# algae or bacteria on new driftwood?



## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

*Duh! Forgot the pic!*

It's late! My excuse for forgetting the pic...

I should add there's no sign of this on any of the plants or rocks or substrate, but I did have some tiny debris on the glass that looked like it could be the start of something. (colorless too)
I should also mention that I bought an oto today - yes, just one for a 55 - because I didn't know if it would eat this, and I didn't want to add too many fish plus have fish without a reliable food source. Having said that, I panicked and moved my pleco from the 40 to this tank. It's about 3" long. The oto's cruising from the glass to the val, the pleco's hiding - lol.


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## AdamP. (Sep 30, 2005)

I think its fungus. it will go away by itself after some time. don't be surprised if it envelopes the entire piece of wood for a while.:eek5:


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## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

I was really hoping to hear that answer! lol I hope others chime in with the same consensus! Since I did this 55g tank so differently - a big experiment for me - I'm expecting challenges (algae, imbalances, etc). It will be a great learning tool for me, but I hope not at the expense of the poor fish.
Thank you for responding : )

oh, and the driftwood is pretty much covered now. This happened seemingly overnight.


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## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

Pardon the crappy pic - this is the wood, and you can see the debris on the glass. I had been using a coffee filter to rub some of the fuzz off the wood to see what color it really was (no visible color, so white or clear-ish) so I hope the debris came from dislodged goo from the coffee filter scrubbing. I didn't notice if it was there before. Another newbie goof, it's possible the driftwood is cedar - but I cut into it and it only had a woodsy smell, no resin smell. (it was very dried out & super bouyant - hence the huge quartz holding it down! lol) It's 30" long and 12" deep, it just barely squeezed into the depth of the tank without me having to cut it down. Please don't chide me for having no plants - I know, I know...
I do, however, love the tannin look. I'll miss it in time when it all leaches out. I'm going rock hunting tomorrow with a friend, for both tanks. Woo-hoo! Any excuse to rummage through a creek! 
(you can see the outline of my 3" pleco, centered under the arch.)


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

I second the fungus


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## firefiend (Sep 3, 2009)

AdamP. said:


> I think its fungus. it will go away by itself after some time. don't be surprised if it envelopes the entire piece of wood for a while.:eek5:


+1 nothing to worry about or act upon unless you find it just too difficult to look at, lol.


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## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

Whew! Thanks folks 
I don't mind looking at it at all, now that I feel it won't consume the tank  It can run it's course.

I have to say, watching the oto is fun, I assume it will eat on algae wafers, since I now have the pleco in the same tank? They'll need a wafer now & then, I gather. I used to toss a wafer in every 3 days when the pleco was in my 40b - I think the green cory liked them too.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

driftwoodhunter said:


> Whew! Thanks folks
> I don't mind looking at it at all, now that I feel it won't consume the tank  It can run it's course.
> 
> I have to say, watching the oto is fun, I assume it will eat on algae wafers, since I now have the pleco in the same tank? They'll need a wafer now & then, I gather. I used to toss a wafer in every 3 days when the pleco was in my 40b - I think the green cory liked them too.


my oto doesn't touch algae wafers. he likes blanched zucchini and spinach and algae sheets.


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## Imaginary1226 (Jul 27, 2010)

Gotta love wood fungus. Mine still has some on it and it has been about a year. I keep scrubbing it off, but it comes back. And it smells like rotten eggs. Hopefully yours doesn't do it for such a long time.


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## TakeTheCann0lis (Jul 21, 2011)

Had the same exact fungus on my driftwood. Was fuzzy/slimy and dense. Covered much of the DW, and finally subsided about a month later with no adverse affects.

That said, next time I get driftwood, will boil it or at least sparge it with boiling water if I can't find a big enough pot. It will alleviate a lot of the issues I had going in.


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## m00se (Jan 8, 2011)

Yea I think that's fungus too. I wonder whether cedar is a good choice though. It has all kinds of chemicals in it:

"The essential oil within the plant has been used for cleansers, disinfectants, hair preparations, insecticides, liniment, room sprays, and soft soaps. There are some reports that the Ojibwa made a soup from the inner bark of the soft twigs. Others have used the twigs to make teas to relieve constipation and headache."

It also contains thujone, a neurotoxin.

Just something to think about - I don't know if it's relevant or not, but...


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## JSA (Jun 3, 2011)

Imaginary1226 said:


> ... I keep scrubbing it off, but it comes back. And it smells like rotten eggs. ...


That part would worry me, about the rotton egg smell. That can signal a toxic gas from anaerobic bacteria. Are your fish OK?


Julia


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## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

The stuff on my driftwood is completely gone now, it was gone after the 4th day - I don't know if it ran it's course fast, or the oto & pleco ate it. It hasn't reappeard since.
I have no idea if it is in fact cedar, since there was no scent other than an earthy wood scent when I cut deeply into it. However it has very clearly defined rings, like the rings of an onion, and for some reason I instantly thought of cedar. That and it went totally sable brown/black when wet. I only have 6 black tetras and 11 cardinals in the 55 (besides the oto & pleco, which is growing way too fast & does nothing but poop, btw) but I am watching closely for signs of distress. 
When I want to remove the pleco it's going to be a booger to catch - I spent a 1/2 hour "sneaking" up on it in the 40b. Now it has all kinds of nooks to hide in. Maybe when the time comes to catch it I can put a length of pvc tube in the tank and it will go there to rest. I have a pretty longfin white bristlenose on reserve for this tank come fall!


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## cggorman (May 9, 2009)

Looks nice! Can't wait to see it grown in.


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## Imaginary1226 (Jul 27, 2010)

JSA said:


> That part would worry me, about the rotton egg smell. That can signal a toxic gas from anaerobic bacteria. Are your fish OK?
> 
> 
> Julia


Yeah they are great! They never seemed to be bothered by it at all and it has been almost a year. Still don't understand why it is taking so long to go away....I need to find a fish that will eat it!


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## theworm (Jul 2, 2011)

I have it right now, like you said it's gone after 4 days. What a relief .....


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

driftwoodhunter said:


> When I want to remove the pleco it's going to be a booger to catch - I spent a 1/2 hour "sneaking" up on it in the 40b. Now it has all kinds of nooks to hide in. Maybe when the time comes to catch it I can put a length of pvc tube in the tank and it will go there to rest.


Good plan with the pvc, once he is in there you can cover both ends and lift him out. I caught one, by using a pitcher and sinking it in the tank, then used a net to herd him towards and into the pitcher. It took several attempts and one attempt almost went horribly when I went to lift the pitcher out without and net over the top and he jumped out but luckily landed back in the water instead of the floor.


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

I spent 20 mins trying to get 1 tetra out of my tank last night without disrupting my plants too much.


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