Driftwood, cories and otos, oh my!

mandimoron

mandimoron

raving platy fangirl
Oct 2, 2005
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Toronto, Ontario
perturbedmango.net
So I have another pile of questions to ask you guys, and they're kinda all over the place, topic-wise. I hope this is an okay forum to post in:

1) Driftwood. I just bought a chunk from my LFS. I understand I'm supposed to boil it before adding it to the tank. How long do I boil it for? And if it stains the tank water, which I have gathered is a possibility, will my fish care at all? In other words, does the colour leeched from driftwood pose any health threats, or is it just unsightly? I only want to know how much I should panic if and when it occurs. :P

2) How do I get my java fern to grow on the aforementioned hunk o' wood? Do I just kinda tie the roots on the log with some bits of string, and leave it be for a couple months? Or is it more involved than that?

3) I bought an oto! He spends most of his time flitting from one wall of the tank to the next, hunting for algae. Unfortunately he was a much more efficient eater than I had thought he would be, and the tank is now nearly spotless. I have some sinking wafer things that I had been giving my cories-- will these do as a suitable food source, or should I go out and get some actual algae wafers instead? And how often should I offer him some zucchini?

4) Do cories like zucchini, too? It'd be great if the oto and the cories could share their veggies. That way I'd know they're getting a good fill of food, without having to share much with the seemingly perpetually famished platies.
 
the boiling of the wood is purely to kill bacteria and other things that could possibly harm your tank. It doesnt matter how long you do it as long as the entire piece of wood is submerged. I generally left it until the water cooled.

It will always seep colour into the tank water, this will gradually get less and less with your water changes.
 
I got driftwood from my LFS and he said that the tannins are harmless. Wild driftwood would be the same, I would think. It s the bacteria or toxins that you might introduce I would worry about more. I think many fish prefer darker, tanic water so I am not at all worried about it. I think it looks neat, really. Eventually enough water changes will take care of it.

As for Ottos, geta vegetable clip and feed it cucumber or zucchini slices. Without vegetables it will probably die. I try to give it once a week. After a day or two I take the slice out to prevent decay. My other fish like cherry barbs like to pick at it too.

Ed
 
Okay, awesome. I won't worry about the water turning funny colours, then. Thanks. ^_^

I've put some lettuce in the tank as an experiment, and it seems none of my fish have any idea what to do with it. The cories have taken to hiding under it, like cartoon mice under a carpet. Cute, but not exactly what I had in mind. I guess it'll just take time before they figure things out...?
 
real shortly (nice post mandi)

1. the driftwood is leeching tannins, or color (wine folks often talk of tannins). they will give a yellow tint to water. i find it favorable, as the darker water shows off the color of many species well. many breeders and afficiandos use peat in their tanks for this reason. its natural to many species, especially those from the backwaters of the Amazon.
the only health threat is that tannins in the water can lower the pH of a tank, but only if you have extremely soft water (low KH specifically). tannins form tannic acid (acid, pH, yeah). not a real concern for most tanks, but the effect of new driftwood can be noticible. something to keep an eye on if the wood really has an effect on water color.

2. yep, tie away. hemp works well, or cotton. fishline is permanent, but nearly invisible.

3. yea, algae wafers are great for otos.

4. dunno, but i bet both otos and cories would like the occational zucchini.

:cool:
 
I agree with indiginess:
As I also have a large piece of driftwood in my 30G it produces a kind of tea colour in the water. I find it really brings out the colours of the fish and I do not find it unsightly at all.

HTH.
Cheer.

Paul.
 
The tannin in the water will lower the PH of the water. The longer you boil the water the more tannin you get out of it the less the PH in your tank will go down.
 
will the ph rise gradually with water changes as there are less and less tannins? I have natural driftwood in my tank and my water is always has a light tinge of brown...always makes me think the water quality is poor but it looks more natural.
 
The tannins will effect your pH depending on how much buffer you have (kh). The higher the hardness of your water (carbinate) the less the effect. With a low kh you will either have to do larger water changes or more frequent ones (the better idea so as not to create pH spikes) or you will need to add buffer to the water such as crushed coral.
 
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