The Stronghold

Description

Time to Complete

Product Summary

The Stronghold formicarium is a double-sized “Fortress style” habitat.  This formicarium features double foraging areas, a 4″ x 8″ nest area (100mm x 200mm), and removable glass faces.  The Nest block attaches/detaches via powerful magnets and short one inch tubing.

The Stronghold formicarium is more than twice the size of the Fortress.  In addition the dual foraging areas allow for a greater degree of control of feeding areas.  We have found this to be a benefit for keeping foraging areas cleaner and feeding maintenance times down to a minimum.

Stronghold Features:

• dual foraging areas
• 4″ x 8″ nest area (100mm x 200mm)
• magnetically removable glass
• dual water towers
• 2 nestmates
• Interior Sand Coated Chambers
• Optional Foraging Area Decor
• Option Museum Quality boxes
• Type III or Type I (Ytong Material)

Many of the Stronghold features are similar to the Fortress such as the vertical style nest (ants moving up and down in their habitat), nestmates being included as a standard feature, and a small bundle of accessories included with each order.

What comes with your formicarium?  Mini Liquid Feeder, 2 feeding dishes, 2 nestmates, stoppers for access ports, and a syringe and blunt tip adapter.

“Bottom-Up” design – Both the Fortess and the Stronghold formicaria were planned so as to have a different arrangement of their nest and foraging area.  The entry for the ants into the foraging area is on the bottom level of the habitat.  The other expansion chambers and tunnels are above this entrance and the water towers.  In order for ants to store trash in the upper areas of their nest they must struggle against gravity (an unnatural behavior for ants as they bury most food inside their nest in the wild or discard it).  Ants naturally move the trash away from the most humid areas of the nest which would be the foraging area (the goal of this arrangement). We have found this leads to a cleaner habitat overall and limits the amount of maintenance needed inside the nest due to trash that ants may leave inside their nest areas.

Watch the new Fortress Formicarium Video below

Options

Decor options – the 4″ height limits decor options only slightly.

• The Great Tree option is available for $10 in this formicarium but please keep in mind this takes up a lot of space in the foraging area.  We find it useful in creating additonal foraging surfaces.  Only one tree is included in one of the two foraging areas when this option is chosen.
• 50/50 Decor options – One foraging area is (for example) a desert mountain foraging area and the other is a desert foraging area.  For more detailed instructions for this setup please include these in the comments box when ordering.

Type I or Type III – This nest is for small-medium colonies and therefore we feel either Type I (Ytong carved) or Type III (our proprietary sand-coated castings) are both good options for any species.  Read further for additional info.

Type I vs Type III – Type I is a dryer nest (more suited for Camponotus, Lasius, Formica for example) than Type III all things being equal.  Both are easily modified with additional nestmates for increased humidity control using the options below. Type I (Ytong) is a stone carved surface dyed with natural dyes while Type III has sand coated chambers.  Both have naturalistic looks and the choice amongst ant keepers vary mainly on personal preference of a visual nature. Type III is significantly harder than Type I.  This hardness aids in the prevention of ant species from tunneling through their nest materials.  This destructive behavior is not a problem for the large majority of commonly kept species of ants.  For the following species we do recommend Type III, however:

• Pheidole megacephala
• Solenopsis invicta, Solenopsis germinata
• Tetramorium caespitum
• This list not meant to be all inclusive…

If you have questions about Type I versus Type III please contact us at tarheelants@gmail.com.

Museum Glass – For $30, this is something to consider!  You will notice the difference every time you visit with your ant colony. Museum glass looks invisible!  95% glare reduction.