Aquarium wood

Hi i found a really nice dead tree branch that i found around my flat and i really want to put it in my fish tank... how could i make it aquarium safe?? thanks

We have guidelines for treating wood here: Caudata Culture Articles - Wood in Vivaria

i never knew it was this complicated... ill jst use driftwoods from petshops thanks for the reply

miguelmannao29 said:

i never knew it was this complicated... ill jst use driftwoods from petshops thanks for the reply

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Even drift wood is complicated, trust me -.-;;; mine won't stop growing that disgusting fungus. I've boiled it twice now...

EmbryH said:

Even drift wood is complicated, trust me -.-;;; mine won't stop growing that disgusting fungus. I've boiled it twice now...

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Try leaving it alone and letting the Fungi extract all the nutrients out of it. I have had success with that. I wrote an article on it once. If you just let it grow, it will in time take everything it wanted from the wood. I will just post the article here it might be helpful for some, especially to manage it.



What the?
I personally had massive out break on my submerged wood of what I called "White Fuzz" algae. It somewhat scared me at the time, but after I did a little bit of the scientific method, My mind was at ease. It doesn't happen to all wood, but can occur on any bio material that is in water. It most commonly appears on manzanita wood, and on drift wood from Malaysia. If this white slime shows up in your tank, there is no need to freak out.

What the Fungi?
There is no immediate threat to your tank if this is to appear. It is not any species of algae. It is a fungus. There are two classes of fungi that do this in an aquatic setting, they are Hyphomycetes and Coelomycete. To define what particular Genus and Species you have in your tank, would be very difficult due to the fact that we are dealing with Fungi, which contain over 5 million species that we know of.

What the Fungi is it doing?
Fungus play an important role in all ecosystems. What it is doing on the wood in your fish tank is what it does in the natural word; decomposing an organic material. What it is doing is beginning a process of decomposition on the wood in your tank. There are nutrients in the wood that you have submerged in water that the Fungi are extracting, in order to begin the process of decomposition.

What is that Fungi smell?
Often times some species of class Hyphomycetes and Coelomycete can omit a 'musty' smell. I had a culture once that made my water smell like moldy wood. That can be expected with certain species, but it is not harmful... Just unpleasant.

Is this Fungi toxic or harmful?
Most of the time no. Unless you have a massive out break of it, it is nothing to be worried about. However, if it gets out of control, it can start to grow on plant stems and certain rocks. That is when you may have to take action to get it under control.

How to evict the Fungi:
There are a few effective ways to get rid of the fungus, but none of these methods are permanent. The fungus is going to have to run it's course on the wood until there are none of the nutrients that it feds on left in the wood. Here are a few ways to manage it until it has finished it's job:


#1 - Take out the wood and wash it down with hot water. This physically removes the fungus and it has to start growing all over again. You can also boil your wood, or rub it down with a paper towel / rag. It comes off pretty easy.

#2 - Get a clean up crew. Shrimp and Snails will eat the living daylights out of it, and it is not harmful to them. Certain fish will readily eat it as well. Goldfish, for example, will feast on this Fungi, constantly grazing on it all day long. Rubber lipped, Bristle Nosed, or normal pleco will also chow down on this fungi. Most of the time one or two can keep it at bay. In the RARE case of a severe break out that I had, my plecos could not handle the amount that was growing.

#3 - Vacuum it off. When you do a water change in you tank, vacuum as much off as you can while water is draining from your hose. It should come off quite easy.

#4 - Reduce oxygen. Fungus, unlike your common plants, uses oxygen to break down proteins and process it's food. if you have a bubbler going in your tank, turn it off until the fungus subsides.

#5 - This suggestion is not really how to rid yourself of it, but how to prevent it in the first place. Make sure that the wood you are using is dried out well. Boil it ahead of time before placing it in your tank, if you can. But if the spores are there, it is going to show up and there is nothing you can do about it. Another method of avoiding a massive break out with manzanita wood is to boil it, then strip the bark off. Sometimes it will not come off using that method. BUT, after the fungi has had it's way with your manzanita for a while, the bark will peel and slide off VERY easy. This will speed up the fungi's ending. Many species absorb a lot of what they need to grow and bloom from manzanita bark, in particular some of the oil and resin in it. Once the bark is stripped, you may not like the look of the white wood underneath, but over a few weeks the wood's grain will begin to darken, making for a great looking decor.

So this is the mystery of the white slime that appears from time to time. It is often a question that arises, and here is your answer. It can often scare an aquarium keeper, even an experienced one that has never seen it before. I know it caught me off guard once, and I panicked, which sparked me to do research into this harmless menace. I hope you got something out of this thread, that it answered some questions, and / or put you mind at ease.


Here are some pics of an outbreak that I had not to long ago. It bloomed and took over all wood in my tank, and started to grow on my plants. I had to take matters in my own hands and remove the Fungi manually, but that is a rare case.

Thanks for all the info i really appreciate it but i decided to just use plastic plants river rocks/pebbles and moss balls... Im not risking my axies... Ive wanted axies for ages.. I raised them from eggs and im not losing them for a silly mistake.. Thanks again guys