The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

Hey, everyone!

Last time I posted, I had just caught my queens in September. 4 of them have produced nanitics, and I have 3 of them with about 20 in test tubes. I figured it was time to set up an outworld because they'll surely be getting to that point in the next few weeks. I have a vertical Omni Nest. I followed some things I read and watched on YouTube about setting up a "natural" looking outworld using grout, small rocks, and sand. I let it dry for about 10 days, then I introduced a test tube to it just to see what happened.

Within a couple of hours, all of the ants had moved as far back inside the test tube as they could, clinging to the cotton ball. A couple of ants eventually ventured out into the outworld. I only know that because I found them dead in the outworld the next day. I did some Google work and found that grout can release hydroxide fumes while curing that will kill ants. I took the test tube out and noticed there was indeed a faint odor in the outworld, so I bought some aquarium dechlorinator and soaked the outworld in water/dechlorinator for a while, then did it again and let it dry. Just to test it out, I added a couple of ants to it to see what would happen and they both died within a few hours.

Any ideas here? Did I ruin my outworld, or is there something someone can suggest to fix my issue? My only thoughts at this point are maybe to just let the outworld soak in dechlorinator for a day and/or let it cure for a couple of weeks just in case it isn't fully cured. (it's been about 3 weeks at this point).

It's possible some of the materials used were toxic.

Martialis wrote: ↑

Sun May 21, 2017 7:09 pm

It's possible some of the materials used were toxic.

Hm. I used aquarium sand and rocks, so I don't think it'd be them. The only thing that I would think could be the issue is the grout, but it's the same grout I've seen in tutorials. Frustrating! I think I'll try soaking the whole thing for a day or two and letting it dry again to see what happens.

I have used grout to make multiple nests and multiple out worlds and have never had this problem. I honestly don't know what the problem is. I have a colony of Tapinoma sessile living in a grout nest as we speak, approx 100 workers, queen and lots of brood.

xTNxANTMANx wrote: ↑

Tue May 23, 2017 5:40 pm

I have used grout to make multiple nests and multiple out worlds and have never had this problem. I honestly don't know what the problem is. I have a colony of Tapinoma sessile living in a grout nest as we speak, approx 100 workers, queen and lots of brood.

So I soaked it for a day in water and dechlorinator just to make sure I didn't have any bad chemicals in it. I bought some flightless fruit flies as well to run a test.

Before I washed, the fruit flies also died soon, but they could have been near their life expectancy. After I washed, they've now been alive in the out world for almost 72 hours no deaths. I added a test tube of ants, and 5 workers made their way outside. Of those, 1 found the water tube, 1 found a rock and just sat on it, and 3 climbed the walls and sat still or only moved a bit for a few hours.

The ant that was on the rock is dead now. They seem to avoid the sand, but I'm unsure. Maybe the colony is too small for an out world and they're getting lost? I just don't want to kill off all my workers, you know?

Wow this seems super strange at this point.
I've been following the thread for a day or two now, thinking everything would be solved, but now it just seems weird.
100% do not risk your queen/workers in there until you know it is safe.
I would just wait a few days and dont do anything to it.
Then test it with some wild workers.
If that doesn't work then idk what to tell you, you might need to make a new nest.

I'm not sure exactly what all you have used or what type of grout you have used but I have nests and our worlds made out of grout and like I said previously it does not harm my ant's at all. It's making me very curious as to what is causing this. If it's a big out world and you have a small colony..... I don't know what I was going to say to be honest. I mean, in the wild, they pretty much have the biggest out world you could think of lol. I hope you get everything resolved but yeah I would not risk any more of your workers. I would capture some wild ones if you plan to test it anymore.

The out world is just the one that comes with the small Vertical Omni Nest. 9"x4.5"maybe? It's peculiar now because after another day, the ants don't seem to be dying from exposure that I can tell. The fruit flies that are in there are still alive as well.The workers seem to do everything they can to avoid the sand, which seems really odd to me. It's just normal play sand, washed multiple times. I initially thought maybe there was some particulate matter on the sand grains that made it difficult for them to walk on, like baby powder does, but there is no way after being washed so many times. Also, the fruit flies walk on it just fine and are the same size (roughly).

So right right now I have a couple ants that are out on rocks and another couple that are on the wall. They seem to be acting totally normal other than playing "the floor is lava" with the sand. Wish I could get them to fill out some comment cards and find out what in the world their issue is :p

Maybe The Substrate Isn't Suitable For Them Then, Based On What You've Stated.
Also, It Wouldn't Ideal To Feed Ants With Live Prey.

Phoenix wrote: ↑

Sat May 27, 2017 5:11 pm

Maybe The Substrate Isn't Suitable For Them Then, Based On What You've Stated.
Also, It Wouldn't Ideal To Feed Ants With Live Prey.

Yes, that's what I'm starting to think, I just don't know why it isn't.

I only added the fruit flies as a test to see if they'd die though. I crush them with tweezers before using them as feed.