Nguyen Duy Hung (born in 2022), a fourth-year student at University of Technology, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, shared that he started raising ants more than a year ago as a way to relax his mind.
Duy Hung shared: "At that time, I was living in a dormitory, so I had to consider carefully when choosing pets. After researching, I found that raising ants was very suitable because they take up little space, have high social behavior, and importantly, help me relieve stress after stressful study days."
According to Duy Hung, the biggest difficulty he faced when starting was designing and producing ant tanks (ant nests). The male student spent quite a lot of time creating the first ant tanks using 3D printing technology in the school's lab.
An ant tank has two main parts, the artificial nest below and the upper part simulating the ants' hunting space.
"After completing the first products, many people knew about them and asked to buy them. I realized this was a potential business. Currently, my monthly income is enough to cover my living expenses and support my family," Duy Hung revealed.
Additionally, according to Duy Hung, another difficulty he faced was the concern from family members, as they expected him to focus on studying and find a more stable job after graduation, not raising ants as he is now.
Duy Hung is currently raising more than 100 different ant species. Hung particularly loves the fire ant (Solenopsis) species of Vietnam because of their strong vitality, good adaptability, and fast reproduction rate.
Sharing about his future plans, Hung said: "I want to build ant tank models that are more accessible to students so that everyone can experience and learn more about ants."
