White fuzz on my mopani wood

[chris]

Hi everyone,

I have a 33g tank with some mopani wood as a centerpiece. I have
noticed some white fuzz growing on certain parts of it. I have checked
my ammonia and nitrite levels and they are both zero. I don't have a
test kit for nitrate. I also have noticed a small amount of brown and
green algae looking stuff growing on the wood as well as one small spot
on the glass. Is this actually algae or something else? I don't think
the white fuzz is related to the brown/green algae, but am looking for
any insight into what these are. Thanks!

Chris

[Logic316]

chris wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I have a 33g tank with some mopani wood as a centerpiece. I have
> noticed some white fuzz growing on certain parts of it. I have checked
> my ammonia and nitrite levels and they are both zero. I don't have a
> test kit for nitrate. I also have noticed a small amount of brown and
> green algae looking stuff growing on the wood as well as one small spot
> on the glass. Is this actually algae or something else? I don't think
> the white fuzz is related to the brown/green algae, but am looking for
> any insight into what these are. Thanks!
>
> Chris

Ever seen a rotting log in wet soil? What you have is a common fungus
growing on the wood. It's a similar organism to algae, but it doesn't
have chlorophyl and use photosynthesis, and that's why it's white in
color rather than green. It's perfectly harmless to any fish, and in
fact, plecos in particular *love* to eat the stuff. It often occurs to
mopani wood if you have not properly soaked it before placing it inside
the aquarium. You can either manually scrape it off, or you can place it
in boiling water for at least 10 minutes to kill the stuff.

- Logic316



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