Pleco's needing wood

[jaw3709]

im reading everywhere that my plecos need wood to be happy and healthy.
i keep reading they need bogwood or driftwood
my two leopard sailfins both small at the moment are in a 29 gallon tank
i tryed a big piece of mopani wood from the lfs but it looked bad in the tank and turned the water yellow even after i soaked it and boiled it for 2 weeks so its out of the tank needless to say plus neither of my plecos showed any interest in it
where can i get some get wood for my plecos to rasp??
is it safe to use wood ppl have got out of rivers and dryed out or should i only get wood from a petstore???

[lohachata]

i have been using driftwood from the shores of lake erie for almost 40 years without a single problem...mopani is a little bit hard for plecos...a softer wood would be better...
plecos eat wood to aid in digestion...kind of like humans eating fiber....
you could also get some malaysian driftwood from he pet shop...

[jaw3709]

i found some driftwood from the pacific ocean on ebay it looks awesome and would fit in my tank good would this be ok for my pleco and how could i make sure it was safe for the tank would boiling it be good enough??

[lohachata]

i wouldn't boil it ; but i would soak it in fresh water for a few days changing the water twice a day to get most of the salts out..

[CyberBob]

I buy the small logs from petco. they call them "aqua wood". They keep them wet at the store. My plecos are always munching on them.

[jaw3709]

thanks everybody wood is on its way im gonna soak it a few days to b safe and then ill put it in the tank hopefully my plecs like it and get big and old thanks again!!!

[cmeng12]

I added the wood box that my bottle of Bookers (whiskey) came in...

my pleco has grown twice his length in the last month, and he absolutely loves sucking on it many times a day ^-^

win-win, as once the bottle deteriorates from him it will be time for me to get another bottle anyways

Colton

[AquariumTech]

Most pet stores only carry the "right" kind you need.