Manzanita seems to be the one type my panaque go crazy over. They actually go after new pieces like you just dropped in some tasty pellets.
Food Question about wood
- Thread starter McTackett
- Start date
ill keep an eye out and see if I can find some.. changing my setup around and adding couple new tanks. the changes i have made so far seem to be good fish are looking nice and healthyHi all,
I found this link which says Iron Bark Eucalyptus is fine, but it might be a bit hard <http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showthread.php/8538-dangers-of-DIY-driftwood?highlight=wood>.
I'd just give it a quick brush to get rid of any surface dirt and then pop it straight in the tank. I soak all my wood in our garden pond before use, and I've never had any problems with doing this.
cheers Darrel
Should have looked at location, I'm not sure about Australian species, and I think a lot of natives (Wattles (Acacia spp), Eucalyptus globulus, Callistemon, Melaleuca) are too resinous to work as food.
I found this link which says Iron Bark Eucalyptus is fine, but it might be a bit hard <http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showthread.php/8538-dangers-of-DIY-driftwood?highlight=wood>.
This isn't going to work for "food wood", you actually want the soft fungal bits for the Panaques to eat. Boiling it will destroy its food value.
I'd just give it a quick brush to get rid of any surface dirt and then pop it straight in the tank. I soak all my wood in our garden pond before use, and I've never had any problems with doing this.
cheers Darrel
Thanks for looking that up for me Darrel. I was having that discussion with my partner about the trees and the sap. couldn't find much info about them on the net but I do know that there are some wild plecos in the creek on the golf course. caught one once lol. scary at the time. but they are surrounded by gums and he was a bit fish and healthy.
I was thinking of washing it off like you said then sitting it in a bucket of conditioned water for a week then throwing it in.
I have a butterfly pleco or L168. and I understand they like to chew on wood.. I will put a picture of him up when I can get one. He is a bit shy. But I would like confirmation of the breed. I looked it up and he looks like a cross butterfly and clown pleco.
I was thinking of washing it off like you said then sitting it in a bucket of conditioned water for a week then throwing it in.
I have a butterfly pleco or L168. and I understand they like to chew on wood.. I will put a picture of him up when I can get one. He is a bit shy. But I would like confirmation of the breed. I looked it up and he looks like a cross butterfly and clown pleco.
My fish love the mangrove root wood. It does have to be purchased from a lfs with a permit to collect though as its protected. Sometimes it comes up for sale from some ones tank but not often.
dw1305 the purpose of boiling it to remove or rather kill off any possible bacteria or parasites that may be present in that water system. Even putting it in your own pond is dangerous since it could release those baddies into your pond and that will be impossible to control an outbreak. Better to be safe then sorry. But to each there own.
I know my panaque's and Pterygoplichthys like to rasp on the wood. If there is no benefit for them in driftwood I would think they wouldn't eat it. If anything it provides fiber for them to be able to process there food better. Either way I had bought some new Panaque's and one was super thin. It refused to eat until I added some driftwood. That's all it wanted to eat. It has put on allot of weight now looks healthy.
I know my panaque's and Pterygoplichthys like to rasp on the wood. If there is no benefit for them in driftwood I would think they wouldn't eat it. If anything it provides fiber for them to be able to process there food better. Either way I had bought some new Panaque's and one was super thin. It refused to eat until I added some driftwood. That's all it wanted to eat. It has put on allot of weight now looks healthy.
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Hi all,
Bacteria are another issue, realistically there are guaranteed to be millions of bacteria on every wood surface, but there are millions of bacteria on every surface in the entire world, and it honestly isn't a problem.
All the work on the digestion of wood eating Loricariids (Panaque spp. Cochliodon Hypostomus group) says that they get their nutrition from the fungal and bacterial biomass in the wood. As I see it the problem with boiling is that if we boil the wood we kill this wood degrading biota and remove its food value.
Post here on Donovan German's research on Xylophagous Loricariids: <http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20002&highlight=donovan+German>
cheers Darrel
I understand your concerns, but I'm willing to take the chances of there being parasites, I'm pretty sure it is very small risk.
Bacteria are another issue, realistically there are guaranteed to be millions of bacteria on every wood surface, but there are millions of bacteria on every surface in the entire world, and it honestly isn't a problem.
All the work on the digestion of wood eating Loricariids (Panaque spp. Cochliodon Hypostomus group) says that they get their nutrition from the fungal and bacterial biomass in the wood. As I see it the problem with boiling is that if we boil the wood we kill this wood degrading biota and remove its food value.
Post here on Donovan German's research on Xylophagous Loricariids: <http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20002&highlight=donovan+German>
cheers Darrel
aussie hardwoods are safe if they are very old / dead wood. The resin dries up and is safe. Its all I use and I have 50 + pieces.