BEAutiful Specimen | Driftwood

Found this beauty a while ago outside, it was part of a dead trees root system. I cut it off but it still had some sap left in it, so I let it dry out for about a month and left it out in the elements.

It’s now nice and dry and ready to go in a tank.

I’m going to wait until my new light comes in for my 20g long, so I can aquascape it properly. (Hopefully it’s should arrive soon)

Sorry for the bad photo, I have dark carpet and dark walls. ?

Looks like an excellent piece! I love branchy wood like that. Do you know what kind of wood it is? Is your 20 long setup yet or are you starting from scratch? To me, that piece of wood screams blackwater.

Flushable Pets said:

Looks like an excellent piece! I love branchy wood like that. Do you know what kind of wood it is? Is your 20 long setup yet or are you starting from scratch? To me, that piece of wood screams blackwater.

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Not sure what type. Ehh... no Blackwater for me. I just got a new light, and I‘m appreciating how bright it is.

Not sure when I’m going to reshape this tank yet, but I’m excited to!

I love the branchy pieces too. Locally driftwood is so boring and it's hard to know when ordering online.

AilyNC said:

I love the branchy pieces too. Locally driftwood is so boring and it's hard to know when ordering online.

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Agreed.

I wouldn't order online unless I knew exactly which piece I was purchasing. Too much variation and once you factor in shipping costs, it gets expensive very quickly, so it better be the perfect piece.

@PheonixKingZ Does your piece still have the bark on it? Any chance of a picture of it with the light behind the camera?

Flushable Pets said:

Agreed.

I wouldn't order online unless I knew exactly which piece I was purchasing. Too much variation and once you factor in shipping costs, it gets expensive very quickly, so it better be the perfect piece.

@PheonixKingZ Does your piece still have the bark on it? Any chance of a picture of it with the light behind the camera?

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Doesn’t seem to have bark on it:

It’s really smooth. I know I will have to break some of the limbs off to get it to fit in my tank. It will also be really hard to wash, because the tiny limbs are so fragile, lol.

Really pretty, PK! If there's any way to find out what kind of wood it is, that would be good for peace of mind and possibly for your fish.

Also, it looks to me like it still has the bark on. Take a knife and scrape about 1/8" into it in an unobtrusive spot. That will tell you if there's still bark. Bark isn't always a problem, but there are some species that can have very toxic bark. That looks to me like it could be something from the cherry family, which would be a big no-no if the bark's still on.

Assuming bark's off and it's a safe species, I wouldn't worry about washing it. Maybe a rinse if it's dusty. You really only need to wash pieces that have been under water and might be harboring unwanted critters/cysts/eggs. If it's never lived under water, there's no big need to worry.