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Dart Den

Serving the Dart Frog Community Since 2004...

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Beer in the Viv?
#1
Ok, so maybe this is way off base but I had a thought and wondered if anyone had ever tried this.

Here's my basis for reasoning.

My viv stays on my desk next to my monitors. Once in a while I will leave an almost empty beer on the desk and forget about it until the next morning. Inevitably when I go to throw it away in the morning there are a few fruit flies that have escaped the viv and migrated to the rim of the can. I've also noticed that during the summer there are almost always fruit flies in my recycling can after having a BBQ or what not if the stale beer that was left in the cans was left to sit for a week or so (recycling pick up is every two weeks).

I also do a lot of organic (non chemical) lawn care. One of the key components of one of the tonics I use to feed my grass and plants is beer. So obviously the beer isn't killing plants and there is something beneficial in it for Flora.

If I was to pour say one can of beer into my viv so it settled into the bottom, below the substrate and screen and into the clay balls wouldn't there possibly be a benefit to both the micro fauna living in the tank and have a potential benefit to the fauna that is rooted? Another being that the small amount of now diluted alcohol would promote a higher level of humidity given the nature of introducing alcohol to water?

Maybe i'm just crazy, but I thought i would throw it out to the community and see if there are any thoughts??
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#2
Here is a picture of my viv so you can see that im talking about having the beer settle into the bottom and not where it would be in direct contact with the frogs.

[Image: VIV2014_zpsef191d4a.jpg]
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#3
Cant believe this never got any replies, this is a great thread. It seems possible however. As you know, beer is fermented and the by product is carbon dioxide which could actually help the plants. Seems like a good idea to me!
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#4
Have you ever smelled rancid beer? It may benefit the plants and micro fauna but the smell would be a real problem.
I like blue frogs!
Tom
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#5
Yeah it would certainly smell strong. But fermentation produces both sugars and caebon dioxide which microfauna and plants will both love. From a chemistry stand point of view, it provides alot of important compounds that the plants and vivarium as a whole will love. I would say try it out. That is, if you can withstand the smell of rancid beer
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#6
Have you ever tried alfalfa juice it works great as a safe fertilizer around Dart frogs and contains many micro nutrients.
Best of all it doesn't smell so bad.
I like blue frogs!
Tom
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#7
Never heard of such a thing, what is alfalfa juice?
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#8
Throw some alfalfa in the blender with some water and puree. Then strain through some cheese cloth.
I like blue frogs!
Tom
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#9
Of course a side benefit of using beer is there will be some around to drink. Smile
I like blue frogs!
Tom
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#10
Wow I just noticed that this thread had a few responses. After I originally posted this and saw no responses I figured I must have just been out my head, so of course I tried it. I used flat beer (just opened a can of PBR and let it sit out over night) mixed 2/1 with water. I was surprised that it really had no impact on smell. Flies did congregate in the area that the mixture was poured through the substrate, it did seem to raise the humidity in the viv and for the first time my broms started duplicating. IDK, take it for what it is but it seemed to work out about the way I thought it would. How often does that ever happen????
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#11
Wow i am really glad to hear someone actually tried it. So you just poured it straight into your leaf litter or wherever?
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#12
Evaradero Wrote:Wow i am really glad to hear someone actually tried it. So you just poured it straight into your leaf litter or wherever?

Correct. It just filters through the substrate down into the clay balls.
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