# Mold on Malaysian Driftwood



## MonopolyBag (Jan 11, 2008)

There is white fuzzy mold growing on some malaysian drift wood I have. Obviously it is mold of some sort, but should I be concerned at all?

What is the best way to remove it as it does not look good?

I am sorry I have no picture of it at this time.


----------



## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

even the best aquarium driftwood can accumulate dust and debris while sitting dry waiting to be sold. 
often the mold dissipates in a few weeks, but the best idea is to get a rasping fish to keep it clean.
get a pair of Otocinclus locally for a few bucks, and your wood will look good as new in no time.
if you have a big tank with a lot of wood, then consider getting a dwarf pleco.
snails and shrimp help a bit too, but a rasping fish is really the way to go.


----------



## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

does it smell? it goes away by itself and yes sucking fish will help. get a bn pleco or otto cats. putting aquarium salt on the mold will help get rid of it too. or just turkey baster out as much as you can.


----------



## MonopolyBag (Jan 11, 2008)

Its not a true planted tank, just a large 125g with fish and a few java ferns.

I have a pleco in there and the wood has been in there a while so I do not know what it is. I did add some new wood 2 months ago so maybe this is it? How does that time sound?


----------



## MonopolyBag (Jan 11, 2008)

I'll try to take a pic soon. It is a tank I take care of at an office building so I do not have it bu want it to look good.


----------



## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

if the pleco has not cleaned the wood,
it's probably because you over feed them
cut the food supply by half - they'll be fine,
unless you are trying to breed something.


----------



## MonopolyBag (Jan 11, 2008)

Overfeed the pleco causing him to not chew the wood? Or overfeed the tank in general causing the mold to grow?


----------



## spypet (Jul 27, 2007)

both - are probably mitigating factors. 
if you suspect the tank has been
overfed, a substrate vacuum and
partial water change may be overdue.
as you vacuum, suck up as much of
the loose wood fungus as you can,
then let an underfed pleco earn his keep.

since this is not a planted tank, you may
want to re-evaluate if it's over populated.
the reason for concern is this fungus is
usually something that appears during the
introduction of wood, not spontaneously.
so if it just appeared in an old tank, then
the water may also be over burdened with
underutilized nutrients, and/or the pleco
stopped rasp cleaning the wood frequently
enough to stay ahead of fungus growth.

either way, over feeding this tank would
be the common denominator. I suspect
this is a low lit tank, or you would probably
be seeing a lot of algae growth as well.


----------



## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

^ agreed... you'll definently be back on this forum posting questions about algae if you don't fix the problems now.


----------



## MonopolyBag (Jan 11, 2008)

I have not yet had a problem with algae. It is kinda low lit. But I do large water changes each month, maybe 25%. It is fairly stocked but not too much. Maybe 40 tetras and the filtration is two 20g tall with bio balls, drip trays, and filter pad. I use carbon each month and change it.


----------



## MonopolyBag (Jan 11, 2008)

neilshieh said:


> does it smell? it goes away by itself and yes sucking fish will help. get a bn pleco or otto cats. putting aquarium salt on the mold will help get rid of it too. or just turkey baster out as much as you can.


It does not smell, but I have removed wood in the past when it does. What happens when it does smell? What should be done. I am just curious.


----------



## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

i had a branch of driftwood and when i put it in the tank it developed a white fuzzy mold... like a cloud. and it smelled pretty bad. let it runs its phase and some fish and some salt and it should be good to go.


----------

