Do BTUs correspond to higher driftwood nutritional value?

[lujor]

I have been trying to figure out which types of wood are the most nutritious for wood-eating Loricarids like the Royal Pleco/Panaque. I haven't had much luck, and it is probably not important enough to spend a lot of energy on (pun intended). BUT, I am curious. I found a web page chart showing the caloric quantities of various woods expressed as BTUs. The chart is for people who want to get the most heat per cord of firewood. My understanding of how calories, btus, and nutritional value relate is very limited. I may be totally misinterpreting the chart, but I wanted to post it to see if anyone thinks it is useful for finding the best wood to feed Panaques and other wood-eating species of fish.
http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/heating_value_wood

 

[lujor]

Obviously, if I am interpreting this correctly, BTUs would correlate to calories, but this would not necessarily correlate to "more nutritious" wood as it would ignore vitamin content and such. Just more pure energy for the fish to use.

 

[knifegill]

Untreated soft hemlock lumber and fruit woods worked well for me.

 

[lujor]

Hemlock? Softwoods? Apple is listed as having a high btu content.

 

[knifegill]

The common hemlock used in millwork is what I mean. And the really hard wood from older trees is harder for plecos to eat than medium to soft samples. It should be soft enough between the hard grain to push your fingernail into a little. This ensures ease of chewing for the fish. And it will sink if you boil it for a long time and give it about a week to get bogged. Then it might last a few months as your plec shaves it down to a toothpick.

And by fruitwoods I mean species like apple and cherry. These are safe for aquarium use and I recall my pleco eating them happily. Soft mahogany was relished as well.

 

[lujor]

Softwoods = pines and their relatives
Hardwoods = mainly deciduous trees like oak, maple, ash
I've heard that softwoods are not good for an aquarium

 

[lujor]

The common hemlock used in millwork is what I mean. And the really hard wood from older trees is harder for plecos to eat than medium to soft samples. It should be soft enough between the hard grain to push your fingernail into a little. This ensures ease of chewing for the fish. And it will sink if you boil it for a long time and give it about a week to get bogged. Then it might last a few months as your plec shaves it down to a toothpick.

And by fruitwoods I mean species like apple and cherry. These are safe for aquarium use and I recall my pleco eating them happily. Soft mahogany was relished as well.

I don't have to select wood that has weathered or is already driftwood? Just has to be dead and then boiled?

 

[knifegill]

Correct. Dead and boiled is great. No reason to let it start decomposing on the ground before using it as food.

Softwoods = pines and their relatives
Hardwoods = mainly deciduous trees like oak, maple, ash
I've heard that softwoods are not good for an aquarium

Yes. I simply meant softer pieces of hardwood species. Don't use the tightest grained hemlock in the stack, it will be difficult to eat. Medium density is great, and softer bits are fine, too. From my experience with my dull-eyed panaque, he greatly preferred the softer pieces since he got more food for the labor of rasping, it seemed.

 

[WyldFya]

Hemlock is a soft wood by definition. It is not good for your tank. Have you seen the amazon? It isn't covered in pine trees and cedar trees.

 

[WyldFya]

I don't have to select wood that has weathered or is already driftwood? Just has to be dead and then boiled?

It needs to be dead, and left long enough to let the resins to either dry up, or seep out. Recently dead woods, particularly the evergreens, can have nasty oils in them that can kill your fish.