What's this wood???

My brother bought me 2 pieces of this wood today in maxizoi, sounds like he paid top dollar for them too!!!

Anyon any idea what it is? How to prepare it or if its even suitable for my African Cichlids?

fairly sure its a manzanita root by the looks of it..... not 100% though. itll darken once it becomes water logged its just dried out at the moment

McQuaid wrote:

My Brother bought Me 2 pieces of this Wood today in Maxizoo, Sounds like He paid top dollar for them too !!!

Anyone any idea what it is ?, How to prepare it or if it's even suitable for my African Cichlids ?

Hi Mc Quaid

The Wood You're talking about is Moor Wood
I think it is best served in an Iwagumi type styled Aquarium
It does need preparation, It is an expensive type of Aquascaping Wood, very reasonably priced in Maxizoo...
If You want to return it or exchange it for more Rock, that's no problem...


Des

+1 des

I cant see it serving any form of benefits for a cichlid as wood wouldnt match their natural habitat. Talk to des about rock he got some serious ones made up in the display tanks in finglas.

I actually like the look of it, would it do any harm with my cichlids? What perpetration is required?

I cant evaluate whether it would do them much harm. But its not what they are naturally accustumed to you know? The aim of the game is to attempt to mimic the natural environment of the species in order for it to thrive, especially for a fish like cichlid. It would be similar to getting a pidgeon from a city and putting it into jungle.... it would survive but the unfamiliar surroundings might cause some stress. Cichlids can be agressive towards eachother and rock caves are used as a method of escape and safety. Wood doesnt provide the same cover you see? So to answer your question, no it wont do any harm to the fish physically....but then again surviving is not thriving

There is some driftwood in Lake Malawi, parts of the lake have forests up to the lake shore, so there is no doubt that some pieces fall in, or carried into the lake by the many rivers that feed the lake. But Lake Malawi is big, 29,600 km² and the biotopes we try an mimic, and those that we see, are mostly are the rocks, loads of rocks. We all have seen the images of huge boulders being grazed on by mbuna. Not much drift wood there.
But where rivers and streams run into the lake, there are beds of Valisneria and pieces of driftwood. Are there cichlids there, Yes, but not many mbuna,
One piece of driftwood, (as opposed to bogwood,) wont effect the fish in any way, and there are as many places to hide around driftwood, as a piece of rock. If you want to use it, then do so.Not mbuna biotope exactly, but it wont stress the fish. There are many malawi setups with a bit of driftwood in them.
Remember, it is you who looks at your aquarium every day. If you like some driftwood, then use it.

As a foot note, more so if you keep Pseudotropheus sp. "acei,"
>According to Konings (1995c), Ps. sp. "acei" eats algae, like many other Mbuna, but algae from a highly unusual source. It eats the algae (Aufwuchs) that grow on waterlogged wood — logs and tree branches washed into the lake. No other cichlid species is known to exploit this specific food source, which I would suggest could be called epixylic algae (algae growing upon wood). It appears to me to be only behaviorally specialized for this diet, in that it forms aggregations near, and feeds from the surfaces of, the submerged logs and branches.< link www.malawicichlids.com/mw09005e.htm

I do very much like the look of this wood, and as i only have 2 pieces and a 240litre tank, i will fit in quite some rock too so think im gonna use it

Any tips on preperation? just the usual thouroughly wash it with boiling water? weight it down unit its not floating?

Thats it, good wash with very hot water, and a good soak.
You can hold it down with a stone, or a net bag of gravel.
Enjoy your wood

Cheers

Others might correct me on this, but I think you're also supposed to have the rock/gravel in the tank for a few weeks before you put in any wood, to buffer the pH

Redmoor wood shouldn’t have any major effect on pH that I know of, where as bog wood will reduce pH.

Gilly wrote:

+1 des

I cant see it serving any form of benefits for a cichlid as wood wouldnt match their natural habitat. Talk to des about rock he got some serious ones made up in the display tanks in finglas.

have to agree with crustycrab on this one, there is plenty of wood in Lake Malawi and this wood as opposed to traditional bogwood will have little or no effect on the ph, also as stated by crusty certain cichlids graze on the wood, well more so the micro-organisms that grow on it, so pop it in it looks great in a malawi set up in my opinion

Well that's how it looks, cheers again guys

hi McQuaid

the Tank looks great
the Moor Wood looks the part in there
just be careful where You position the Rock, very heavy sharp edged stuff, that bit in the middle looks a little precarious and the bit on the left against the glass I would say has the potential leave a scratch...
I'm probably being a bit over cautious but just to be safe...


cheers
Des

Cheers Des, it certainly does, very happy with it, as for the rocks, they are well planted in there, i am going to put something in behind that one to the left like you said