What types of wood are safe

[Sweety]

As i'm going to try & set up a biotype tank for my Corydoras habrosus i'm wanting some wood in the tank to look like tree roots. Now i've been looking in my LFS & all the bits of bog wood are large & don't look like roots. This might be more for the UK members but I was wondering what types of wood would be safe ? I'm thinking oak, beech & poss horthorn but not sure. I have been thinking of having a look on the beach for some drift wood & then boilling it & let it soak for a few weeks with 100% water changes. Can cut branches be used or do they have to be dried out first & if this is the case what would be the best way to do it. None of the wood needs to be big as it's going to go into a smallish tank

[Mike_Noren]

I'm thinking oak, beech & poss horthorn

I assume you mean hawthorne? Safe. Oak and beech are mostly safe - especially the bark but also the wood releases tannic acid, which if you have soft water can make the water too acidic.

You can probably use this list as a reference - it's really a list which types of wood are safe for parrots, which like to bite and eat twigs, but it looks OK as a guide for what one can put in aquaria too.

I have been thinking of having a look on the beach for some drift wood & then boilling it & let it soak for a few weeks with 100% water changes.

That'll work, although frankly I just rinse and clean collected driftwood with a brush before using it.

Can cut branches be used

Sure, but they take forever to sink. When I've used fresh wood (mostly poplar and alder - incidentally alder roots look great, very gnarled) I've drilled holes in them and used stainless steel bolts or plastic cable ties to attach them to slabs of slate.

[Sweety]

Thanks Mike & sorry about the bad spelling (i'm dyslexic) the link & the info you have given me is very helpful. I used to keep parrots & had tones of apple branches & asked on a forum & got told they where no good to put into a fish tank which I thought was strange as they are safe for parrots so binned them

[Bas Pels]

with fresh wood I'd cut it and any smell - other than just woody - would be a reason not to use it.

wood laying in a river for sa lonmg time has been freed of nay toxins it migh have contained once. This is good, because this kind of wood is often unrecognisable

[Richard B]

Apple is fine.

The suggestion of alder roots is a fantastic one. Lots of deciduous trees that like on riverbanks or canalsides have masses of submerged roots which are fine, spindly, and look superb. Alder & birch are a couple local to me but getting that nice clump can be a real trial - you need to wait till the water level is really low & above all be safe!

Another couple of possible alternatives you might wanna consider are banana root which is available in a few LFS - pale in colour but fine spindly, twiggy looking.

Creating your own root mass with a bunch of fine cut beech twigs - these take very little time to become submerged & my pygmaeus love to dart in between them for security if started.

Finally there are some dried seaweeds that are sporadically available of various types which i have used successfully in freshwater aquaria some of which are very dark brown and root-like (similar to the basal stalks of bladder-wrack if you know what this is?)

[Sweety]

Thanks for the help I might have a go at making some lookalike root from some beech as I know where there are a few & will have a look at some of the rivers near by