Mopani Wood -

[fuzzynicki]

Hi there. I brought home a pair of long fin bn's and an albino bn last night to add to my 4 clown plecs. I already have one piece of bogwood in the aquarium but decided to get another. I went to my local pet shop and all they had was Mopani wood. I was told that it was the same as bogwood,- but then another member of staff said that they weren't so sure. I bought it anyway, but have left it all wrapped up incase I need to take it back!

SO,- is it ok/right to add the Mopani or should I hold out for 'normal' bogwood? Sorry if it seems a stupid question, but I have never heard of Mopani before. All my aquariums over the years have just contained bogwood!

Thank you!

 

[mixmaster jay]

mopani is lighter in colour and harder but a simular thing i prefer it to bogwood myself

 

[hollanda88]

Hi there. I brought home a pair of long fin bn's and an albino bn last night to add to my 4 clown plecs. I already have one piece of bogwood in the aquarium but decided to get another. I went to my local pet shop and all they had was Mopani wood. I was told that it was the same as bogwood,- but then another member of staff said that they weren't so sure. I bought it anyway, but have left it all wrapped up incase I need to take it back!

SO,- is it ok/right to add the Mopani or should I hold out for 'normal' bogwood? Sorry if it seems a stupid question, but I have never heard of Mopani before. All my aquariums over the years have just contained bogwood!

Thank you!

Mopani is a south african tree, its ok in aquaria and IMO looks better than bogwood, bog wood is wood from a bog lol, mopani is not from waterlogged land and therefore can rot, but if that did hapen it would take decades IMO.

andrew

 

[snowflake311]

No it is not bogwood. bogwood is wood that has been water logged in peat bogs. Most pet stores do not have bogwood it can be a bit pricey. Like Hollanda88 said Mopani is a hard wood from africa. What makes it so good for aquariums is the fact that it is So very dense that it sinks with out needing to be water logged. Because it is so dense it also take much longer to rot then most other woods. But it will not lower your Ph like ture bogwood will.

 

[fuzzynicki]

Thank you for that info! I was just concerned as I read that bristlenoses have to have bogwood as part of their diet, and I didn't know if the Mopani worked in the same way. I'm assuming it does,- and is not just 'decorative'?

 

[snowflake311]

Thank you for that info! I was just concerned as I read that bristlenoses have to have bogwood as part of their diet, and I didn't know if the Mopani worked in the same way. I'm assuming it does,- and is not just 'decorative'?

Oh yeah wood is wood too a pleco it's the wood fibers that they like to chew on. I have mopani wood in my tanks and the plecos LOVE it.

 

[CherryDanio]

We have both mopani and bog wood in our tanks. I know it's probably just our bits of wood but I think there is much more colour variation in the mopani. My apple snail absaloutly loves it as well Again just personal experience but we soak our wood a hell of alot as we don't want the tannin colour, we did have to soak the mopani a little longer but only an extra day or so (we cheat by soaking them in boiling water and changing the water every few hours to speed things up).

 

[scatz]

Mopani is an extremely hard wood and not even panaques can chew on it, bogwood on the other hand is much softer which is why it is generally prefered over mopani for pleco tanks

 

[snowflake311]

Mopani is an extremely hard wood and not even panaques can chew on it, bogwood on the other hand is much softer which is why it is generally prefered over mopani for pleco tanks

Oh my plecos do a number on My mopari wood. When I vacuum the tank I get so much brown tiny pits of wood fiber it's like dust almost. It's always around the wood. Never saw that untill I added the wood. So they can rasp on it. But bogwood is better because it can can lower the ph plecos like that.

 

[fuzzynicki]

Thank you all. I have the mopani wood in soak. Been soaking for 24hrs at a time in boiling water then repeating. Can't believe how brown the water is! Think it will be a while before I introduce it into the aquarium!

 

[Jdubz]

Maponi wood looks great in a tank and can liven up a plane area...

There are some stunning pieces on ebay.... i found a couple of pieces on one auction for £10

Wood

 

[snowflake311]

I have 2 chunks one is almost 2 feet long. They have been soaking for almost a month the water still looks like tea. Scrubing the wood helps and daily water changes with steaming hot water too. But man this wood can take a long time to get ready. Carban in the filter will help keep the tannins from changing the water colors.