# White mold on driftwood



## germanblueramlover (Jun 9, 2013)

Hi all -


Part of the driftwood is above the water in my new setup, and has some white mold growing on it - today starting to get hints of green. Should I be concerned? If so, how do I treat it? Or is this just like the fuzz you get underwater on new driftwood that goes away by itself?


Thanks.


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## Blue Ridge Reef (Feb 10, 2008)

Probably just film produced from sugars leeching out of the wood, but I usually see it more on submerged parts. Was that wood new to a fish tank?


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## germanblueramlover (Jun 9, 2013)

I don't know; it was dry on the shelf in the LFS so I assume never used before?

It goes away if I submerge it but I can't fill the jar full enough to get all the wood underneath.


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## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

I wouldn’t worry about it. Fungi are a major part of any ecosystem. Maybe with some luck maybe it’ll sprout a mushroom. :grin2:


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## germanblueramlover (Jun 9, 2013)

It's a lot greener today - looks just like bread mold. Is it worth trying to scrape it off somehow? I'm a little worried about it as it's in my bedroom and right next to where I work for hours, I don't want to be breathing in any spores if its something toxic.


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## Streetwise (May 24, 2019)

Have you seen that before? I would love to see a photo.


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## Blue Ridge Reef (Feb 10, 2008)

New driftwood often grows white funk from being submerged. Shrimp seem to find it delicious. But the emerged part may well be wood decay fungi of some sort. Would be interesting to put some in a petri dish. I too would like to see an updated photo of the green growth.


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## Streetwise (May 24, 2019)

I have seen the white stuff on some of my wood, but it would be neat to have a woodsy mushroom sprouting right above the waterline!


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## germanblueramlover (Jun 9, 2013)

Here it is.


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## Blue Ridge Reef (Feb 10, 2008)

It certainly looks like mold. Anything below the water surface?


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## germanblueramlover (Jun 9, 2013)

Nope - everything below is very nice looking! It's definitely not the same as the slimy coating you get on new wood underwater, I've seen that before.

I could try flooding over it, but now I'm a little worried in case it can grow underwater and would spread to my plants!


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## mgeorges (Feb 1, 2017)

germanblueramlover said:


> Here it is.


Looks like trichoderma, a very common household mold. It forms on fruit that's going bad, bread, etc.., and is harmless. I wouldn't be concerned about it one bit. If you want to treat it, you could spritz it with some H2O2.


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## germanblueramlover (Jun 9, 2013)

mgeorges said:


> Looks like trichoderma, a very common household mold. It forms on fruit that's going bad, bread, etc.., and is harmless. I wouldn't be concerned about it one bit.



Thanks, that makes sense. I guess it's only harmful if you eat it, then! As long as letting it grow won't make veggies in the same airspace mold faster :frown2:

Would vinegar hurt it?


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## mgeorges (Feb 1, 2017)

germanblueramlover said:


> Thanks, that makes sense. I guess it's only harmful if you eat it, then! As long as letting it grow won't make veggies in the same airspace mold faster :frown2:
> 
> Would vinegar hurt it?


It's actually fine to eat, lol....or at least it hasn't killed me yet! Once it turns green, it has gone to spore, so at this point your trich spore count in your house will be "up", but we're talking in small ppm's here. Regardless, it doesn't matter too much since it's one of those molds that is always present. As long as the produce is fresh and healthy, no obvious cuts and what not, you'll be fine 

Not sure on vinegar, but H2O2 is very safe in small doses if that's your concern. I use it to spot treat algae in my tanks when I get tired of looking at it haha. A couple drops, or using a spray bottle, will kill that off quickly and not have any impact on your tank.


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## germanblueramlover (Jun 9, 2013)

mgeorges said:


> Not sure on vinegar, but H2O2 is very safe in small doses if that's your concern. I use it to spot treat algae in my tanks when I get tired of looking at it haha. A couple drops, or using a spray bottle, will kill that off quickly and not have any impact on your tank.



Not worried about safety - just vinegar would be more useful for me to have in for cooking, and I could spare a few drops for this purpose! H2O2 doesn't have too many other uses - at least that are relevant to me


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## mgeorges (Feb 1, 2017)

germanblueramlover said:


> Not worried about safety - just vinegar would be more useful for me to have in for cooking, and I could spare a few drops for this purpose! H2O2 doesn't have too many other uses - at least that are relevant to me


Give it a shot and report back if you've got vinegar on hand. Worst case scenario, the mold will gain super powers overnight and begin consuming everything in sight...kinda like The Blob. 

Yikes.

Good luck! :grin2:


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## germanblueramlover (Jun 9, 2013)

Well, I ended up topping up the jar instead and flooding the mold. Fingers crossed there's no trouble with that, and it doesn't like getting drowned! There's a delightful (/s) little blue-green sheen on the surface from the spores...


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