Brown stuff growing on new Driftwood?

[catfishacr]

Hey, I bought some driftwood a few weeks ago and have been letting it soak. Today I went to put it into the new tank and saw some brown fuzzy looking stuff growing on the wood. I wasn't able to get a picture but found a picture online that is almost identical.The reading I can find shows its nothing harmful and should go away with time? I wanted to see if this is accurate and if anyone here had anything to add? Thanks in advance!

 

[noside]

It's nothing to be concerned about. Pretty sure it's remnants of sap I've seen it plenty of times while soaking drift wood but it especially comes out with the manzanita woods. It will eventually go away.

 

[krichardson]

I've thrown away pieces of wood that I have had for years because that brown stuff all of a sudden popped up.I tried scrubbing and drying the wood and the stuff would reappear after I put the wood back in the tank.It looks like fungus of some kind but seems to be harmless.I didn't like the looks of it so I chucked the wood.

 

[Lusus_Naturae]

I had it crop up on some grapevine I had in a tank. It also had some white fuzzy stuff too. It didn't last long once the highfin pleco (gibby) found it. He cleaned it up fast. A few weeks later I didn't see any more starting up again.

Previously if I was just soaking it in a tub, I'd rub it down with salt to get anything off the surface. A few washes and the salt would be gone anyhow.

 

[krichardson]

I'll have to try and keep those two remedies in mind in case I come across a nice looking piece in the future.

 

[HarleyK]

Plecos love it - I assume you don't have a pleco in your tank?
This is good reason to get one

 

[MilitantPotato]

The only issues I've read are if it smells like it's rotting when you take it out of the water is the sap is rotting, which can cause water quality issues. Otherwise it's just ugly, but goes away with time or a fish that eats it.

 

[catfishacr]

Thanks everyone. I took it out let it dry and then scrubbed it good. Nothing smelled bad so hopefully no sap issues. I will be adding a pleco, so if it grows back hopefully my pleco will do some grazing

 

[Psylant]

I have heaps of this stuff in my tank. It's harmless and plecos devour it. I have a divider in there right now. One half has a pleco, one half does not. The side with the chocolate pleco is gleaming. The side without, covered in this hairy brown algae.

 

[the lion who ate the sun]

You can also take a turkey baster and blast the surface of the wood during a water change. Position your hose in the right place as you blast and you can get it all. I have to do this with my huge piece every so often.