent over leaf.
I try and keep the different plants only lightly touching if at all, I had found with the Ficus that they would make nests using leaves from separate plants, this makes it difficult to move the plant around if you wish to change lighting or remove a dying plant.
When
I get a new plant I place it in the sink and spray the leaves with a
hose to (hopefully) wash off any contaminants, I then soak the pot
very well for a few hours to (hopefully) release any chemicals it may
hold. I then don't use the plant for a few weeks just in case.
Temperature;
Day around 26oC
Night around 20 –
22oC
On the Ants from Asia website it mentions a winter drop to around 10 to 15 oC, this will be hard to do in my animal room (or as others call it my only room) as I keep the ambient temperature around 20oC.
I imagine the humidity
is high but there is no condensation on sides due to the ventilation.
I rarely mist the plant as I'm worried about water running into the
nest, if I do it's done lightly and early morning.
Feeding.
I
offer a tray with dissolved sugar in, (it tends to be a strong
solution so I don't have to do too often as I'm lazy) and either
pre-killed larger insects (crickets, mealworms, wax moth
caterpillars) or live fruit flies. I don't give larger live food as I
really don't like seeing things torn apart or killed slowly if I can
help it.
However
I really don't know how many I should be offering so just feed as I
feel each day. I also often put in old fruit flies tubs so they can
catch the last ones. They seem to become less interested in them
after a while, in soo much as they may not actively hunt them after a
few days but still eagerly take other prey. As I often put the new
food items near or on the nest this may be a defensive act that then
becomes food orientated?
I
have offered a few other items such as bits of fish, meat, peanut
butter and fruit but have seen no great interest.
Thoughts,
I
wont use Ficus any more as the small leaves and leaf drop means it
may be harder for them to control humidity and temperature within the
nest. One Dieffenbachia leaf
is large enough as a base, although for a small colony at least I
would bend the leaf over or push it against others.
I really wish I had enough space for the plants to not be confined by the mesh, even though I think it may help with nest building I doubt the plant will do well. I also wish I had space for another colony or two as back up as I'm sure I am one mistake away from losing them.
Buying
colonies.
I
wouldn't now buy a queen on her own or with only eggs/brood. Although
there are papers online about raising small colonies these are in the
country of origin, probably with a short travel time (unlike the days
in transit to the UK) and commercial farmers often supplement with
brood or young workers from other colonies and often raise a few
queens together.
You
may see sellers offer multiple queen colonies at a good price. Many
of these species don't have multiple queens in the wild when mature
but may when young (including Oecophylla),
as they grow the queens will either disperse or fight to the death. I
personally wouldn't buy like this unless very a very good price and I
intended to separate the queens and some workers soon after arrival.
I
would only buy this and most other difficult species as a settled
colony from someone I trust.
Here is an interesting paper on raising Oecophylla
Here is a YouTube video from Ants Canada on a weaver set up. Its a really good video, with an open top. They are kept inside by a vasoline layer, not something I'll be trying.
Compared
to other species;
Having
kept a few species of ants including big Atta cephalotes
colonies I would say Oecophylla
are up there with the best. They
are diurnal, which is great and aware of movement around them so
easier to get your friends impressed. Leaf ants are more amazing I
think (if you can see the nest in a glass case) but take up space
(same as weavers) but are also incredibly messy. The moat must be
cleaned out daily which on a big colony is a lot of work.
I've
worked with two of the bigger species Paraponera clavata
(VERY short term!)and Dinoponera
quadriceps, these are fantastic
to watch as they are soo big they seem like a toy walking around.
Again, these are not easy (all the ones I worked with died out in
time, not my fault I add) but I would definitely try them again.
Sellers;
The
colonies I have got that have done well have all been from Peter at
Ants from Asia, I have been buying from him for over 8 years and
totally trust him.
I
will use UK sellers to get other easier species and if possible I would like to know how long they have had them and if the colony had grown at all in that time. If not it may not be an issue, but I'd like to know. People also talk about checking for diseases and parasites,
to do this properly you would need total separation for each
colony/species for at least a month (quarantine originally meant 40
days). Plus the means to check for diseases, none of which we are
likely to be able to identify even if the ant is crawling around
dying. If the seller says they've had them a while and they are doing well it's good enough for me. Personally I would then try and keep them separate from any other terrestrial invert species I have and try to service their enclosure last or to make sure I wash my hands thoroughly before touching another tank.
I
got the aquarium custom built buy the Aquatic Design Centre in
London where I get all my custom tanks and viv's made.
