Fresh Cut Oak

[johnny70]

I have recently been having some issues losing Royals, I lost my big L27 a couple of weeks back for no apparent reason, fine in the morning, dead by the evening

Anyway I was talking to a LFS I don't go to often, chatting about the Royals, now he suggested that some Fresh Cut Oak would be a good addition to the tank instead of just bogwood.

Now I don't mean to question his advice, but has anyone done this or seen it done or have any other advice on doing it?

Cheers,

 

[Tony_s]

Sounds like it could be a water issue,have you tested your water?

Oak is such a heavy and hard wood,i've never seen it used....

 

[Irene0100]

I have some oak in my tanks, but did not put it in green, I left it to stand outside for 6 months to make sure all the sap had dried out. also good to cut the wood in the winter when there is no rising sap.
have you tried adding indian almond leaves?

 

[Doodles]

marsh root is softer than the likes of mopani, all my plecs rasp on it including my clown panaque.

or you could get some sumatra wood from maidenhead aquatics--its driftwood though.


I have heard that oak is ok but needs to be completely dried out.

I would actually put a post up in the pleco chat lounge and see what woods other panaque(in particular Royals) keepers have in their tanks

 

[scatz]

oak is fine, but as said, needs to be dried out, either cut after autumn or left to weather

 

[johnny70]

OK cool, any thoughts on why he said fresh cut then, is fresh cut likely to be toxic?

 

[scatz]

the sap is toxic i believe

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Oak wood, bark and leaves are stuffed with tannins and phenolics to deter browsers, caterpillars etc., and protect the heartwood from fungal attack.

I'd try either aged oak, or my suggestion another wood with less phenolics in it - beech, birch, apple, rowan, sycamore, field maple etc.

cheers Darrel

 

[Skilldeft]

I use a few old oak roots in my tank and my royals love them, had them in for over a year with no problems at all. I got mine from the woods near my house but left them outside for a few months before adding them.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Like skilldeft says aged oak, oak bark and oak leaves are a useful addition to the tank, even if you don't keep Panaques, because of the tannins they contain, which will have many of the beneficial effects of Catappa (Indian Almond) leaves or Alder "cones".
cheers Darrel

 

[johnny70]

Thanks for the replies. Luckily Wharf do some nice Oak Bogwood, so I'll pack the tank with some more