Ant Keeping Guide
Tub and Tube Setups
Learn how to setup a Tub and Tube setup.
Tub and tube setups are a simple and effective way to house ant colonies, especially for beginners. In this guide, you'll learn how to set up, maintain, and optimize this setup to ensure your ants thrive in a clean, secure, and functional environment.
Information
Why Tub and Tube Setups?
A tub and tube setup is important for ant colonies because it provides a versatile and practical environment tailored to their needs as a young colony. Here's why it's a great choice:
-
Mimics Natural Nesting Conditions: The test tube simulates a natural chamber where ants can comfortably establish their colony. It provides a dark, humid environment that is essential for brood development and overall colony health.
-
Reduces Stress: By isolating the colony in a secure tube within the tub, ants are less likely to experience stress from outside disturbances when you're feeding them and performing maintenance, helping them acclimate and thrive.
-
Makes Small Colonies Entertaining: The tub provides space for foraging and exploration, allowing you to observe these natural behaviors early in the colony's life—behaviors that would typically remain hidden if the ants were confined solely to a test tube.
-
Less Risk: The setup minimizes the risk of escapes, prevents drowning during feeding—an issue common with test tube-only setups—and makes it easy to clean up waste without disturbing the test tube nest.
-
Scalable For Growth: As the colony grows, the setup can be easily adapted by adding extra tubes, larger liquid feeders, and preparing the ants for a smooth transition into a more traditional nest.
-
Affordability: In my experience, some retailers rush to sell large, expensive setups to beginners, which are often unnecessary and can harm the colony in the long run. A tub and tube setup is an ideal solution for the stage when a colony is too large to manage feeding in a test tube but still too small to transition into a full nest.
-
Test Tube Changes: Tub and Tube setups also make test tube changes easier for small colonies. Just simply expose the old tube to light and put a dark sleeve over the new tube. The ants will move on their own.
A tub and tube setup is an efficient and beginner-friendly way to house your ants, offering them the right balance of comfort and practicality to thrive.
Semi-Claustral Queens.
Tub and tube setups are perfect for semi-claustral queens, as they address their unique needs during the critical early stages of colony development. Unlike fully claustral queens, semi-claustral queens must forage for food to feed their larvae, a behavior the tub replicates by providing a safe and controlled space for exploration. At the same time, the test tube serves as a secure, dark, and humid nesting area for egg-laying and brood care, closely mimicking natural conditions. This combination reduces stress on the queen and ensures her comfort while supporting her colony’s growth.
How to set up a Tub and Tube Setup?
To set up a Tube and Tube Setup you will need the following:
-
A cheap food takeaway type container/ salad container.
-
A small amount of sandy substrate/ or a dot of blue tack.
-
An Ant Barrier, like the one we sell to stop escapees.
Optional:
-
2x Byformica Liquid Feeders, one for water and one for a sugar source
-
2-Way Feeder Dish, to place their food on without making a mess
Instructions:
-
First, pierce some air holes inside your container. This can be done with a pin or you cat heat up the end of a paper clip and create lots of little air holes on the lid.
-
Apply the ant barrier to the top rim of the walls of the container. This stops ant climbing out when you have the lid oen.
-
Pour in a couple of cm of sandy substrate or attach your blue tack to the bottom of the container. |The substrate is there to stop the test tube from rolling around. Blue tack works too but the benefit of sand is that it gives the ants something to block the end of their test tube up if they want to.
-
Place in your colony with a tinfoil sleeve over the tube to keep it dark for them.
-
Remove the cotton stopper in your test tube so your ants can access the foraging area and feed them there.
-
(Optional) Fill up 2.5ml or 5ml Byformica Liquid feeder with water and a 1ml or 2.5ml with our byFormica Sunbust Ant Nectar or another sugar source. Place protein on 2-way dish.
AntsDavey Approves
At Antsdavey, we raise all our large colonies in tub and tube setups because we believe in their effectiveness. This setup allows you to observe your colony foraging while still providing the security of a test tube nest. One of the most common mistakes beginners make is prematurely moving a young colony into a large nest, which can lead to a range of issues. The tub and tube setup offers the perfect balance, supporting the colony’s growth while minimizing potential problems.
Ant Keeping Guides
For more Ant Keeping Guides, including detailed instructions on setting up test tubes, safely transitioning ants between test tubes, creating tub-and-tube setups, feeding your colony the right balance of protein and carbohydrates, and understanding proper heating techniques, click the button below. These guides are designed to help ant keepers of all experience levels provide the best care for their colonies while making the process as simple and stress-free as possible. Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your skills, our resources have everything you need to ensure your ants thrive.
Personal Use Policy
AntsDavey kindly requests that this care guide be used solely for personal purposes and not for any commercial use. Thank you for respecting this request and supporting our work in providing quality resources for the ant-keeping community.
