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I got a nice piece at petsmart last week that looks incredible in my 12 gallon long, I'd be hard pressed to find a more well suited piece. After a couple days in the tank I noticed sap bubbling out in places (along with the harmless white fungus). After some searching I see suggestions to boil it to try and remove the sap or bake it to try to crystallize, this morning I came across this thread with a couple very experienced members saying it will kill shrimp
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=122901
I baked it at 220 last night for an hour and a half, some of the sap melted out and stuck to the wood but I can't tell if it's crystallized inside, I'd really like to do all I can to get this to work but if the consensus is that Mopani is unsafe for inverts I'd consider giving up on it even though I love the piece.
I've recently moved, the tank is stocked with otos and nerites, I'm planning on stocking it with OEBT in a month.
please share your experience with Mopani.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=122901
Kinda surprised no one caught the true culprit.
Be glad you didn't put it into your actual shrimp tank.
Mopani is not a SAFE aquarium wood.
Within the wood is some nasty sap.
This is what killed your shrimp.
If you want to use the mopani, boil it 5 times to help remove the sap.
Then, put it into a bucket of water for a month, change the water every day, try to boil the mopani a couple times. Either way, keep changing the water till the water is completely clear.
IMO Get rid of it, you're going to WASTE tons of time. Get manzanita or some maylasian driftwood. Don't kill more shrimps :^(
fish != shrimp
Mopani will also rot in your tank, and grow nasty fungus... The brown part of mopani is hard wood, the white part is soft wood. I've never had luck with mopani in a shrimp-only tank. This might not be the only cause of the shrimp death, but it's a likely culprit.
I baked it at 220 last night for an hour and a half, some of the sap melted out and stuck to the wood but I can't tell if it's crystallized inside, I'd really like to do all I can to get this to work but if the consensus is that Mopani is unsafe for inverts I'd consider giving up on it even though I love the piece.
I've recently moved, the tank is stocked with otos and nerites, I'm planning on stocking it with OEBT in a month.
please share your experience with Mopani.