nitz

so within the past month or so, i've noticed these little white dots showing up on my driftwood. bought them from the fish store and before introducing them to my tank, i boiled them and soaked them for a few weeks.

so what are these white dots? they're spreading to my fake, algae-covered plants. should i be worried? should i get rid of them and if so, how would i go about it?

Attached Images

	DSCF0666.jpg (419.4 KB, 12 views)
	DSCF0669.jpg (402.8 KB, 4 views)
	DSCF0670.jpg (438.7 KB, 7 views)

Amanda

Maybe a fungus?

nitz

is that a bad thing? the fish are fine. no dots on them or anything.

the dots are really a fuzzy thing and the wood feels kinda slimy when i touch it

Amanda

yeah, I would vote fungus. I'm not sure if it will hurt your fish. I don't have any driftwood in my tank yet. Someone with more experience with driftwood should be by soon. Do you have any algae eaters in your tank?

nitz

just a panda cory cat. planning to get a couple more once my other tank cycles and i can move a few out of this one.

nitz

i still need help with this. if anyone knows or has some idea what these spots could be, your help would be much appreciated.

KyWildFish

Sounds and looks fungal. You could treat your tank with an anti-fungal or boil the affected pieces and do a few water changes. Fungi are hard to get rid of especially if they are sporing out already. The treatment might be the safe bet, especially if it can move onto your fish or live plants (just got thru a fungal outbreak, its a pain).

nitz

thanks KyWildFish. do you think i should move my fish out of the tank while i do the treatment? i'm cycling another tank and would be able to move them there whenever the bacteria decide to help me out. alson, do you suggest any specific type or brand for the treatment?

as an aside...i was actually reading a few of your posts on vegans in another thread a little earlier. i love meat and just wouldn't be able to even become a vegetarian let alone a vegan! i do have a non-meat meal about once or twice a week (because that's what my mom likes to do ) but i couldn't go without meat in my diet for any prolonged stretch of time. you're clearly very knowledgeable and i found what you said very informative

Steve113

I have similar spots on my wood - Doesn't do any harm - although not particularly great to look at. I just cleaned them off my wood and I havent seen them return yet.

Admittedly, my spots appear to be slightly bigger and less frequent.

nitz

Thanks Steve. How did you clean them off? Just with your hands or with a toothbrush or something like that?

joy613

If the tank is newly cycled it will most likely go away on its own. If you just can't stand it you can take the wood out and use peroxide on it. Rinse it well and put it back in, peroxide doesn't leave any residue. When that happens to my natural wood I just let it be.

nitz

Thanks Joy. The tank has been cycled for about 6 months and those spots have been there for about 2 months now. No sign of them going away but they aren't really multiplying anymore. If they won't harm my fish, I don't mind them being there. I'm going to be using that tank as a QT for the new fish I'm getting for the newly cycled 29 gal.

Steve113

I have so few I just left it - if i have my hands in the tank and io'm close to one, I'll just pick it or rub it off. But they don't really bother me. As I see it, they formed naturally - there must be a reason for it so why not just leave it, harmless, but if they multiply then I can se why you'd clean it off.

nitz

Ok thanks Steve. Maybe I'll rub or pick some of them off next time but it would take way too much time to take it off and you're right, if it happened naturally, why not just leave it? Thanks for the help.