Driftwood and Plecos

[jratuszn]

Ok, now a new problem has arisen-

The driftwood I brought over from my old tank is disintegrating. It was pretty old, and sat in a tank for about 2 years. When I took it out it was pretty spongy, now it flakes apart when you touch it. So it can't go into the new tank. I've had a Pleco in quarantine for almost 3 days now, and have been feeding it blanched lettuce. So here's the question:

A. Does my pleco (albino/chocolate pleco) absolutely require driftwood?

B. If driftwood is a must, do I need to go through the whole boiling/soaking/curing process if I buy new driftwood from the LFS (as opposed to finding some in a lake or something)?

Thanks!

-Jeff

 

[Allivymar]

If its a vegetarian plec then yeah, you'll need new driftwood. They need the lignin in the wood for digestion. One of the downfalls of not really having a stomach and digesting food in ones intestines

Depends on what sort of driftwood you get when it comes to soaking etc. Some driftwood comes on slate bottoms. Usually the slate is heavy enough to keep the driftwood at the bottom even before its water logged (I have one of these). Generally a good rinse is enough for that type. Some stores will sell driftwood directly from the tank (I have one of these as well); that kind will need to be boiled although not cured as you never know what ELSE is in the tank.