I need feedback on my design and plans!

[sartwell90]

Could my queen be suicidal and killing her own offspring?

if she is killing them then tha't cuz she's low on protein try her on protein only foods for a bit see if that helps also just had a thought to day "red light bulb" you reckon that will reduce stress when having to interact with queens during the founding stages?

The red light bulb definitely wouldn't hurt. Not sure about the lack of protein, you'd think she be eating the insects I have her if she was low on them? Also they were still intact, the dead ants that is...

Getting caught up on your thread, it's hard to tell since queens seem to not all behave the same, but keeping my queen under red light for the first while allowed her to stay pretty calm while still being able to keep an eye on them.

Another thought, the peanut butter offering seems like a good idea, but I've found that not all foods that are okay for us to eat will be safe for insects. Trace amounts of pesticides that are fine for human consumption could pose a threat to a tiny animal.

After my first queen died I made sure to research my food options to lower the likely-hood of unknown contaminants. Soon I'll be starting a dubia roach colony to have even greater control over quality of food.

[Hawkeye]

Hi All!

Sadly both of my Carpenter Queens died this week. My best guess is they just suffered heatstroke and I put them down in the cellar too late, the heat had already gotten to them. I tried taking care of them as best as I could, and even though it is sad they died, it is a learning curve and this was a valuable experience.

So now I am left with all my (well researched) plans, two aquariums, a couple of water heaters, an external water filter, yet no ants...

As I would have to start up my aquarium part and have it run for a couple of weeks at least before I can put any creatures in there anyway, I wasn't going to get any fish until everything was up and running. Now I could just get another queen and try again right? Well, to be honest, I have decided to wait until after the hibernation period is over to purchase another. That way I will have plenty of time to get settled in my new job, my new home and at my new school. (I will be teaching, but getting my teachers degree at the same time) And I will have a fledgeling colony which has a good number of months to develop before going into hibernation again.

I will have to find a way to keep my ants from overheating again, but that also depends on the house I will move in. I will keep you guys posted.

[CANant]

So sad but glad you aren’t throwing in the towel! Definitely keep us posted and keep looking for supplies for your setup!
In the mean time, all the best with your schooling and teaching.

[hojoos]

He did actually sell some of the fish that I want to put in the water, like for instance the betta splendens male super delta. He explained that due to the size of my tank, I might be able to put in more than one male of the same species, but the chances of them running into each other and then proceeding to fight were high. With a couple of females, the chances of them trying to reproduce would be good, but he warned me that their eggs would probably be eaten by the other creatures. Apparently, they give off some scent which makes them easy to find. So if I did want to breed them, I would have to use a separate tank like my refugems!

[Hawkeye]

He did actually sell some of the fish that I want to put in the water, like for instance the betta splendens male super delta. He explained that due to the size of my tank, I might be able to put in more than one male of the same species, but the chances of them running into each other and then proceeding to fight were high. With a couple of females, the chances of them trying to reproduce would be good, but he warned me that their eggs would probably be eaten by the other creatures. Apparently, they give off some scent which makes them easy to find. So if I did want to breed them, I would have to use a separate tank like my refugems!

Why are you just quoting me? Lol

[LasiusSapien]

He did actually sell some of the fish that I want to put in the water, like for instance the betta splendens male super delta. He explained that due to the size of my tank, I might be able to put in more than one male of the same species, but the chances of them running into each other and then proceeding to fight were high. With a couple of females, the chances of them trying to reproduce would be good, but he warned me that their eggs would probably be eaten by the other creatures. Apparently, they give off some scent which makes them easy to find. So if I did want to breed them, I would have to use a separate tank like my refugems!

Why are you just quoting me? Lol

lol 2 of his 3 posts are just random quote's from the thread he's posting in