stinky fake wood

So after reading this thread http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82199
it reminded me that I wanted to ask about the same thing.

In my 29 gal, I have two lovely pieces of fake roots. I like that they're hollow because my fish (especially the upside down cats) love to hide in them, and it provides their habitat with more complexity. They also look so nice!

Now, the weird thing is that I've noticed when I take them out of the water, they stink! It's not exactly a sulfurous smell, it's just rank. My first thought was that, because they're hollow, that poop or old food was decaying in there. But everytime I take them out to clean them, nothing falls out. I now take them out and rinse them under tap water at least once a week. This should remove any decaying crap, but has not alleviated the smell.

The fish don't seem the least bit bothered. It seems like it's not producing an odor while submerged, only when in contact with air. I'm wondering if it's just the material they're made of. I also have a fake castle ornament (I hate it, but my female upside down cat is in love with it) that's also hollow and a great place for crap to collect. But it doesn't have the slightest odor, even when there's all kinds of poop and waste in and around it. Thus, my basis for thinking that the fake wood material is responsible for the smell.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? Do you guys think I should nix those lovely pieces that are the centerpiece of the tank? Is the material (or the smell) harmful to my fishies?

Thanks as always for everyone's time and friendship

Thanks, webcricket! Mine did not smell before I put them in the tank. The smell is hard to miss, so I think I would have noticed it while at the store.

The other day when I did a water change and took the pieces out, my boyfriend in the other room asked what stank. He could smell it from the next room! Is this bad? (For my fish, I don't care if my boyfriend complains )

Here's a picture of the most offending piece

thanks for replying, Rosita! It's good to know I'm not alone. I'm also somewhat relieved to hear that natural substances like shells can produce the same phenomenon. That makes me feel that my wood pieces are not made of anything harmful.

Any other thoughts, yay or nay, are also appreciated. If anyone thinks the smell is indicative of anything that might hurt my fish, I'll lose those pieces in a heartbeat.

hey, blackwolf! It's a Seachem Ammonia Alert stick-on. I think it works the same way as the Seachem ammonia liquid test. Although I honestly have no idea how it works, that's just my guess.

[From what I hear, the Seachem ammonia test kit uses a salicylate reagant, and only detects TOXIC ammonia (NH3). Most ammonia tests are Nessler-type which can't distinguish toxic ammonia from the less toxic ammonium ion (NH4+)]

I've seen other stick-on displays but they require that you add reagant to it regularly, or it stops working. This one is just a circle of reactive stuff that you're not supposed to touch with your fingers, but requires no maintenance. The oils mess up the reaction, or something, similar to liquid test kits (you're not supposed to touch the inside of the test tube or lid). It says that this stick-on will work for up to a year before needing replacement.

So far I've only seen it at anything other than yellow (= no ammonia) once. This was when I used root tabs in gravel and all the nutrients leached into the water. The Alert turned green-blue and I did an immediate 75% water change. I'm convinced it saved my fish! Now I know not to use root tabs with gravel because it doesn't hold onto the nutrients the way plant substrate does. I didn't know that before, and wouldn't have even thought to do an ammonia test. But thanks to the stick-on, I didn't lose a single fish (just all my ghost shrimp). Do I sound enough like an advertisement? :

Heh, I was going to remove the stick-on for the sake of the picture, but was too lazy. I'm kinda glad I didn't, so you could get the benefit of my Seachem Ammonia Alert story Thanks for asking!

webcricket said:

Is that one of the Top Fin ornaments from Petsmart? That's what my pieces are, except I have the grey tree roots.

Click to expand...

Yes, I think it is! I have the gray one propping the orange on up. The orange one took up too much space and I didn't like the way it looked sitting flat (looked too much like a giant foot)