Ants in my Tank!!

A forum for discussing everything about the Supershrimp (Halocaridina rubra, Opae ula).

Moderator: Mustafa

Post Reply
ms_american_pie
Egg
Egg
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Nov 07, 2017 12:36 am

Ants in my Tank!!

Post by ms_american_pie »

I have been battling a sugar ant infestation this spring!! They're everywhere!! I'm at my wits end! Apparently they love standing water too. My shrimp tank is on my kitchen counter and they have been healthy little shrimp, I even have 2 berried shrimp in there. I'm not sure what to do at this point. I found a dead ant floating in the tank so I tried covering my tank with Saran Wrap to keep them out. I would pull back the Saran wrap for a few hours a day and everything seemed fine. However, I just found a dead snail at the bottom of the tank yesterday. The shrimp seem fine. So I left the top open last night after I found the dead snail. Well this afternoon I'm looking in there and I see 4 dead ants at the bottom. :smt009 I was able to pull the dead ants out with tweezers, except for one that broke apart. I'm just wondering how much this will affect the little guys? Is the dead snail an ominous sign that the ecosystem is about to collapse? Is it bad to keep the tank covered most of the time? I think at the very least I have to move them to the bedroom.
User avatar
SuperProofer
Shrimpoholic
Shrimpoholic
Posts: 325
Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2017 2:44 pm

Re: Ants in my Tank!!

Post by SuperProofer »

Yup, when the weather heats up, ants will go after whatever water they can find. I haven't tried this myself, but I read that if you sprinkle crushed up chalk or baby powder around the perimeter (in this case, maybe around your tank) they won't want to cross the line. You could also Google effective ways to deter ants and see if any of those solutions work better for you (just be careful with some of the recommendations if you have other pets in the house. Some might be toxic to them).
MrsT
Shrimp
Shrimp
Posts: 157
Joined: Thu Oct 12, 2017 9:25 pm

Re: Ants in my Tank!!

Post by MrsT »

They would feast on ants, mine do that sometimes. So far no harm done. If you want to cover the tank you can use those soft see through fabric such as tulle or any unwanted see through curtain fabric. It works wonder only downside is i can't seemed to cover my big tank, it would sunk downwards in the middle. Anything smaller like 3 gals works perfectly fine.
crittersni
Tiny Shrimp
Tiny Shrimp
Posts: 83
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2018 7:49 pm

Re: Ants in my Tank!!

Post by crittersni »

I had ants in my house once and freaked. A friend told me to use TERRO Liquid Ant baits.

I have dogs. They are pet safe. I bought them at Walmart. Ants were gone 3-4 days later. They have an outdoor product, too. That I never needed to try. I do have outside pest control services in southern Nevada.
User avatar
Flippers
Shrimp
Shrimp
Posts: 136
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 7:50 pm
Contact:

Re: Ants in my Tank!!

Post by Flippers »

My shrimp are arriving this week, but I've noticed carpenter ants in my house!! They are quite larger than sugar ants, should I be worried about my shrimp? They aren't bothering any of my fish...
Post Reply