Cypress Driftwood for plecos

[AmazonTank]

Hi everybody!
Does anyone recommend this Cypress Driftwood to scape tanks?
I been using it with no worries my l397 and l204 hang out deep in the holes.
I wanted to get more of it unless I should stick to something else they like better?

[bekateen]

If it's working for you, that's great. If you hadn't said your fish were okay with it, I would have said be careful because of the chemicals typical of so many gymnosperm plants.

But I see your piece looks well weathered. I suppose that just about any wood, if adequately sun- and water-weathered, would be pretty safe. I can't offer more than that. Maybe someone else has more experience with Cypress.

Cheers, Eric

[AmazonTank]

Thanks buddy for your message!

[TwoTankAmin]

I have used cypress for years. It is some of the prettiest wood I have seen in terms of grain. However, there are two downsides, actually the same problem which manifests in different ways.

It is a light weight wood, i.e. it is not a dense wood. This means when it is not well water logged, it floats. This is a soft wood. And this gets me two the next problem. over time is dissolves and eventually will disappear.

I got most of mine from a gent no longer in business who sold under the named swampwiz.

Over about 6 years I had about 500 zebra plecos born in a tank with cypress in it. It doesn't get much safer than that

[bekateen]

I have used cypress for years. It is some of the prettiest wood I have seen in terms of grain.

Good to know! Thanks for sharing TTA. Now I must ask, how "fresh" vs. "dry" vs. "old and weathered beyond imagination" was your cypress?

As for floating and soft, I have no problem with either. Soft means more food for plecos. I have floating wood (of unknown kind) in three of my tanks. I plant Java moss or small Anubias on the air-side of the wood and let it grow up into the air, while simultaneously growing over the sides of the wood down into the water, like a raft. Helps some with water quality I assume, and looks cool. Some of my pieces have been floating continuously for over 2 years. Definitely water logged, but never sank.

Best,
Eric

[TwoTankAmin]

The gent who sold it also collected it. He lived in Missouri. He had a big cauldron he would heat it in to kill any nasties. He then sun dried it and the mounted on tile so it could be sunk by being weighted. He also would take multiple pictures of it against a background and would post the pic and the dimensions as well.

As far as i know he is no longer alive and the gal he partnered with is not active either. However, the Wayback Machine will show you a lot start here. Some of the links appear to work still as well. https://web.archive.org/web/20041009193 ... pwood1.htm

On a later date here is my customer review along with a pic of a piece I had bought https://web.archive.org/web/20061209051 ... tomers.htm