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Hi, recently I have discovered some hair-like thing growing on my driftwood. Its colour is like light greyish and not green. Any idea what is it ? My mum told me is it fungus/molds growing on it. I am not sure. I was wondering what are they and are they poisionous to the fishes. Is there there any fish that eat them ? Thanks.

Hi wk,

Actually your mum is right. It's a fungus usually caused by some dead organism in the wood rotting. Don't worry about it, it harmless and won't hurt your fish. Just leave it be and it will clear up by itself in a couple of weeks. It's quite common on driftwood.

BTW, I'm just back from Singapore (I live in Jakarta), nice city, plenty of good LFS's

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Thanks for the reply. But it seems that I do not heard of this problems from other people. I used to have an albino shark in the tank and I recently removed it, then I started to see these hair like thing. Maybe the shark ate them so that is why I did not see them all the while. I thought driftwood are 'processed' and would not pose such a problem.

Hi wk,

Not all driftwood is "processed". Pretty much depends where you bought it. If like most shops here and the ones I saw in Singapore where the wood is just piled up outside, then they wouldn't be processed as such. Chances are some small insects or other organisms made their home in the wood while it's waiting to be sold. These organisms breaking down cause the fungus.

It's quite common, plenty of people on this forum have asked the same question. I've had it myself. I've noticed it doesn't appear on darker bogwood, but I always get it on the more branchy driftwood.

Last edited by bensaf at 21-Oct-2004 01:10

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Hi, it seems that there are more questions as we discuss this further. Btw, what is the difference between bogwood and driftwood ? Should I take out the driftwood and throw it away and get a new one? If yes, then what should I look out for when getting a new one ? Thanks.

Hi,

No please don't throw out your wood. It's fine, it will look ok in a week or two. no need for you to do anything.

The only difference between bogwood and driftwood is where they are found and color differnces.
Bogwood is usually found buried in marshy boggy ground, it usually tends to be darker in color and more bulky - more like a big dark lump.
Driftwood is wood that was floating about in water and then got washed up on shore. It's usually lighter then bogwood and looks more like a branchy piece of wood.
Both are fine, they have both been floating about in water for some time which gets rid of all the sap and creepy crawlies that could pollute your aquarium, and they are usually able to sink in water.

I hope I'm not confusing you with too much info !

Don't worry about your wood, what it's doing now is natural and normal. As I said in a couple of weeks it will look perfect again.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Thanks for the replies. I overturned the algae since there are some of those hair like thing growing underneath it. By the next morning, they are gone. I think my cories have eaten them. Looks like they are algae and not some fungus/molds. Hope I am right...