Pleco Problems

[PrettyFishies]

All this dsicussion about the wood... Are there different types I should be concerned with? Or are you just saying it's luck of the draw?

 

[Patwa]

I recently picked up a load of driftwood off the Va. shores it took months! to get it right. its on sale at ebay now (not trying to sell it here just linking to see)
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.d...id=scottwtn&include=0&since=-1&sort=3&rows=50

you sure that's safe?? i mean that wood may have picked up some nasty stuff while out on the water, eh? like oil, and other crap idiots dump overboard.....and what if that wood was in contact with water coming from the Hudson river in NYC???....ohh man....that scares me!

i dunno man....i'm all for picking up nice rocks and such for the tank when you're hiking or camping, but driftwood washing up near major ports might be iffy.....too much chance of pollutants getting soaked up in the wood fibres...

Zach.

 

[Scottw68TN]

I like cedar because it has a natural water resistance. There are some good looking hardwoods from tropical regions, and Africa if your wanting a regional tank.
All wood decays but the do it slowly and your filter picks up the small fragments so you don't notice much. Soft woods like evergreens would be bad. But if you stick to the lfs they usually have the right kinds. If you want to make your own from one you find it becomes a more daunting task and can take up to a year to be ready. The ones I find on the beach are good because they have already been soaking in salt water for a long time then sun bleached / dried onin the sand for a long time. The more time spent curing it the less it tans the water and the longer it will resist the decay process.

 

[Scottw68TN]

Zach lifes a gamble but the odds are in my favor. I soak mine for months in various tubs 1st bleach water 1week, then salt water (months), then they get boiled for 7-8 hours then they are sun dried again. My suggestion for mark to soak the wood for a few days was for wood obtained from a pet store. Hopefully they have already cured it properly. HTH -Scott

 

[Guest]

I use collected driftwood also. I have 1 huge piece in my 90 gallon that was impossible to boil, so I just plopped it in there during setup/cycling, had no problems. I'll admit this is not the safest thing to do, but I hate paying for stuff I can collect. Mine has all been collected from local lakes, streams, rivers. If small enough, I do boil it. If not, I takes me chances!

 

[agtenor]

Plecos also like unsalted, uncooked spinach out of the can. Just like Popeye.

 

[Scottw68TN]

Spinach out of the can is cooked right?

 

[guppylove]

ow so i should not leave mine in the tank then if it has all gone brown?i did soak it for 1 day but it still made my tank go brown Hmmmm. it must be me.

 

[Scottw68TN]

Tannins are harmless to the fish. Most probably like the effect. Its a personal thing whether you like it. It will lower ph so some fish will not like it. Was it from a lfs a supposedly already cured or did you find somewhere?
I ask because more brown could mean it wasn't cured enough and may contain some bacteria. But over-all the brown stuff isn't the concern to the fishes health