Decorations: Driftwood & Rock

Driftwood and rock seen for sale at the local pet shop might appear to be a rip-off considering the world is covered with trees and rocks. There are many differences between a limb that's fallen in the forest and an expensive slice of wood at the pet shop. Just as picking plants from a lake and placing them directly into an aquarium is dangerous, so is the same for driftwood and rock. Special cleaning is done to these decorations to make sure they are well ready for the aquarium. They should be cleaned out before being placed into an aquarium anyways since their new owner usually isn't the first to touch them.

Where driftwood is particularly beneficial is as a natural pH buffer. pH is the measurement for the hardness level of water, of which most of the fish in this website prefer soft water. Tap water is usually hard and driftwood will naturally soften it. Besides the water, the wood will soften as well, sometimes falling apart. Algae can bloom very readily on driftwood and cleaning the wood will cause it to fragment too, so be careful.

Driftwood is also very useful for other purposes, such as havens for plants and fish. Many plant species root onto driftwood and since some pieces can appear as tall branches or roots the plants can trail up the surface, creating a beautiful effect. Fish can also use driftwood as a hiding place, such as Keyhole Cichlids that love to be around pieces of wood.

Rock serves a great deal of purposes in the aquarium. Caves can be constructed, flat rocks can be breeding platforms, and they can serve as stable structures in an aquarium where a bigger fish would tear out the plants. Some plants also root to rock.

Driftwood and rock share many similarities and contain many differences. Together they can create a unique experience for any aquarist.