driftwood quality?

[Cash Turtle]

I bought some driftwood from the lfs the only thing they had was this packaged stuff from zoomed. it had drted mud and stuff on it but its all they have so i got it.
I washed it in the sink under hot water and scrubbed witha tooth brush but it has soft spots like dryrot or something that I can easily rip away.
Is this normal? Is it still ok for the fish?
or should I dry it out, use it in one of my reptile tanks for a climbing stick and find diftwood elsewhere?

 

[rich311k]

You can rub off the soft spots with a rasp or some such tool. I would boil it before I put it in the tank. It should be fine for your fish.

 

[QTOFFER]

I would either boil it or soak it for a few hours in really hot water. That will remove any embedded dirt and kill fungi. The dryrot and the fungus that causes it won't harm the fish at all.

 

[Crusis]

Definitely boil it! I have an empty tank that I put some driftwood in that I bought from the LFS and guess what? I have fungus. I just cleaned it up and dropped it in. Fortunately it's an empty tank that I can drain and redo.

If I owned an aquarium store, I would have a stove there JUST to boil the driftwood I sold my customers, and I would let them know what I had done and advise them to do it again. So many fish stores just let you go home without the proper information for what you have purchased. It's wrong in my mind.