# Check out my new ant farm... Yep I said ant farm (Pics)



## BigRed27 (Mar 11, 2004)

I got a new ant farm but it isnt a traditional ant farm. It has some gel in it and the ants actually get all their nutrients from the gel. This thing has like zero maintenance. All I have to do is open up the lid once a month for fresh air (not sure why it has 2 breathing holes).

It also has 4 leds that give it a neat glow at night. I put it on a timer and look at it when I want to, forget about it when I want to.

I just got the ants today and they started to dig away.

If there is an interest I can take daily pictures for people to see to make some sort of log. Let me know if you guys are curious about it

Front with no ants in it



Front with ants in it for about 5 hours



Back with ants in it for about 5 hours



Up close and personal 5 hours into it


These little buggers are fun to watch.

Here is a link I got off google about it if your interested. I didnt get mine there but it has all the general info about the setup
http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/ant-works/index.html#top


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## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

I am interested! This is very cool!


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

I find it fascinating. It's a great update of the traditional type of ant farm.


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

My youngest had an ant farm - all plastic boxes w/ tubes that went from box to box. When the ants arrived, one bit the snot out of me - webbing between fingers... 2 days later, they all vanished, never to be seen again.


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## BigRed27 (Mar 11, 2004)

Squawkbert said:


> My youngest had an ant farm - all plastic boxes w/ tubes that went from box to box. When the ants arrived, one bit the snot out of me - webbing between fingers... 2 days later, they all vanished, never to be seen again.


The must have went to the country where my dog Rex went. They told me that he could chase rabbits there all day long.


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## JG06 (Nov 5, 2006)

Cool! I am glad you're enjoying it. Ant farms are neat, when they work.

I myself have never had any luck with ant farms, but I guess I could just be snakebit too...


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## BigRed27 (Mar 11, 2004)

Ok here is a day 2 update. They are very interesting to watch, always busy always working.

Front



Back



CloseUp


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## teacherthomas (Jul 14, 2006)

what happens when all the gell is gone?


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## BigRed27 (Mar 11, 2004)

teacherthomas said:


> what happens when all the gell is gone?


Not sure I just got it.... Most of it they just move around but Im sure since it is their only source of food/water it must be slowly being removed.

Only time will tell


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

nice one! i love the lights. for the ants, it must be like living in a fancy pub. haha! i did an experiment long long time ago by trapping queen ant in a bottle and poking 2 tiny holes on the cap. too small for the queen ant to exit. i ended up having a small colony of 10 ants with the bottle as a nest.


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## frozenbarb (Feb 8, 2007)

you let them free atfer the gel is gone i guess


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

I had ant farms when I was a kid, the traditional ones with sand. I remember I kept it at the head of my bed... until it fell over and broke on the bed! They mail you the ants, and if you mix more than one shipment of ants in the same "farm" they will fight each other to the death. They defend their colony and territory.

It might be that what they eat, they put back eventually, if you know what I mean.


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## BigRed27 (Mar 11, 2004)

Update....

Day 3

Front



Back


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## Zabu (May 29, 2007)

I bought the same thing a few years back. It's amazing watching how well ants work together.


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

Pretty sweet progress! I like how it looks. Keep up with the updates i enjoyed them.


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## rohape (Feb 7, 2005)

That has got to be THE coolest thing I have ever seen! (ok, maybe not THE coolest, but still really freakin cool!!)


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## 247Plants (Mar 23, 2006)

Those are some HUGE ants.

Awesome but it seems the tunnels are huge and it wouldnt take very many and its all over.

I wonder if you could get smaller ants and if they would make smaller tunnels.....


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## BigRed27 (Mar 11, 2004)

Sorry for my lack of updates... Here is 3 days in one post. As you can see the ants have still been hard at work. Its amazing to see the odd loops that they have constructed. Im wondering what they will do with all their time when the cant dig anymore.

Day 4



Day 5



Day 6


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

They have certainly been busy. Interesting loops and curliques going there.


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

Wow, I kinda wish it was bigger! The gel seemed kinda lame, but those lights it's really 3D! Very neat.


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

Very neat! Is there a queen that comes with it? I assume so, otherwise, they would all die. Is it completely sealed, or can you open it and "fidget" with it?


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## BigRed27 (Mar 11, 2004)

DonaldmBoyer said:


> Very neat! Is there a queen that comes with it? I assume so, otherwise, they would all die. Is it completely sealed, or can you open it and "fidget" with it?


Nope no queen. The queen is only needed for breeding, these guys will eventually die. Yes you can open it, it is suggested to open the lid once a month to allow fresh air in. There are two small holes drilled in the top for fresh air. Opening it is completely optional and it is the only maintenance needed. LOL optional too. If I wanted to I could open it up and fidget with whatever I wanted.

Im gonna wait and watch what they do for a while. When I get bored I might go kick the sand castle over just to watch them rebuild. Not really sure if I can since its this odd gel (kinda like Jello consistency)


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