Fuzzy Wood?? *pics*

[Keri]

Hi all.
I have been soaking a biggish javawood stump for some months (It sank a while ago, but it's been out in a covered bin in the yard just waiting for a tank to go into) and I finally put it into a cycling 75g tank about a week ago. And now it's grown a fuzzy, velvety coat of... mold? Is this ok??

[crazy72]

Yes, this is ok. Unsightly, but ok. It's happened to most of my wood. It can last a long time. I brush it off with a toothbrush when it bugs me too much. (unused toothbrush, that is )

[jkcichlid]

amano shrimp or other algae eaters generally take care of the majority of the fuzz. Shouldn't be around longer than a month

[gklaw]

Throw a couple of BNPs in there and you won't see them for long

[Ursus sapien]

as everyone else said, shrimp and BNs will eat it. it's self limiting and will wear out once the nutrients are used up.

[Jasonator]

I had the exact same thing accompanied with the extact same reaction
I freaked out a little bit, but almost immediately, my bristle nose plecos were all over that slime... 2 weeks later, it's was all gone!

So, if you don't have a BNP or two it would be good get some



.

[AquaSox]

I have found that spraying wood with Metricide (14-day) in a 1:3 dilution helps get rid of mold growth.

[Eros168]

What is the cause of this? And does it affect the tank? Cause I think I have some on my drift wood.

[jobber604]

The cause of it:
Non-harmful bacteria colonizing on the wood. It does not have any adverse affect within the tank environment other than just being unsightly. It's a whitish cloudy fuzzy looking slime (looking like snot) It is harmless to your fish and tank and will be gone within a weeks. It's not uncommon with new pieces of driftwood that are submerged.

What to do?
-wait it out
-scrub it off
-put in some bnp plecos, otos,....to eat it

[Algae Beater]

just the remaining carbohydrates in the wood being consumed by fungus and whatnot ... all part of the petri-dishes we call aquariums