making your own driftwood.

All posts regarding the care and breeding of these catfishes from South America.
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Lemmonhead
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Location 1: St. Louis Mo.
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making your own driftwood.

Post by Lemmonhead »

What is the best way to make driftwood safe to put in a tank? I have a few ideas, but would really like some input. I would also like to know what is the best wood for my L204's and does anybody have a link to locate any at a decent price. I really appreciate your help.
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MatsP
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Post by MatsP »

Well, making driftwood requires submerging it for a long time. However, you don't need to have DRIFTWOOD to put it in a tank. Just waterlogging dry or fresh wood will work just fine - as long as you know it's safe for fish, which most common types of wood are. I'd avoid Pine or Spruce and definitely not ASH. Otherwise most wood is fine: Birch, beech, oak, cherry, apple, plum, pear, grape-vines, willow, etc, etc.

You will want to submerge it in water for a while before you put it in the tank, just to soak it thoroughly. If it doesn't sink by itself when you put it in the tank, you can weigh it down with some stones or such [almost all wood will eventually sink if it's kept in water for long enough].

If you're worried about it being harmfull for the fish on th surface, you can boil it first - that will also help make it waterlogged. Running it in the dishwasher will also work [works for larger pieces if you haven't got a huge pot!].

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Mats
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