Gross looking stuff on my bog wood

[portia]

New poster here with a question (I hope this is the correct forum).

I put a nice piece of bog wood in my tank for appearance and to give the fish something to hide around.

About 3 or 4 days after I put it in, it has kind of a white cloudy substance coating it. It looks like it would be gooey if I touched it.

Anyone know whether I should be worried or if this is just normal? My fish don't seem to be bothered, but it doesn't look all that great.

Thanks!

 

[somecallmedaniel16]

What kind of wood is this? I think I know what you are talking about.

 

[FishEggs]

sometimes that happens. it sounds like it's just a fungus. i had that happen to a piece i have but it went away eventually and to my knowledge it didnt hurt the fish at all.

 

[dskidmore]

Could be fungus or bacteria. It should go away over time, but make sure you have plenty of circulation or an air stone, as a bacterial bloom can deplete the oxygen in the water.

If it really bothers you, take it out and scrub it, and put it back in. It may come back again anyway, so you may as well wait it out.

 

[DragonFish71]

It's normal for some types of wood. Grapevine is notorious for it. It is harmless just ugly. Depending on what type of fish you have, they might nibble on it until it goes away. Otos and corys are good for that. But as said above, you can take it out and rinse it off every time it comes back until it stops, which it eventually will. I used a toothbrush (bought just for cleaning fish stuff) until I could stock the tank with corys and otos.

 

[meegosh]

I had a piece of grapewood in my tank and it did the same thing. It rots really quick so I decided to go with malaysian instead. I personally like the look of malaysian more now.

 

[portia]

Hmm

I used the algae scrubber and got some of it off last night. It came off in sort of thready-looking pieces. I'd rather not take it out and scrub it because I have it secured to a rock so it won't float around and I'd have to disturb that arrangement.

I do have a small oto (sp?) catfish, but he mostly hides under a rock and I haven't seen him on the wood. In fact, I rarely see him at all which is a little annoying. I'm hoping he gets over it.

The wood is a really light wood that is actually in the pet store for reptiles. The aquarium guy said that people buy it for their fishtanks all the time and it's safe for fish, so I tried it. It said bog wood on the label and I understood from reading in the various aquarium forums that that is the best kind.

 

[dskidmore]

Otos are more active in small schools. They are my favorite fish! He's probably snacking on that wood at night when you're not looking. Some are nocturnal.