# moss milkshake?



## Jungle_John (Feb 19, 2007)

its 50/50 moss/butter milk correct?
also can i do it while frogs are in the viv? if not how long must i wait for them to go in? please let me know
also dose it work? dose it kill other plants?


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## dart_king (Mar 2, 2008)

Never tried it, and all i no is it stinks!!!!


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## rattruck (Mar 15, 2008)

I have used moss, buttermilk, and stale beer in a blender and have great success; however, its always been outdoors near ponds and Koi.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

id do it before adding any frogs...as you're likely to have a bacteria explosion atleast initially.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

You should be giving your tank a few months grow in period before adding frogs... it sucks to have set up a tank, just to have to do changes to it down the road because some stuff worked and some didn't, and have to worry about frogs in the tank (not just escapes, but it stresses them out too!). I like 3-6 months to grow in, but I've waited longer with more complex/greater plant variety tanks. You want to see what does well, what needs to be moved, what needs to be removed, and preferably get it through the fungal bloom stage (which is only worse with the moss shake but damn you'll get a boom of springtails if they had some time to establish before it's done). You want all your plants to be rooted, established, and growing well so they can easily take frog traffic, that includes the mosses. You should see the moss from the moss shake growing and well rooted like a carpet before adding in frogs, and the most established, the better. Young growth can be tramped still, but a strong carpet can put up with a lot.

Also realize it can take months before the moss grows... the moss shake tends to get it going faster, but I've seen time frames of "2mo to a year"... also helps if you keep up the buttermilk/beer misting after and it can get going in a couple weeks.

Some reading:
Moss Garden

"Steps: 
1. Put a handful of the moss you want to grow into a blender. 
2. Add 1/2 tsp. sugar and one can of beer (the cheapest brand). You can substitute buttermilk for beer if you want. 
3. Blend just long enough to mix the ingredients and break down the moss. 
4. Spread the soupy mixture with a spatula over the ground or rocks where you want the moss to grow. " from this thread

"Moss loves buttermilk and beer. Where did this "old school" formula of mixing moss fragments with buttermilk and/or beer in the family blender come from, and does it work? Moss craves acidic conditions which buttermilk and stale beer provide. While the "moss think tank" at Moss Acres prefers some less odorous methods of preparing a moss shake/slurry, this oft-prescribed method has about a 60% success rate when the moss fragments are kept consistently wet." from this page

Moss Graffiti

And of course... the last thread we had on it here.


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