L. niger- what type of ground should I use

[keroumnome]

Hi, I have a small colony of L. niger in a jar and I want to install them in a more permanent location. I've decided to install them in a unused aquarium I have, but I don't know what type of soil should I use to fill it. I thought of using sand because it's better to contrast with the ants since they are black but I'm not sure yet. Any suggestions?

Thant you for you time!

[IceWhyte]

I have used just sand a couple of times and it has been fine. Infact one time I couldn't get hold of any sand so I went to the pet store and got some "chinchilla bathing sand" and mixed it with water and it worked perfect. If you are using soil from outside just make sure there are no seed in it as this can cause a lot of bother when they start growing.

Heres a basic idea of what you want.

antsuk.com/sand-and-soil

P.s I don't think install is the word you are looking for

[jennifer]

I used a sand / loam mixture I recieved with my ant tank, but there is plenty of sand at pet stores that has been treated so there are no mites/seeds etc..
I did hear one person saying they bought sand so fine it was like talc and it killed a worker but he mixed it with courser sand and it was fine.

I think sand/loam is a good mix as they can dig without it caving in on them but you need to dampen it and let it settle for a while before introducing the ants..