Is rotting driftwood beneficial?

I have a nice piece of manzanita wood in my tank. While cleaning some cotton like stuff off of it, I noticed that it was soft and pieces were being broken off. I decided that this piece of driftwood is rotting and am not sure if it is bad or not. I think it is fine to leave it in the tank because it provides food for bacteria or will it just increase ammonia? It does not smell bad.

its fine....you are worrying way too much,

just think about how much rotting wood there is where fish live naturally!!

That was my reason for leaving it in!

It's not hurting anything and as long as it's not unsightly, you should be fine.

I generally agree with others that it is probably OK for now. But, if wood in an aquarium begins to rot substantially, it can very quickly increase organics causing other issues for the system and the fish.

Someone mentioned wood in nature...this is much, much different. In most watercourses the ratio of fish to water volume is no where even remotely close to an aquarium. The water is continually moving and fish are not exposed to the same water for more than a second. You cannot possibly replicate this in even the largest aquarium without flow-through. The point being that any water issue will immediately and significantly affect fish, unlike in their habitat.

Obviously there are habitats like blackwater where this is a bit more concentrated, but thee fish have evolved over thousands of years to function in such habitats. The confines of an aquarium again may or may not make a difference depending upon species, and the ratio of wood/water.

So, I should remove it once pieces start falling off without me doing anything? Would you recommend getting a dwarf Pleco? They need wood in their diet so it may eat the decaying pieces.

King puff said:

So, I should remove it once pieces start falling off without me doing anything? Would you recommend getting a dwarf Pleco? They need wood in their diet so it may eat the decaying pieces.

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No to removing it, but depends. I rarely touch the wood in my tanks, and I have a lot. But when I do, very small pieces might crumble. It's difficult to advise since I am not there to "see" it for myself. Wood in water will obviously slowly degenerate. I only have Malaysian Driftwood which seems to be very long lasting; some of it is 8 or 9 years in my tanks now. I have branches of oak and similar that get brittle and easily break apart after a few months and I collect more from the back garden. I guess the best I can suggest is if it crumbles to pieces when you touch it, it might be worth replacing.

As for a pleco, some species need wood for their digestion, though they do not derive nutrition from it. Wood (substances in the wood) keeps their intestinal tract healthy as it passes through. But not all pleco need or will eat wood, though they do graze its surfaces for various foods from infusoria to algae. The species of Bristlenose in the genus Ancistrus need some wood, though the species in the genus Panaque need more in their diet. Some of the latter species get huge, well over a foot in length. The Bristlenose tend to remain smaller around 4 inches, though I'm not sure if there are larger species; the classification of this genus in the hobby is a bit confused as any species will usually be called "Bristlenose." These are large genera. But my point is, don't run out and buy a "pleco" as it may be more problem with little if any service. The members who have more experience keeping some of these are the best for advice.

Byron said:

don't run out and buy a "pleco" as it may be more problem with little if any service.

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Going out to buy one was on my mind yet. It was just an idea.

About the wood, I will leave it in my tank for now. I believe all I said in post one about it was that it was soft. It has not gotten to the point of crumbling.

I also just got Indian almond leaves. Will my fish eat these. I am aware that the German blue ram in the 10 gallon may. What about the Black neon tetras and white clouds in the 29?

King puff said:

Going out to buy one was on my mind yet. It was just an idea.

About the wood, I will leave it in my tank for now. I believe all I said in post one about it was that it was soft. It has not gotten to the point of crumbling.

I also just got Indian almond leaves. Will my fish eat these. I am aware that the German blue ram in the 10 gallon may. What about the Black neon tetras and white clouds in the 29?

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Leaves are beneficial for soft water fish. Most fish in my experience don't eat them. I have a tank of Black Ruby Barbs that is a biotope modelled on their habitat on Sri Lanka, and I was adding oak leaves to cover the substrate as occurs in the habitat (not oak, but leaves). The barbs obviously enjoy these, they eat every single leaf within days. I finally gave up as I simply could not replace them fast enough to keep them in the tank. But leaves in my other tanks don't seem to get eaten. Many fish will graze them, and they produce infusoria as they decompose which is the absolute best first food in any fry tank. Fry of any species will grow faster with dried leaves in the tank. I use leaves for all fry, from Farlowella to cories to tetras to ... whatever.

Will I need to remove the leaves after a certain amount of time.

The Farlowella catfish looks interesting. Are these suited for a community tank? (not saying I am going to run out and get one if they are)

I was checking a profile on Ancistrus I wrote a few years back for another site and according to what I researched then, these species all remain under about 5 inches, so no giants. Here's the text which may be of interest; I checked the species in Fishbase just now and there are a few more so that is up to date.

The Loricariidae [from the Latin lorica, a corselet] is the largest catfish family holding more than 825 nominal species. The largest subfamily is the Hypostominae containing 31 genera with 447 nominal species representing some 53% of all loricariids. The former subfamily Ancistrinae was changed to the status of a tribe (Ancistrini) within the subfamily Hypostominae (Armbruster, 2004).

The genus Ancistrus was erected by Kner in 1854; the name derives from the Greek agkistron [= hook] that refers to the cheek odontodes (spines) that are hooked. There are 69 valid species at the time of writing [2017, source: Fishbase]. Species range over the entire Amazon basin and occur respectively in flowing rivers and flooded forest and in all water types; those from clear and white waters are generally light gray to medium brown with a pattern of darker or lighter spots, while those from blackwaters are dark brown to black with a pattern of small/medium white to yellow dots. All bear the soft tentacles on their snout [see above] that distinguish them from all other loricariids. They also have the ability to swallow air and extract oxygen in their modified stomach.

A deservedly popular "bottom" fish due to its peacefulness, relatively small size, hardiness, and the fact that it is very easy to breed. The precise taxonomy and origin of the common "bristlenose" is unknown, and some authorities believe it may be a hybrid of other species. Several man-made varieties exist, including the albino and long-fin forms.

Some of the specific species other than the "common" bristlenose are considerably more demanding in their water parameter requirements; as these will in all likelihood be wild-caught fish, care must be taken to provide suitable water.

It has a well-deserved reputation for eating algae, and the aquarist must ensure there is a steady supply of either algae or vegetable foods, or the fish may turn to devouring plants. Bristlenose plecos require some driftwood fiber in their diet (though not to the extent of Panaque sp.). To ensure healthy plecos, it is recommended that at least some driftwood be included in the aquascape. The tank should be well-planted with pieces of bogwood and caves made from rocks or clay flowerpots; the substrate may be of smooth gravel or sand. Floating plants are beneficial to lessen the light. Like many plecos, Ancistrus can be largely nocturnal. They will be more active during daylight hours if kept under dimmer lighting or with a good cover of floating plants.

Is there anything you can tell me about the Farlowella catfish (twig catfish)? Also, do I have to remove the leaves after a certain amount of time?

King puff said:

Will I need to remove the leaves after a certain amount of time.

The Farlowella catfish looks interesting. Are these suited for a community tank? (not saying I am going to run out and get one if they are)

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The leaves will slowly decompose, eventually leaving nothing but a sort of skeleton. I find this rather interesting as part of the substrate, so you can leave the leaves permanently. Or some people remove them when they show signs of becoming "skeletal". You can keep adding dried leaves, a few at a time, to maintain the aquascape as you want it to appear (unless you have those barbs I have).

I really like the small species in Farlowella. The much larger often called "Royal" need spacious tanks. But I acquired a trio of Farlowella vitatta in September 2008 and after a few years they began spawning and have continued regularly ever since; I had two females and one male as it turned out, and the male will spawn simultaneously with both females and guard the eggs until they hatch. It is then that the fry get eaten by any other fish in the tank. I made the effort to save some of them a few times, and I now have five mature fry in one tank, and eight smaller fry (in their second year I believe) in another tank, and a couple of this spawning in my 40g and 70g Amazon flooded forest tanks. They are interesting fish, very peaceful, adding something of a prehistoric look. They are avid consumers of common algae, including brown diatoms. They will not touch "problem" algae. Their only drawback is that they will harm fine leaf plants; my pygmy chain swords develop holes in the leaves from their rasping. Larger or tougher plants are not affected; my large Echinodorus swords, Java Fern, and Anubias are not harmed, and they very rarely graze surface plants except some of them when young.

More data from my profile of this species:

The identification of this species is not a certainty. Of the 27 described species of Farlowella found throughout South America, only two are regularly exported. Most of the existing literature refers to these as F. acus and F. gracilis, but several authorities believe this is incorrect, and consider the fish offered as F. acus to in fact be the subject species.

The genus was named by Carl and Rosa Eigenmann (1889) in honour of the American botanist from Harvard, William Gibson Farlow (1844-1919), who specialized in algae plants. And this is certainly one of the finest algae-eating fish, comparable to the common Otocinclus. A trio of Farlowella will easily keep a 90g aquarium free of common green and brown algae.

This fish is truly a camouflage expert among aquarium fish; hanging or sitting motionless on a branch they are easily unnoticed, as illustrated in the photos below. They move from surface to surface, usually with short "hops;" swimming when necessary is achieved by body undulations and propulsion from the caudal fin. They are believed to have a lifespan of up to 15 years; their frequent demise in aquaria is likely due to their demand for stable water parameters and conditions, and they should only be introduced to an established aquarium containing algae. They do not appreciate being moved, and once introduced to an aquarium should be left alone. Like most of the South American catfish, they are sensitive to chemicals and medications; when irritating substances are present in the water they will frequently select a plant leaf or object near the surface and remain motionless with their rostrum protruding above the water in an attempt to gain oxygen, and an immediate partial water change should be undertaken.

Several different species [commonly referred to as Royal Farlowella, etc] attain a considerably larger size and are only appropriate in much larger aquaria. F. vittata was described by the great American ichthyologist Dr. George S. Myers in 1942. The species epithet is Latin for striped, a reference to the stripe along the fish.

Should add the photos I guess...

I do like the look of the leftover veins of leaves.

Thank you for the information about the fish. My plants are not all that healthy yet. I have been using fertilizer for a few weeks and just got flourish excel. I do not want get a fish that may eat my plants when they are not doing well. Possibly once the plants grow in.