Spiderwood and angels

[FroFro]

Is spider wood safe for two large angelfish? They aren't veiltails but are fairly large and I don't want then to get injured.

 

[Byron]

From the perspective of roughness, it should be OK (you could always sand down any sharp points). But this wood has been known to harbour a toxic fungus that will kill fish. There was a thread about 3-4 weeks ago now, where this very thing happened. I personally would not use spiderwood.

 

[FroFro]

From the perspective of roughness, it should be OK (you could always sand down any sharp points). But this wood has been known to harbour a toxic fungus that will kill fish. There was a thread about 3-4 weeks ago now, where this very thing happened. I personally would not use spiderwood.

Sup


Was there a contaminated supply or something or is the wood in general likely to have this fungus? In Was really hoping to do a sort ofnunderwater bonsai with java moss and spider wood. Any other wood suggestions that are somewhat more unique than a lump of mopani?

Sorry for the emojis.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Maybe rosewood roots? If you go to your LFS, there are a lot of options. (Or at least at mine there are.)

 

[FroFro]

Maybe rosewood roots? If you go to your LFS, there are a lot of options. (Or at least at mine there are.)

We don't have rozewood unfortunately. Just grape wood, mopani, cork, and spiderwood

 

[Byron]

Sup


Was there a contaminated supply or something or is the wood in general likely to have this fungus? In Was really hoping to do a sort ofnunderwater bonsai with java moss and spider wood. Any other wood suggestions that are somewhat more unique than a lump of mopani?

Sorry for the emojis.

This is the thread that discussed it. And no, it is not an isolated case, this is actually very common with this type of wood. I nearly lost a tank of fish, and I know others who have.

https://www.fishforums.net/posts/3843159/

You mention greapewood, that is also known to have toxic fungus. Of coourse, this wood may actually all be tyhe same, stores can give it whatever name they prefer, just like common names for fish. Unreliable. But the branchy sort of wood seems prone to fungus. I collected branches off my oak tree and these were safe once they were totally dead-dry; I left them for over a year to dry out.

 

[FroFro]

This is the thread that discussed it. And no, it is not an isolated case, this is actually very common with this type of wood. I nearly lost a tank of fish, and I know others who have.

https://www.fishforums.net/posts/3843159/

You mention greapewood, that is also known to have toxic fungus. Of coourse, this wood may actually all be tyhe same, stores can give it whatever name they prefer, just like common names for fish. Unreliable. But the branchy sort of wood seems prone to fungus. I collected branches off my oak tree and these were safe once they were totally dead-dry; I left them for over a year to dry out.

unfortunately my local LFS only sells three types of wood safe for freshwater, mopani, malaysian, and cholla wood. Cholla wood gets very soft and sort of gummy on the inside as it becomes water logged and creates a lot of debris in the tank. Especially since my pleco starts eating on it, so I took that piece out of my tank. Is rose wood safe like pheonix suggested?

 

[Byron]

unfortunately my local LFS only sells three types of wood safe for freshwater, mopani, malaysian, and cholla wood. Cholla wood gets very soft and sort of gummy on the inside as it becomes water logged and creates a lot of debris in the tank. Especially since my pleco starts eating on it, so I took that piece out of my tank. Is rose wood safe like pheonix suggested?

I know nothing about rosewood, sorry. Mopani I do not like personally because it is often light coloured, and it seems to take forever to become waterlogged sufficient to sink and stay down. Malaysian Driftwood I have lots of; this is ideal wood, and so far the only fault I can find after using it for 20 years is that some chunks over time do begin to rot, and i remove them. But otherwise, this is or seems to be ideal wood. Branches from oak and beech also work, provided they are dead dry.

 

[Gypsum]

Huh. Mopani is the only wood I've found that actually sinks.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Huh. Mopani is the only wood I've found that actually sinks.

Pretty much all driftwood will sink, as long as you soak it. Once, it took a pice of my driftwood 3 weeks to sink, but it was worth it.

Rosewood is safe, I know that for sure. I do concur with @Byron that oak wood branches are safe.

 

[Back in the fold]

All of these replies should convince anyone that anything organic that you put in your tank could be bad news. Do your homework and be very sure about anything new. Just because a store sells it doesn't mean it's OK.

 

[Byron]

All of these replies should convince anyone that anything organic that you put in your tank could be bad news. Do your homework and be very sure about anything new. Just because a store sells it doesn't mean it's OK.

Very true. I collect the oak branches but they were in my garden and after drying out for over a year I thought they would be OK, and so far they have been. My larger chunk-type wood I only buy and I have since 1997 only bought Malaysian Driftwood and never had an issue. Prior to that, I did have a chunk of wood from a very reliable store that turned out to have some toxin that slowly leeched out. I've no idea what it was, but the fish became more and more lethargic over several weeks, and it got to the point that any new fish died overnight. My last attempt to discern the issue involved the curator of freshwater fish at Vancouver Aquarium who was able to ascertain it was likely the wood, and it was.