Are Shipworms harmful to fish?

[Berts46ers]

I went looking for some driftwood at my local lake and found a few pieces that I liked.
1 of them is riddled with shipworms though.
Just wondering if they are harmful to the aquarium?
I am setting up a new tank for my Mangrove Jack and don’t want him to get infected with any parasites.
The tank is brackish. Sg 1.006 to 1.008

 

[tlindsey]

I went looking for some driftwood at my local lake and found a few pieces that I liked.
1 of them is riddled with shipworms though.
Just wondering if they are harmful to the aquarium?
I am setting up a new tank for my Mangrove Jack and don’t want him to get infected with any parasites.
The tank is brackish. Sg 1.006 to 1.008
View attachment 1544054View attachment 1544055

I personally would pass on the wood riddled with shipworms. Not because they would harm anything but they probably would die off due to starvation and cause water issues. I wouldn't risk it with that beautiful mangrove jack.

 

[Berts46ers]

Spoiling the water due to a large die off is a fair point and 1 I didn’t think of.

 

[Midwater]

Could you jet wash it?

 

[Berts46ers]

Could you jet wash it?

I did that for a good 15 minutes. It got rid of a lot of them, and blew away some of the thin rotted wood also.
But it looks like there is heaps of the white shells all through the piece still.

I poured 2 jugs of boiling water over the wood aswell, hoping to kill of anything alive.

 

[Midwater]

It is a nice looking piece of wood, especially with all the holes.

 

[FJB]

The white calcareus tubes would not be a problem in brackish or marine shells, as they are just carbonate. Butr rotting bodies could be problematic for water quality.

 

[HarleyK]

I soak my self harvested driftwood in a trashcan in brine. Let that sit for a few days, and let it sit a few days afterwards with regular water again to get the salt out. That should take care of them.

 

[Berts46ers]

I soak my self harvested driftwood in a trashcan in brine. Let that sit for a few days, and let it sit a few days afterwards with regular water again to get the salt out. That should take care of them.

I will try this method and see what happens.

Thanks!