pl*co's and wood HELP!!

[deter00005]

Hi all, just wondering what are the types of wood a common Pl*co and a royal pl*co would most benefit from I want to get them some wood just don't know what kind any suggestions would be great, thanks alot.

[vspen]

I'll be watching for this answer because I've heard everything from Driftwood to Cypress to Bogwood, Choya, Coconut, or Mopani wood.

It is my thought that driftwood, being a saltwater wood, would not be an ideal choice for a freshwater aquarium for obvious reasons (although would do nicely in a reptile or hermit crab habitat). Cypress is a freshwater to brackish swamp wood and might do the trick but it's not one of the main choices and it's not easy to find unless it's shellacked into a clock or coffee table. None of my LFS have ever heard of bogwood. If it's so popular why haven't even they heard of it? 3 stores and nobody knows!

Grapewood is the same sort of stuff that birds climb on. Also called Choya wood. It's a hollow wood with little holes in it. You would recognize it immediately if you saw a piece. Also perfect for hermit crabs, mine used to love climbing their stick.

I've been told they like half coconut shell (meat removed) but I think it was a joke. I don't know anyone who has tried it in an aquarium, only in a hermi-tat.

Mopani wood is a sinking freshwater wood. The roots are gnarly and fantastic for a reptile habitat. I think Mopani is probably the best choice but YES I WOULD like a difinitive answer on what type of wood to select and especially where to get it. Thank you for asking the question.

[knifegill]

Well, any exotic hardwood is great. I've got some scrap Bobinga in with my guy. He has a heck of a time with it. Keeps him busy, I suppose.
Avoid sappy woods like fir.
My panaque loves hemlock. I 'snuck'(<---prototense) it home from work and boiled it for a day or two. He didn't eat it until it started to gray, though.

Be sure it hasn't been treated with anything. I asked the supplier personally and was assured our hemlock comes from the tree, through the saws, and off the truck.

And I'm not so sure driftwood is all that dangerous. I take hot-dog sized pieces and boil the carp out of them (for several hours a day, whenever I'm home and think of it) for about a week with new water every day. My guy has put on at least an inch in the few months I've had him and seems by all means to be in great health. I'm no expert, just a guy with a fish. What I do works for me, maybe not for everybody.

He also gets zuccini and asparagus about twice every week, which he only casually grazes, preferring to make sawdust most of the time. They are wonderful fish and mine got braver once kept alone. Enjoy.

And I believe Mopani is bogwood.

Coconut shell should be fine, I'd think.

Black walnut is naturally toxic. Avoid.

[Bas Pels]

I use several types of wood, fresh, unboiled, in my tanks.

Some pieces get soft, start to rot, and are easier fior the catfish to feed from. So when it rots, it gets eaten, and if not, it stays in place.

I fail to see any problem here - unless you put wood in a tank without any pleco (which I sometimes do)

[MatsP]

Aside from a few types of (untreated) wood that are toxic to fish (ash, cedar are a couple I can think of, Walnut mentioned above), you can really use ANY wood you can get your hands on and that you are able to fit in the tank.

As Bas says, the fish are more prone to eating bits that are rotting, rather than the bits that are solid and hard.

So if you can find some old branches in a local forest/park, they'll be fine.

Soft wood is easier for the fish to eat, but as you probably are aware, many types of trees in rainforests are pretty hard - although Balsa is not one of those!

--
Mats

[racoll]

None of my LFS have ever heard of bogwood. If it's so popular why haven't even they heard of it? 3 stores and nobody knows!

I think the problem here is that people from the UK call basically any wood for the aquarium "bogwood".

Its just a generic name for fish tank wood here. I think people in the USA also use the word "driftwood" to apply to any aquarium wood. I don't think it literally needs to be collected off a beach. Correct me if I'm wrong on this.

I have about four different types of wood in my tank. I have no idea what they are, where they came from, or how they were prepared as I bought them from the LFS. The only stuff I can identify is the mopani wood, as I collected this myself in Africa.


If in doubt buy your wood from the LFS and boil/soak it.

As Mats says, softer wood is preferred by Panaque.

Make sure any wood you collect is dead (but not rotting) and not of a poisonous variety.

[racoll]

Just did a quick image search and a lot of my wood seems to be of this "grapewood" variety that is popular with reptile/invert keepers.


The stuff floats for ages and goes really mouldy.

However if properly pre-soaked and repeatedly cleaned, it looks great, and Panaque love it.

I will have to replace some of mine soon as they have eaten about two thirds of it away! What were fat branches are now spindly twigs.

[apistomaster]

I am used to buying a dense wood that appears to be bogwood called Malaysian Driftwood.It is natural in appearamce and will leach out tannins almost forever. That is fine for blackwater species tanks.

Driftwood to me. implies naturally smoothed weathered wood from ocean beaches or freshwater streams.
I am 400 miles from the Pacific so I don't collect ocean beach wood.

I collect my own from the local rivers. It is smoothed over from time spent in the rivers. I look for sand bars where I can find it partially buried in the sand. Most has been there long enough to be already water logged. The species of wood are usually not possible to identify and actually the most interestingly shapes pieces tend to be roots of long ago uprooted trees or shrubs.
These pieces tend to be soft enough that the wood eating plecos are able to reduce it's mass over time.
It is also nice to collect my own driftwood.

[hfjacinto]

I purchased some wood 6 months (it said bogwood on the bag) for a 10 gallon tank, I washed it really well, but didn't boil it, after 2 months it was still floating and smelled funny (decomposing type of smell). Chunks of the wood would drop to the tank and the wood got covered in snails. The ancistrus wouldn't even go next to it. I took it out scrubbed it really well and boiled it for over 2 hours. The algae has gone away and the ancistrus is always sucking on the wood. The snails have died back. If I purchase or pick up any more wood products, I will definetly boil it to reduce the chance of decomposure and toxic chemicals in the tank.

[Shane]

Wood is wood as long as you avoid the poisonous types mentioned above. I collect all my own like Larry and have never had a problem. I think the "driftwood" "bogwood" thing is just British versus American English issue.
Most pet stores carry Mopani (from the Colophospermum mopane tree, which is south African). It is not drift or bog wood at all. I grows in very dry areas and the wood is really dense as a defense against termites. It is also used to make beautiful wood floors, hold up mine shafts, and for musical instruments. It sinks because it so dense, not because it has ever seen water before.
Malaysian driftwood is some sort of SE Asian hardwood that also sinks because it is dense.
Avoid grapevine. It takes a long time to sink and mostly just grows nasty stuff on it (as Racoll pointed out).
Beach driftwood is usually fine. Just boil it first.
Coconut shell, with the fibers attached, is a great food.
Bamboo root balls can be found in almost any clime and are eaten with relish.
Most wood eating loricariids appear to primarily ingest various palm spp in the wild.
-Shane