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Post by Remson on Apr 15, 2012 16:08:08 GMT
Hi everyone
I recently decided to get myself an ant farm. The first thing I saw was the antworks gel farms which looked cool, simply because yo can see all the tunnels in 3d and its very easy to see the ants at work. After purchasing my gel farm on ebay I thought I'd do a little research into what extra things I would need and could to to make my ants more comfortable. Only to see that the gel isn't good for ants, even though its supposed to have everything they need.
Could someone please let me know why exactly the gel isn't good for them?
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Post by Wood~Ant on Apr 15, 2012 17:05:20 GMT
Hi Remson and welcome to Ant Hill World  Gel is not the natural thing for any ant species to make a nest in, and although you may be able to keep a few worker ants in it for a time, you simply cannot keep ant brood or a colony with a queen in this stuff. You could remove the gel and replace it with damp sand, which the ants will dig into and be happier than being kept in gel. This gel may have been fine for NASA to send ants into space in to test for how zero gravity affects them, but any ant keeper who wishes to keep ants for longer than just a month or two will tell you that you simply can't beat a proper set up with natural medium. Take my advice and either replace the gel, or get your ants something like an Ant World which is clear plastic and upright; and will let you observe the ants in a more natural setting. |
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Post by Jenny on Apr 15, 2012 17:44:34 GMT
Welcome Remson Here you will find an excellent thread of about 3 pages long about the "Don'ts" of Gel Farms  Gel Farm do not buy! |
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Post by batspiderfish on Apr 15, 2012 20:24:27 GMT
Seconded. Ant gel definitely does not have everything an ant needs.  |
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Post by Remson on Apr 15, 2012 21:34:09 GMT
ok thanks for the info guys I've just ordered my ants from the queen ant store  and I will be removing the gel from the case as a temporary housing till I get my fish tank back. cannot wait ;D |
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Post by Remson on Apr 16, 2012 11:45:29 GMT
hi guys, just wanted to let you know that I have just received my gel ant farm and without even putting any ants in it I can see that its a heap of rubbish  1. its fricken tiny 2. the gel inside it only covers 2/3 of the tank (from left to right) really can't see how ants could live in it. I truly understand your frustration even without having any ants die/live in the gel its a waste of money and something I shall be passing on. (the information not the gel ) |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Apr 16, 2012 13:49:18 GMT
If you don't want to spend a fortune buying a set up, then you can't go far wrong using one of these as a beginners formicarium, as I keep some of my own ant colonies in this set up and they do well.  Ant WorldYou can often buy this product cheap on Amazon or in places like Toys R Us. |
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Post by Remson on Apr 16, 2012 16:27:46 GMT
Ahh I cannot wait for my ants to arrive now I'm very excited ;D, I just hope my gf will feel the same once we get them
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Post by TenebrousNova on Apr 16, 2012 16:34:54 GMT
Hello Remson, and welcome. Like yourself, many people fall for the gel trap and realize how unsuitable they are.  You can keep them without a substrate if you want to be able to view the colony better, but remember that soil is always superior. |
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Post by Remson on Apr 16, 2012 16:39:06 GMT
hi, thats the idea at the moment just waiting on my sand + loam and my ants to arrive
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armyant
Callow Ant 
Posts: 56
Likes: 6
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Post by armyant on Apr 16, 2012 17:50:06 GMT
Ant World is really good for ants and you can watch them dig tunnels and stuff. ;D
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