fungus on wood?

corylover5 · Jul 7, 2020

I got a nice piece of driftwood from my LFS around 2 months ago and a few weeks ago it got a weird fungus on one branch. It didn't start spreading until yesterday. The fungus seems to be spreading on the driftwood pretty fast. How do I remove this fungus? Is it harmful to my fish? I was told the wood was spiderwood.

Byron · Jul 7, 2020

I cannot say it is harmful, I can only say it could be. There are many species of fungus and mold associated with various woods, and only an exam by a microbiologist can determine which species, and thus whether harmful or not.

How are the fish reacting? If you see increased respiration, lethargy, it may indicate trouble. When I had this I also had a slight whitish haze in the water. I've no idea if this is common to all toxic fungi or not.

corylover5 · Jul 7, 2020

The water was cloudy for a while but it is clear now. All my fish are acting normal, swimming around and eating well.

Salty&Onion · Jul 7, 2020

corylover5 said:
The water was cloudy for a while but it is clear now. All my fish are acting normal, swimming around and eating well.

Then its fine and nothing to worry about. I would just remove the fungus.

Colin_T · Jul 7, 2020

Take the wood out and hose it off. Do a big water change and then put the wood back in. If the fungus returns, hose it off again. Eventually it will stop growing.

corylover5 · Jul 7, 2020

Thank you. Do I use old water from my tank to clean it off or tap water?

Colin_T · Jul 7, 2020

Use a garden hose and blast it off on your lawn.

corylover5 · Jul 7, 2020

Thank you

corylover5 · Jul 14, 2020

I used a hose to blast off the fungus but it has come back again but worse. The fungus is almost covering the driftwood. I will hose it off again tomorrow. I'm going to my LFS tomorrow and I was wondering if any snails would eat the fungus off the wood. My mystery snails won't touch the fungus but would a nerite snail eat the fungus?

AbbeysDad · Jul 14, 2020

I would pull the wood and spray well with hydrogen peroxide. Let sit for 15-30 minutes, then spay well again. Then rinse well and put back in the tank.