Azalea root

Hi.. I’m not new to keeping fish but have just set up a new aquarium 2 weeks ago.. never had azalea root in a set up .. got it sunk no problem but I have a white mist/ coating over the root ?? Is this a worry or dangerous to fish ? Fish not introduced yet but tank planted.. if anyone can give me some advice it would be very much appreciated..cheers don’t know if the pics help ?

I bought some azalea root (with an Aqua One label) a couple of years ago and mine grew this mould while it was soaking to get it to sink. it also turned the water so cloudy I couldn't see through it. After about 6 weeks of washing the mould off, and it coming back, and near daily water changes to get rid of the cloudiness, which also came back every time, I gave up and bought a different type of wood.

This white goo is usually referred to as wood snot. In most cases it it is harmless and can just be washed off (repeatedly) but google found a couple of cases where the fish died with azalea root (one of the reasons I didn't use it, the water cloudiness being the other).
Do you have any fish in the same tank at the moment?

Mine is the same from Aqua one.. but water in tank very clear..well at the moment!! No fish in water yet , they are hopefully going in this weekend

No cloudiness

That's completely different from my soaking water, I couldn't see through it after a couple of days

It should be OK, there were only a couple of reports out of goodness know how many sold. Keep a close eye on the fish. If they start to behave oddly, remove the wood and do a big water change.

Some types of wood are particularly prone to a toxic species of fungus, and unfortunately there is no way to tell except an analysis by a microbiologist. There are many species of fungus, many are harmless but some quite the opposite.

A few years ago I bought a lovely piece of branching wood and it developed a fungus which was a toxic species, and I nearly lost a tank of fish. Scrubbing, completely drying out, and soaking in a tank with no fish failed to eradicate the fungus, so the wood was tossed out in the garden.

Grapewood or graperoot is particularly prone to toxic fungi; I've never had azalea, but I am sure I have seen reports of this.

stuiegonefishing said:

Hi.. I’m not new to keeping fish but have just set up a new aquarium 2 weeks ago.. never had azalea root in a set up .. got it sunk no problem but I have a white mist/ coating over the root ?? Is this a worry or dangerous to fish ? Fish not introduced yet but tank planted.. if anyone can give me some advice it would be very much appreciated..cheers don’t know if the pics help ? View attachment 148707View attachment 148708

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I too have a new azalea root in my tank. it's probably been in for about a week and it also has this coating of fuzz. I think it is just a harmless bio film and has had no affect on my fish, however ri am not completely sure. It hasn't turned my water cloudy or anything like that. My tank is planted and has been running for about a year.
I hope this helps.

Thank you very much for info .. I may leave putting fish for another week? Will go to supplier of root at the weekend and see if anyone else has reported to them about this issue.. the shop must have had 50 or so pieces of this azalea root in stock.. all Aqua one !

As far as I know Azaleawood / Spiderwood is treated (without treatment it is poisoness) "fresh" wood from Asia.

I've hardly seen any wood that didn't show this layer for some time.