Deansie's Atta cephalotes,

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Acromyrmexbob
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Re: Deansie's Atta cephalotes,

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Sun Apr 24, 2016 4:58 pm

What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :shock: :o :? :(
Not likely. We'll just be getting into a good ant session and, boof!, some place catches fire and you're gone!! So unreliable!

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Deansie26
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Re: Deansie's Atta cephalotes,

Post by Deansie26 » Tue Apr 26, 2016 3:41 pm

Well I've been having problems trying to get the ants to dump where I want. No matter what I've tried the moat wins every time and as a result needs cleaned alot.
So I decided to try and incorporate the moat.
Simple glass in the moat heavy enough to stay down and a simple twig leading from the table into the glass.
Only done it last night and there already using it.
I'll be changing the position to the front of the tank but looks like I've cracked it. Anyone with a moat could do this for a dump.


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RichardP
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Re: Deansie's Atta cephalotes,

Post by RichardP » Tue Apr 26, 2016 4:44 pm

Nice one... necessity is the mother of invention :)

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Acromyrmexbob
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Re: Deansie's Atta cephalotes,

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Tue Apr 26, 2016 7:22 pm

Good innovation. Nice idea. Always best to design around the ants observed behaviour and use their own set of rules to create an environment which clearly suits them.

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Deansie26
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Re: Deansie's Atta cephalotes,

Post by Deansie26 » Tue May 10, 2016 10:21 pm

One month growth between the pictures, nothing else to say :)

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Acromyrmexbob
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Re: Deansie's Atta cephalotes,

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Tue May 10, 2016 10:43 pm

Be soon starting new 'pod'. Its amazing how the colonies which were all started at around the same time have all grown well. Yours must be close to Rics in overall size now.

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Re: Deansie's Atta cephalotes,

Post by RichardP » Tue May 10, 2016 11:13 pm

That is a lot of growth sir!!

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Deansie26
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Re: Deansie's Atta cephalotes,

Post by Deansie26 » Wed May 11, 2016 6:58 am

Probably but my last ones seemed to fill the box then stay there for a while before starting a new one,maybe building ants numbers? Especially the second one, hopefully they don't wait long! Want to extend the walk way but there isn't enough ants yet. Am happy with growth though, I've ordered a cheap hydrometer to see what the adjacent pod is. It should be ok as it won't be near 100% I don't imagine. Even if it'works for a bit it's fine, gives me a rough idea.

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Deansie26
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Re: Deansie's Atta cephalotes,

Post by Deansie26 » Thu May 19, 2016 7:25 am

On the topic of humidity and visible moisture I thought this was a good example. I bought a humidity meter (all be it a cheapo of eBay) and put in in the adjacent unit to get a rough idea of humidity. I added a few millimetres of water to the plaster at the same time. A slight mist can now be seen in the roof but the humidity is sitting at 99%,
It was 50% or there abouts before putting it in.
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Acromyrmexbob
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Re: Deansie's Atta cephalotes,

Post by Acromyrmexbob » Thu May 19, 2016 9:24 am

That is just about the most perfect reading and lack of condensation I have ever seen!! Its because the external area will be very slightly warmer than the interior of the pods so that means all of the humidity in the air will not condense onto the interior of the containers. Do you not get problems with humidity on the inside of the larger unit, ie on the front glass when it is shut?

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