Do Jewels Eat Wood?

[fishnovice]

Moved my jewel cichlids (1.5-2in in size) into a new tank with a large piece of wood. They seem to enjoy nibbling it. Couldn't be eating algae as wood has only been in tank a few days and they started pecking at it immediately. Is this normal? I feed them on Tetraprima complete food pellets recommended for mid water and bottom fish like cichlids. Fish have good appetites and pounce on pellets as soon as they hit the water

 

[kribensis12]

They are most likely eating the algae or some small fungus on it.

 

[fishnovice]

They are most likely eating the algae or some small fungus on it.

It was an old dry dusty piece of wood I bought on Ebay. Soaked it in bucket for 24hrs before putting it in tank. Can algae and/or fungi grow on wood in 1-2 days?

 

[kribensis12]

yep. Trust me though, Jewels don't eat wood. They are a carnivorious fish( or at least they eat more meat in their diet than plants), and wood isnt exactly easy for them to digest.