Hello jarrarium Reddit. I figured this is the best place to post this. My brother (24) decide to create a jarrarium. He went to a local river, collected plants, snails, water, etc. The water has progressively turned darker and started to smell. He wants to give it a full year and see what happens. My mom wants him to throw it out. Is this worth salvaging or should he start over? Thanks for your advice.
by Sea_Chip6871
7 Comments
Start over. Or put it somewhere outside where it doesn’t smell as much (with stable temperature & some light) if really needed, I doubt that much enjoyable stuff will come from it tho. Sounds as if the system wasn’t really balanced.
From my experience making jars the smell is a result of decomposition outpacing healthy plant growth. Once decomposing materials overtake the jar and the plants cannot keep up, all life gets choked out and the cycle of death spirals until it’s all just rot and eventually dirt.
If they want a jar of rotten dirt to look at and smell, keep it. It’s like a compost jar. If they want live plants or little critters like snails or scuds, a balanced slice of an ecosystem, then they should restart. They can focus on getting a large amount of living plants for the next try to overcome the issue they ran into this time.
Wildlife accustomed to rivers and creeks may not be well suited for a jarrarium, where it is mostly stagnant.
From what I’ve read on here, he’d have better success sourcing things from a similar setting to the one he’s trying to recreate in the jar, like a pond or lake.
If you can put into a spot that doesn’t smell up the house, I for one, support your brothers endeavor
Why is your 24-year-old brother still bringing jars of pond water home to your mom’s house? 🤔
Those poor snails! I’m afraid that your brother killed them. Animals can’t survive without oxygen, which is produced by green, healthy, living plants. Your brother is crazy if the thinks the dead snails will magically come back to life in 1 year!
Move it out of areas where food are kept and eaten or prepared.