Help! an outbreak of mold?

[Gatekey56]

So i just looked in on my colony of Solenopsis invicta and i noticed some black discoloration of the glass and plastic around the area of the contact points of there nest, I have them in one of AntsCanada's Hybrid nests , so im a little worried for the welbeing of my ants. its my first colony and im not sure what to do .

[GeekyRaptor]

Look up springtails, they should solve your mold issues, you can buy cultures of springtails online. Also go easier on soil hydration, as that is usually how mold starts in formicariums or terrariums. I am by no means an expert but I did some research and thought my input would be helpful. Ventilation and slightly moist but not waterlogged soil is important.

[Gatekey56]

Look up springtails, they should solve your mold issues, you can buy cultures of springtails online. Also go easier on soil hydration, as that is usually how mold starts in formicariums or terrariums. I am by no means an expert but I did some research and thought my input would be helpful. Ventilation and slightly moist but not waterlogged soil is important.

there is no dirt in my setup, could i still have sprintails introduced to it?

[GeekyRaptor]

Is there any dirt in your out world? They need somewhere to hide from the ants while the feed on the mold I'm guessing, but I really don't know if the ants will eat them or not, nonetheless the springtails are super easy to raise for a continuing stock. They only need some burnt out charcoal and water and maybe a grain of rice, they reproduce super quick and they even eat mold. I will look up if your ants will eat them or not.
As for not having any dirt, I will look up if it is mold you have in your formicarium or something else.

[GeekyRaptor]

https://www.reddit.com/r/antkeeping/comments/8th6p9/do_ants_eat_springtails/
I suggest adding soil or some kind of substrate to your out world if you have one, just an inch deep or so, so they can hide somewhere and reproduce. I will look up if its black mold your formicarium is suffering from. Ants only need a little water, basically just moist, for humidity in a formicarium, in addition to a test tube water source. And yes your ants will eat them. Not too bright if you ask me.

[GeekyRaptor]

Yeah its mold. Find a way to air out your formicarium and since springtails aren't an option that will likely work, I would suggest adding a out world with a screen mesh top so the formicarium has adequate ventilation.

[Gatekey56]

Yeah its mold. Find a way to air out your formicarium and since springtails aren't an option that will likely work, I would suggest adding a out world with a screen mesh top so the formicarium has adequate ventilation.

Thank you so much for your help, i was saving a large aquarium for a different colony but it maybe time to get that underway or at the very least to go ahead and get the full outworld setup done and over with as im useing a testube portal right now as an outworld.

[GeekyRaptor]

Just remember to use a metal screen mesh if your ants have strong mandibles or if they are tiny use a smaller knit mesh, window screen mesh should work best for small ants, it all depends on your kind of ant and it's average size. Also the cool thing about a out world is it can be decorated with rocks and certain kinds of substrate as well as small plants. Just be sure to use small plants that won't outgrow the outworld, otherwise you may end up having to trim the plant occasionally. Also, you can secure your rocks with 100 percent silicone aquarium sealant. There is this great tutorial on YouTube on making fake rocks using carved foam and cement powder.

[GeekyRaptor]

Hey, if you see this, I needed to update my conclusions about ants and springtails, yes they eat them... But there was a video I saw were AntsCanada had some trap jaw ants, that even though they eat springtails they also were smart enough to farm them. Here is a link to the video:
https://youtu.be/lcw6_4p9uGw

So it may be possible to raise springtails with your ants.