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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

Sweety wrote: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.

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

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

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?)

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