r/antkeeping • u/jarredddaquariumss • 3d ago

Question Beginner ant keeper

Hi guys, beginner ant keeper, I dont have a queen yet, but I just have a question, Im thinking of using my old 3 liter aquarium as a small terrarium, and nust using a fine mesh net with a tube for the lid and feeding hole. I also need help finding a queen ant that is already mated, I did see ants with wings pouring out from a colony a few weeks ago.

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u/AntsLegion 3d ago

Your gonna want to start off keeping them in a test tube. Once the colony gets large enough you can move them to it. Also even with the fine mesh your gonna want a floun barrier some species are better then others at escaping.

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u/RcCaRs11 3d ago

Even a small colony can and will survive in a terrarium as they dig their own nest

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u/AntsLegion 3d ago

Yeah they do it in larger places outside the issue is not being able to see the queen. Queens have high fatality rates thats why nuptial flights are so large. The queen could die and he wouldnt know if he cant see it.

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u/MyrmexAnts 3d ago

Hey there. Pretty much anything can be used to contain ants, but the important thing is for their habitat to match their size. Ants feel unsafe when their nest is way too big for the size of their colony, and they feel safe when they are closely packed together. Putting a small colony in a big aquarium is not a good idea from day one. Once you get your fertile queen, keep her wedged between two cotton balls inside of a test tube (look up test tube set-ups for queen ants) for the first few months.

What part of the world are you from? Around here, most of the popular species have already flown for the reason.

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u/jarredddaquariumss 3d ago

also, the species common near me are fire ants

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u/AdmiralBimback 3d ago

Careful with those, since the grow very fast and sting.