# Should I "clean" my driftwoods before adding in my tank?



## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

I got two small driftwoods from my local petco and I was wondering if I should clean it before adding to my tank because I'm worried about two things:

When I got the driftwoods (which I've been eyeing for a while), it was in a tank with some sick Discus and the driftwoods are covered with little snail eggs. I'm worried that my betta might get sick if the woods are carrying the disease that the discus had.

How can I remove the eggs without damaging the wood? should I leave it there and wait for it to hatch and remove them? I have the driftwoods inside their plastic bag since wednesday.

Please and Thanks!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

If the driftwood came out of a tank with a sick fish I would return it. The snail eggs will dry up if you leave the driftwood dries out.

I guess you could boil the heck out of the driftwood but I wouldn't take a chance on not doing enough to eradicate whatever is causing the Discus to be ill.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

What if I quarantine the driftwood with conditioned water?
I don't think I'll be able to deliver it. I don't know where my receipt is...and I got the driftwood at half the price too because they are so small. I went to petco 2 times this week and _apparently_ the discus came ill (like 2 of them out of 6).


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

You can't quarantine driftwood; you'd have to boil the heck out of it. I can't tell you how long; maybe 30 minutes? Set in the sun for several days after it's been boiled? I wouldn't use bleach or other cleaners because they can be absorbed by the wood and gradually leach into the tank.

Perhaps someone else will have better ideas.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

Wow. I'll have to boil it then...
There _were_ more woods in different tanks to choose...but those had a lot of DEAD fish in the tanks. That's worse, but sick fish is troublesome too with driftwood in the same tank...


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## Straubrey (Aug 5, 2014)

I would boil the heck out of it. I have boiled driftwood for four hours, with no bad effects on the driftwood. In this case I would do the longest boil I could, then let it dry out in the sun for a day. Better safe than sorry!


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## EpicBetta (Aug 15, 2014)

Straubrey said:


> I would boil the heck out of it. I have boiled driftwood for four hours, with no bad effects on the driftwood. In this case I would do the longest boil I could, then let it dry out in the sun for a day. Better safe than sorry!


I did that too for my 2.5 gallon tank. I have a 3year old betta thats been living with me for a year and he loves his driftwood!I mean, it has snail poop on it though :| I have Java Fern growing on it, the betta loves that... Mine makes a great hiding place!


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

The LPS near me told me that freezing the driftwood for several hours will kill any bacteria or stuff living inside the driftwood. So I froze it for about a day then boiled it for about an hour. Nothing happened to my fish cept my tetras got alil "excited" because of the tannis but no one got sick.


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Be sure not to rely on freezing alone...many bacteria are quite happy in freezing temperatures and will not only survive, but thrive...I had to go through food service training for work, and they were quite clear that chilling items will NOT kill bacteria growth, only slow it down.

Boiling should do the trick! You want to get that thing hot clear through to the core for as long as possible.


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## BambooTikiBettaGirl84 (Jun 29, 2014)

^ hrutan

That's why I did both, better safe than sorry.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

I'll boil it. will boiling the driftwood for 2 hours be enough? Or if the water has a brown tint to it drain it out and boil it again?


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

If you're just looking to sterilize, 2 hours should be plenty. I don't know about the tannins, though.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

I was looking online and saw people mentioning about the brown tannin thing that woods may have...but I'm going to boil it to get rid of whatever disease those fish had. :-?

Petco and the rest of the petshops should keep their driftwoods and plants in their own aquarium with no fish. How many people are losing their fish and maybe they don't know why...*sigh*


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

As as I know all driftwood is wild caught, none is tank bred. This means at one time it's been exposed to any fish diseases found in the wild, not to mention other animal debris. Once it's dry it isn't an issue, let it sit out in the sun for a while & dry out. Aquarium pathogens need a wet environment and a host to survive, this eliminates both. Guaranteed when you buy wood off a shelf at a shop the seller hasn't boiled and froze it shake & bake style. It's dry, it's fine. If they're keeping it in a tank that's really poor business management, taking up valuable tank space for a product that doesn't need it.


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## EpicBetta (Aug 15, 2014)

Tannins are fine with bettas. It just makes the water brownish/Mars color so you'll just have to change the water more.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

Ok, then i'll boil it more than once until I see the water more clearer. *__*


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

Its boiling time! YAY!


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## hrutan (Jun 25, 2014)

Have fun. Don't spill the water.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

One hour has passed. Now is wait for the water to cool out a little!


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

I boil it again today for an hour, but the water still looks like brown tea...will it ever reduce the brown stain? I'm worried because last night after doing the first boil I removed the dirty water and added new water and leave it there till next morning and the water turned brown! Will my tank look brown when I add the driftwoods? Will it go away after a few water changes?

Also, once i'm done boiling the woods, should I leave outside in the sun and wait for it to dry? or is it safe enough to put in the tank?


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## BerryBlue256 (Apr 25, 2014)

Eventually the brown water should go away after a few changes. I'm in the process of doing that with some wood I've got.


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## Kithy (Nov 21, 2012)

It will eventually go away after a while but I loved the color. 

I'd leave it in the sun to dry then a quick rinse in treated water before placing it in your tank.


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## Straubrey (Aug 5, 2014)

When the wood stops leaching tannins depends on the wood. I have some driftwood that was boiled, soaked for a week in a bucket, and still leached tannins for well over a year. As long as you don't have very low kh water, it shouldn't be a problem for bettas.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

What Is kh water and how do I know if I have low kh water?


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## Straubrey (Aug 5, 2014)

You can buy a test for the kh/gh (carbonate hardness/general hardness) of your water. Those factors determine the stability of your ph, among other things. If you have very soft tap water, your kh and/or gh could be low. It has to do with the mineral content of the water. It is not too common, so I wouldn't worry about it unless you have issues with your ph dropping.


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## manami (Feb 4, 2012)

My ph is always at 7.6 on my betta tank.


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