Where To Buy Bog Wood For Clown Plecos In The States?

[wodesorel]

The lfs finally had some clown plecos! Been dying to get a smaller species since I don't have a monster tank for a regular species.

So.... where do I buy bogwood at?

I (now) know that clown plecos need a soft bogwood (not a hard driftwood or mopani wood) - the problem is that I'm in Ohio... Not exactly any peat bogs around here. And I haven't seen any at the lfs.

Our property borders a wetland that MAY have old wet wood in it - we have to go down and look around. Would that work if we treated it right? Would running through an autoclave (the machine they use to sterilize surgery tools) work better than boiling it? We have access to one!

Can I just use fresh wood? I'm guessing any tree that produces fruit or edible sap would be safe in a tank (maple, cherry, peach, apple), but would it be soft enough or appetizing enough for a pleco? We're out in the country and it's pretty easy to find a fresh limb to cut.

Just wondering....

Thanks!

 

[susankat]

You don't want to use fresh wood, as it can harm the pleco. You should be able to find some old dead wood in the wetlands to use. Just make sure its a hardwood, soft wood will mess up your tank fast, rotting and decomposing. The plec would be fine with the hardwood as long as he got it to chew on.