Driftwood

[murph3400]

Is driftwood safe for Khuli Loaches and Apisros? If so what type? Where does everyone buy it??

 

[BBradbury]

Hello mur...

I've decorated my tanks with pieces from local rivers and lakes for years. As long as there's no laws against this, check out these places. You just rinse them off with a pressure nozzle attached to the garden hose and leave them out in the sun to dry for a day or two. I pick up rocks too to weigh the piece down in the tank. This stuff looks much better than what I've seen at the store.

B

 

[Fresh2o]

Pretty much any driftwood is fine for apistos and kuhli loaches.
The more popular types found in pet shops are manzanita, mopani, spider wood, and Malaysian. Manzanita are typically elongated and branchy (often used in wedding decor), mopani is smooth with large, curved knobs, spider wood resembles manzanita but are usually thinner with more branching, and Malaysian is darker with a bark like surface.
There are online sellers for driftwood.
Avoid grape wood which is often found in the reptile section. It tends soften in water (much shorter lifespan than those mentioned above).

 

[murph3400]

Any ideass were to get good Mopani

 

[TMaier]

Most of the big box pet stores carry it.

 

[murph3400]

Thank you

 

[V227]

Mopani is a nice looking two tone wood. Malaysian is very dark. Both will stain your water in a big time way for months, or in my case, years. Manzanita, is beautiful, branch wood that does very little staining. I own Manzanita and Malaysian and like both. Most mopani I've seen have been straight thick limb pieces. Malaysian seems to come in a lot more varied shapes.
Pictured on the left is Manzanita, the dark piece on the right is Malaysian.

 

[TMaier]

I soaked mine in water and changed it frequently to minimize discoloration when I put it in the tank.