Feeding first nanitics?

Posts and questions relating to ant diet & nutrition. Let us know what you’re feeding your ants.

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Gazman73
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:18 pm
Location: Essex

Feeding first nanitics?

Post: # 29768Post Gazman73
Mon Aug 21, 2017 9:15 am

Hi
A new ant keeper question and a greatly appreciate any advice

My first Lasius Niger queen who I have had in a test tube set up for approximately one month has lots of eggs at different stages
I have noticed today that there are 2 grey nanitics ( I hope I'm right in my spelling ) that are alive and moving around a lot, I put a small drop of slightly watered down natural honey in there but they nor the queen have been near it
Should I leave them alone or should I try some protein jelly instead of honey

Thanks Gaz.

Nj6000

Re: Feeding first nanitics?

Post: # 29775Post Nj6000
Mon Aug 21, 2017 10:07 am

You could give them an outworld and put the test tube in the outworld . Put some honey in the outworld on some tinfoil or something and maybe give them a cricket leg . When they're hungry they will eat . Just don't let the food get moldy ! Also the best way to let the ants inter and exit the test tube is to not pull the cotton out of the test tube but put a straw ( that the ants can crawl through ) through the cotton and make sure the test tube is covered up that way the ants can have some privacy .

Gazman73
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:18 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Feeding first nanitics?

Post: # 29866Post Gazman73
Tue Aug 22, 2017 11:37 am

Thanks for your help and advice and I have an out world set up and will see if they move soon.

Gazman73
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:18 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Feeding first nanitics?

Post: # 30199Post Gazman73
Sat Aug 26, 2017 2:03 am

Success on the move from test tube to Formicarium. The queen now has 9 Nanitics and lots of eggs that I can watch constantly due to red acetate covering the nest. I have a tube running from the nest to the out world and in the out world I have a water/cotton wool test tube for their water and a plastic tray with honey, protein jelly and a piece of fruit on but they haven't moved from the nest to the out world for food or water and it's been about 4 days now, should I be worried?

StopSpazzing

Re: Feeding first nanitics?

Post: # 30391Post StopSpazzing
Mon Aug 28, 2017 2:43 pm

Gazman73 wrote:
Sat Aug 26, 2017 2:03 am
Success on the move from test tube to Formicarium. The queen now has 9 Nanitics and lots of eggs that I can watch constantly due to red acetate covering the nest. I have a tube running from the nest to the out world and in the out world I have a water/cotton wool test tube for their water and a plastic tray with honey, protein jelly and a piece of fruit on but they haven't moved from the nest to the out world for food or water and it's been about 4 days now, should I be worried?
You are jumping way ahead, and no one said move them to formicarium.
You could give them an outworld and put the test tube in the outworld
You jumped from step 1 and went to 3. Normally, test tube setups are perfect until there are (depending on species) ~10-20 workers, not nanitics. Giving them too much room too fast may and can cause issues. This is all from the information I have collected from other posts, and may not be 100% accurate.

Gazman73
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:18 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Feeding first nanitics?

Post: # 30448Post Gazman73
Tue Aug 29, 2017 4:38 am

And no one said don't move them to a Formicarium!
I did what I thought best and for your information they are doing splendidly.

af4545
Posts: 39
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2017 1:41 pm
Location: Dublin

Re: Feeding first nanitics?

Post: # 30452Post af4545
Tue Aug 29, 2017 8:03 am

Gazman73 wrote:
Tue Aug 29, 2017 4:38 am
And no one said don't move them to a Formicarium!
I did what I thought best and for your information they are doing splendidly.
The issue is that when a formicarium is too large for a colony, they use the extra unused space to store their rubbish. This can lead to outbreaks of mould and harmful bacteria which is potentially lethal to your ants.
Keeper of: Lasius Niger
Lasius Flavus
Myrmica Rubra

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