Scented wood in tank

[Delapool]

Hi all,

Pruned a lavender bush last night and put a dead branch to soak in a bucket of MG before adding to tank. Now though I'm wondering if adding wood from lavender or rosemary or other naturally scented bush is a good idea. Anyone done it?

 

[Autumnsky]

Short answer is no. Is it green wood or dead for a year or so? Interesting question. All kinds of wood have oils in them of some kind. I think if it was dead wood it should be ok. I would soak it then test it in a bowl with a cull shrimp and snails.

 

[Delapool]

It's been dead for 7 months I would say. One part of the bush got burnt at start of summer and I left it there as a sun screen for rest of bush (my excuse and I'm sticking with it ).

 

[Delapool]

Oops - it's rosemary. Maybe I should have a coffee. I'll check bucket and see if it still smells.

I pulled off the dead leaves last night and that's when I noticed the smell. I then sprayed it with the hose before putting in bucket.

 

[Autumnsky]

I googled what uses Rosemary (oil) has and it is seemingly good for everything including skin and immune system, etc. I would think it would be good for the shrimp. Maybe instead of oak leaves we can use Rosemary needle/leaves lol!

 

[Gillie]

I googled what uses Rosemary (oil) has and it is seemingly good for everything including skin and immune system, etc. I would think it would be good for the shrimp. Maybe instead of oak leaves we can use Rosemary needle/leaves lol!

It's also used as a natural repellent for all kinds of critters so there is something in it that could be bad for the shrimp.

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[Brookster123]

I wouldnt dela.. unless you're willing to go pro Bono myth busters here..

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[Delapool]

Thanks all. Great info and ideas. Grabbed a MTS and I've put it in a spare tank with a branch that has algae on it. Will report back.

If you hear of a mutant, 80ft snail rampaging through Western Australia....

 

[Delapool]

I wouldnt dela.. unless you're willing to go pro Bono myth busters here..

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Yeah, I think I will go for a walk and find some hard wood. It's a bit tricky as we get a lot of eucalyptus trees here as well which can be high oil.

http://www.eucalyptusoil.com/eucalyptus-trees

 

[Delapool]

Ok, old tank set up. Will report back. Got to do another water change as the MG must of soaked into the wood more than I thought. Snail is sulking on bottom I hope.

 

[Autumnsky]

Ok, old tank set up. Will report back. Got to do another water change as the MG must of soaked into the wood more than I thought. Snail is sulking on bottom I hope.

Hope so too.

Will be interesting to see how the test comes out.

 

[trennamw]

Those oils can be very toxic. Rosemary and lavender are some of the gentler ones but still ...

A point of reference, we dilute 1 drop of each of those oils in 10ml water and use about 1 ml of that for a child's nebulizer treatment.


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[Autumnsky]

Those oils can be very toxic. Rosemary and lavender are some of the gentler ones but still ...

A point of reference, we dilute 1 drop of each of those oils in 10ml water and use about 1 ml of that for a child's nebulizer treatment.


Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.

But the oil is also highly concentrated reduction of the plants leaves and twigs, not usually the wood base. A dried piece of wood might leech out pretty slowly.

 

[trennamw]

But the oil is also highly concentrated reduction of the plants leaves and twigs, not usually the wood base. A dried piece of wood might leech out pretty slowly.

Absolutely. But it's the "might" that gets me. Why risk it? Aren't there woods we only use with extreme caution in tanks, like cedar? Like cedar the chemicals are in the wood not just the needles.


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[Delapool]

I'm not sure. I have Mongolian vine wood and Australia hard wood (I suspect off cuts from a large tree as very solid wood) and they don't leach much. Both from fish shops.

Also in a small tank have probably some sticks off a gum tree that looked pretty old but not decaying. They got soaked in a bucket for over a week though.

I'll have to look up what rosemary oil does. Unless anyone knows?

So far this test still has pretty green water from the MG. Finished painting the bathroom ceilings (a joyful job) so planning a water change tomorrow. The algae looks ok. Saw a pond snail getting around. The MTS has disappeared off somewhere. Test tank is bare bottom so not sure where it went.

 

[Delapool]

Ok, so an update.

Found another snail and added. Algae and snail fine over several days. No film on surface or anything. Did lots of water changes getting rid of MG dye as it was annoying me. Did notice wood still had a rosemary smell.


Mid - week, added 2 Molly fry and a betta. Fry about 4 months old.

After a day noticed one Molly had a side-shaking spasm. More water changes. Read up on rosemary and spasms mentioned. More water changes and cleaned off fine branches but this Molly still had problems. Other fish fine.

Gave up, took branch out and several water changes. Lost the other Molly fry on one pwc too many. Molly fry with spasms doing well, no more issues.

The spasms reminded me a little of a shimmy I had seen in a fish when using pimafix. Sorry, rushed post as getting late but wanted to update.