Hey,
I just added a nice peice of mopani wood about a week ago...I boiled it for about 3 days...altogether I would say it boiled for maybe 24 hours or so. Since adding it I've been very happy with it. No tannis discoloration and it looks nice. One thing though, is that it had developed small patches of 'mopani slime' mainly on the edges of the knotted, darker portion of the wood.
I've done a bit of reading on it and some say to remove it with a toothbrush and that you don't want it in your tank....others say taking it out to remove the fungus is also removing the bacteria that is consuming it as well in the spots where the slime isn't at, and to just let it be.
This is what I got at The Skeptical Aquarist on this subject:
"Sometimes patches of whitish fuzzy Saprolegnia appear on bogwood that's recently been placed in the aquarium. Though wood in oxygenated water at neutral pH values is almost always decaying, however slowly that may be happening, you don't want to encourage visible patches of fungus. Resist any temptation to attack the fungus by adding something toxic to the water. Don't haul out the wood and boil it in saltwater either. Be patient. As the aquarium matures, fungus on wood won't normally trouble you; in fact, bacteria are much more prominent than fungi as bio-degraders in submerged environments. Stronger light will encourage a thin coating of sessile algae, which soon brings the protists that feed on algae and on the fungal spores; the algae and bacterial polysaccharides form the basis of an increasingly balanced biofilm that will appeal to grazers like Epalzeorhyncos siamensis or Otocinclus and other Lory catfish. And the result of their grazing is that, though the spores are everywhere in water, patches of fungal hyphae don't get a chance to develop. Tannins in the water reduce the bacterial and fungal load too, so it's possible that peat filtration would have some slight positive effect in controlling fungus"
So, just looking for your experiences with this...
--If it is harmful what, exactly, are the issues? Can this 'slime' affect fish negatively in any way?
--Will it affect water quality or will it dissipate on its own as the bacteria eat it?
(Again, my wood is only showing it in small patches so I would rather let it stay as I just did a major redecoration and would like things to settle in for awhile.)
--Some say it didn't get boiled or soaked enough if this appears, is this true or is it simply a natural process of the wood?
--I noticed its getting less though, and my pleco seems to be rasping the wood quite a bit. I assume since catfish graze on it it would be fine for the plec, correct?
Thx for any insight
