# Mushrooms on Driftwood



## andakin (May 7, 2014)

The new driftwood I got was a bit too tall for the tank and parts of it was above the water surface. A bunch of gross mold/fungus was growing on it; probably caused by not boiling the driftwood first. I finally got around to removing it and it turns out that they were mushrooms. I thought it was neat.


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## Squrl888 (Oct 3, 2014)

That's very cool!
I don't think there's any way of stopping the rotting of the wood since the mushroom mycelium is all throughout that wood. Enjoy it while it lasts


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## andakin (May 7, 2014)

This is all new to me. What will happen to my driftwood?


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## Squrl888 (Oct 3, 2014)

The mushrooms should end up rotting the wood. I'm actually growing oyster mushrooms like this on logs in a small patch of woods by my house.
I don't know exactly how long it will take. Maybe it's a pretty benign mushroom and the wood won't rot much slower.
But in the wild mushrooms are very important decomposers of wood and turn hard wood into soft mush for the soil...so I imagine this is what is happening to your driftwood :O
I don't think it would be happening underwater, but it is hard to say. I don't think a mycelium can survive completely submerged like that.
I'm no expert though.
Sorry to burst your bubble but mushrooms do rot wood. It is very beautiful and cool though  Maybe it's not doing much harm anyway.


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## andakin (May 7, 2014)

You are the bringer of bad news. It is what it is. I would hate to see this nice piece of wood rot away. It's got such an interesting shape to it. maybe I'll saw it down so that it's fully submerged. Think that will help?


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## Squrl888 (Oct 3, 2014)

Personally, I think if it was submerged then that will help, but I would really like to hear other people's knowledge on this.
Maybe I'll ask the mycology club folks at school when I see them.

That is a very nice piece of wood though! I wouldn't go sawing it yet 
I'll try to actually ask those mycology club folks, they are very knowledgable.
Hopefully somebody else will respond too who might know if it will actually rot the wood.
Either way, nice wood and nice picture of the tank, wood, and mushrooms.

I think our aquarium wood rots inside the tank anyway. It takes years but it does rot. I have some old 'malaysian driftwood' that has gotten much softer over the years and has actually broken off in some parts. I have some new wood that I added and I always find snails on it, I think the microbial activity going on attracts the snails.


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## andakin (May 7, 2014)

Thank you for your troubles. I will wait and see what you and your friends have to say. Please send me a PM if you hear anything.

The submerged parts grew a really thick later of film/fungus when it was first introduced. A few bristle nose plecos took care of that and it's completely clean now. But I notice that there are sections of the wood that is *really red*. Is this something I should lose sleep over? See attached photo.

This is a 29 gallon low tech I had just set up a couple weeks ago for my spoiled betta.


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## Squrl888 (Oct 3, 2014)

Wow that is really interesting! I have never seen anything like that!
Do you mind if I send the pictures you posted here in to the mycology club folks? They are very knowledgable about different fungi and I bet they will have some answers. They can probably say what mushroom that is too.
I'll probably e-mail them and I'll probably get an answer within a few days 
Thanks for sharing this!

Bump: Is the driftwood still red like that?


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## scx (Sep 8, 2013)

Boil the wood and kill it, itll last much longer


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## andakin (May 7, 2014)

Squrl888 said:


> Bump: Is the driftwood still red like that?


Anything on the internet is public domain. And yes, the driftwood is still really red.


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

unless the mushrooms/fungus bother you, I'd just let it go. Granted, the wood will break down a bit, but that will happen anyways, and at least you get to see some neat fungus.

I wouldn't bother cutting it - let it rot away, it will look more natural.


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## Tinanti (Aug 25, 2005)

_Lenzites betulina _? Maybe.
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/lenzites_betulina.html


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

haha this happened to be too when a part of my dw was not submerged, it never happend as long as the wood was under water


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## Squrl888 (Oct 3, 2014)

Hey andakin, so sorry about a late reply. School has been so tough on me :/ I've had very little sleep. I just e-mailed the mycology club a couple days ago and I got a reply from them! I thought I'd post in case others were interested.
This was their reply:


"Squrl888",

It is difficult to ID mushrooms from just a photo, but your friend may have a Schizophyllum commune growing off his driftwood. They are common saprobes and can handle wet/dry fluctuation well. Submerged wood will not rot quickly, the wood above the water may. Staining can be caused by fungi, but submerged wood typically is degraded by Bacteria that may also stain wood.

~UMN Mycology Club


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