Gray/white growth on driftwood
- Thread starter TTman
- Start date
Did you boil them before putting them in your tank? If not, then the problem is most likely a fungal growth. Yes, it will hurt your fish. I'm pretty sure it will only hurt fish that touch or ingest the fungus, though. My mother put a piece of driftwood in her tank, the same thing happened, and the pleco that was eating the fungus shortly died of a fungal infection....
Take the driftwood out of your tank (carefully, so as not to rub the stuff off into your tank) and pour lots of boiling water over it, then leave it outside the tank to dry. Then do it again. Let it sit for a few days in a fairly dry environment, like near a heater vent or on your fireplace hearth, if you're lucky enough to have one, to air out before putting it back in the tank. In the meantime, treat your tank for fungus if there is any growing anywhere else in the tank. You might also want to do a good sized water change to dilute any particles that have gotten into the water.
Take the driftwood out of your tank (carefully, so as not to rub the stuff off into your tank) and pour lots of boiling water over it, then leave it outside the tank to dry. Then do it again. Let it sit for a few days in a fairly dry environment, like near a heater vent or on your fireplace hearth, if you're lucky enough to have one, to air out before putting it back in the tank. In the meantime, treat your tank for fungus if there is any growing anywhere else in the tank. You might also want to do a good sized water change to dilute any particles that have gotten into the water.
This fungus doesn't generally hurt fish directly. It is present in any body of water that has a fallen tree in it. As I under stand it the danger is not from the fungus itself but from it (and fungus already present in the wood before you put it in the water) decaying or being eaten (and consequently excreted by the fish) and creating large amounts of nitrogenous waste compounds like ammonia and nitrite that overwhelm the capacity of the aquariums bacterial culture. Fungal infections, that kill fish, are usually only found in necrotic or already dead/dying tissue. if the fish are healthy it should have no effect.
This fungus is usually a sign that the wood has not fully weathered become driftwood (been reduced to the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin skeleton). Swahala (welaby wood) and lots of other woods sold as “already sinking” do this. I almost always see this type of fungus form to some degree on most of the driftwood I have used. It has never hurt any of my plecos or other fish.
This fungus is usually a sign that the wood has not fully weathered become driftwood (been reduced to the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin skeleton). Swahala (welaby wood) and lots of other woods sold as “already sinking” do this. I almost always see this type of fungus form to some degree on most of the driftwood I have used. It has never hurt any of my plecos or other fish.
er, did the molly die? these 2 peices I have are way too big to boil. they are both over 3' long. I have since taken it out & did a 100% water change (& moved that 75G into the basement at the same time). hmmm if mollies eat it, maybe swordtails & danios will also eat it, once I get the 100G setup. then once they finish it, I'll move them back to the 29G & then move in my jags. how does that sound?
no-the molly is fine, it appears perfectly happy and healthy
and my pieces are far to big to boil as well
there is still a little bit of the white sh|t in there, but not much, he picks at it all day long, in fact the tank is on the desk I'm sitting at right now and I just watchedh im eat some of it and I fed him flake food 30 mins ago
and my pieces are far to big to boil as well
there is still a little bit of the white sh|t in there, but not much, he picks at it all day long, in fact the tank is on the desk I'm sitting at right now and I just watchedh im eat some of it and I fed him flake food 30 mins ago
I swear evolution was happening right before my eyes, there was critters all over the place. amoeba-like, paramecium-like, white worms, planaria, etc. so today I finally boiled the driftwood, a 3rd to 1/2 of it at a time... and did a 100% water change (there's no fish in that tank yet). it sinks straight to bottom now ;-) it is almost ready for fish...
I've had that fungus on every piece of mopani wood I ever bought, no matter how long it was boiled. The shrimp eat it, the otos hang around in it, platies have eaten it, nothing died. Eventually it goes away on its own. I have not found it to cause any problems at all with water quality or fish health. I believe it's saprolegnia and gets crowded out by the biofilm over time.
It might be a coincidence that a pleco died after eating it. I've heard of plecos enjoying that fungus without any ill effects... I don't have plecos but I'm pretty sure the otos were nibbling it.
It might be a coincidence that a pleco died after eating it. I've heard of plecos enjoying that fungus without any ill effects... I don't have plecos but I'm pretty sure the otos were nibbling it.
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after I boiled it, I introduce 4 feeder goldfish a few days afterwards. 1 has died but I don't believe its from the driftwood or water. a week later I put in 2 plecos. then recently I put in some danios. just yesterday threw in some swordtails as well. the water is still cloudy & the bigger (very thick) piece is developing that white/gray film again. but no one has died yet. looks like I'll pick up a molly or two to help clear it up. looks like I'll be doing twice a week partial water changes until that cloudiness disappers.
