# mopani wood problems



## kdwilson972 (Jan 26, 2009)

i recently moved my L-catfishes (L270, L260, and ancisturs claro) into a new tank. i used all the old rocks and the three filters off their old one. the only new item is a piece of mopani wood, which i sterilized by boiling twice, then putting it in a bucket and rinsing every other day for two weeks. but now that it is in the tank it has a thin layer of what i would describe as slime on it, whitish, about 1/4" thick. i have taken the wood out and scrubbed the stuff off, but it grows back as soon as i put it in the tank again. any idea what this stuff could be, and if it is harmful to my fish? the water is 6.2 pH, very soft, with no ammonia, nitrite or nitrates and i do 25% changes twice a week.


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## Grey Legion (Apr 11, 2005)

This happens with many types of drift wood, though I am unsure of exactly what it is, I do know it will not harm the fish. Some fish may even eat it. Remove by hand and continue with your regular maintenance and it should go away within a few weeks. :thumb:


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## LJ (Sep 12, 2007)

This is common with driftwood that has been recently placed in a tank. Just let it be, and it will most likely go away.

Check out this page. 
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/aquascaping/wood.shtml
Scroll to the heading, "Fungi on wood".


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

Funny thing I noticed was that after I put a powerhead in the tank (set to blow bubbles everywhere), the slime disappeared from the giant chunks of Mopani in the tank.

-Ryan


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## cloudgodd (Jan 20, 2009)

My mopani did this, never harmed my fish, and my bushy nose pleco eats it up like gold. Ever since I put him in with the mopani I havenâ€™t seen any of the white stuff....

NOTE: NEVER EVER use grape vine...oooh that stuff rots...NASTY smell!!!

Bill


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## kdwilson972 (Jan 26, 2009)

funny thing; as soon as i posted one of my fish, probably the ancistrus, ate most of the white stuff. so now i think that problem has gone away. if i can just get it to follow the rules in all the books and stop eating the plants it's supposed to dislike i'll be set. :thumb:


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