sticks in fish tanks????

those are branches from the maple tree in my front yard. i took branches that were already dead, then took them into the bathtub and used plain old tap water and scrubbed them really well with a new toothbrush to get all th gross dirt off. i then drilled very small holes in the base, and used fishing line to tie the pieces to a piece of plexiglass with more holes drilled into it. i then buried the plexiglass in my substrate.

Maybe a good boiling of the wood to play it safe if you got it from who-knows-where. That's what I do with my driftwood.

Soak it in a tub for a while to leech stuff out, boil it, then soak it again quickly to see what else comes out of there.

I've used cut-offs from a Harry Lauder walking stick plant. It's a type of filbert that people landscape with. Has a cool spiral growth habit.

If you see any in your neighborhood, make friends with the gardener, and you can probably get a pile of them when they prune.

Found this photo: