ID? Driftwood has fuzzy stuff & white specks on it

[sushiray]

I have a 72gal BF with discus & baby plecos

had a brown algae bloom (some say not algae but diatom) that I cleaned/wiped up off the glass, bare bottom & other surfaces.

had an outbreak of white worms (planaria some say - harmless I hope) & little tiny white "mites" on the glass & on some of my discus.

1 or 2 discus went on a hunger strike & 2 had some white poop (so I think maybe parasite)

but my driftwood has a lot of fuzzy stuff growing (thought the plecos would be eating them) with white specks caught in the fuzz.

could they be eggs of a parasite?

I took out driftwood & scrubbed them all off & washed in cold water.

so any clues? thx all

 

[Lupin]

The fuzzy stuff is fungus. Just remove it manually. It will eventually stop.

 

[Noto]

Yep, it's a fungus. It's harmless. Remove it if it bothers you. Eventually bacteria will establish themselves on the wood and outcompete the fungus, thus eliminating it; for this reason it is NOT suggested that you boil, scrape, or sterilize the wood, as this will just start the cycle anew.

 

[sushiray]

I already scrubbed & rinse. but once placed back in didn't take long for it to get some fuzzy's going again. just hope it is harmless. wonder how BB would grow out over time & overtake the fuzzy's?

 

[Noto]

Not BB, but saprotrophic bacteria that feed on the wood surface itself.

Fungal spores and bacteria are both floating around in the air and eventually in your tank water. Both land on the wood, but they react differently. The bacteria simply begin feeding and dividing, as bacteria do, but the fungal spores immediately enter a sexual phase and reproduce. The resultant asexual phase then grows rapidly, quickly outstripping the bacteria.

However, eventually the bacterial numbers begin to add up, and the bacteria's production of allelopathic chemicals kills the fungus. It has already by this time produced a whole new swarm of spores to drift around until another fresh piece of wood is introduced into the tank.