3 replies to this topic

[Tmhernandez77]

So I have a large colony of Solenopsis xyloni, and I'm moving them into a very large glass aquarium with a naturalistic setup.  I am wondering what species I can add that the ants won't wipeout, things like springtails, isopods, millipedes, etc.  I would like to make sure I have some sort of cycle that is constantly reducing waste, eating mold and fungus, etc.  

 

Are there other species that I can add?  Will my ants kill my dwarf white isopods?  Any info would be much appreciated.  This terrarium will be in the back of my classroom, the kids love it, and I would like to include as much diversity of life as possible.

 

Thanks!

[Derpy]

I would suggest adding isopod and springtails some time before adding your ants as it gives them a chance to reproduce in the terrarium. Because of how aggressive and how explosive solenopsis are I wouldn’t recommend adding anything else unless nessecary.

Edited by Derpy, January 29 2018 - 6:02 PM.

[BMM]

I had an isopod colony last year and tried using them as a protein source for my ants. None of the species I tried it with showed the least bit of interest in them, so I expect they'd coexist just fine in a terrarium.

[Derpy]

Yeah many insects choose to leave isopods alone unless they are starving.