Palm tree bark

[MsaoeX]

Hi all,

i'm thinking of placing some palm tree barks to serve as hiding places for my fishes.

The only problem i can think of is that the bark may rot but i'll just simply remove it if thats the case. I would like to know if it will turn the water acidic? Anyone has tried that before? Would love to hear some opinions.

Thanks!!

[stormhawk]

Only type of bark I'd suggest you to use in an aquarium is cork bark. To keep it from rotting you have to coat it with a sealer. You can ask for more details in the Vivarium section so Eddy can help you out better.

[Nicky]

I soaked some palm tree bark in a fiberglass tank and the result was killing all the swordtails in the tank and causing the water to have the massive stink. It was messy !

[MsaoeX]

Sad to hear about it. The bark has been in my tank for a week without any noticeable impact on my fishes. The cause of death is probably not due to the bark itself. Where do you obtain your bark from? It could contain pesticide or any toxic substances that you did not come to realize.

[eddy planer]

Hi MsaoeX

I'm not too sure about this Palm Tree Bark, if you can upload the palm tree bark picture , that's will be better.

For my experience, i know wood that safe to use in dry and wet setup
• Ash, wood and bark
• Aspen, wood and bark
• Bamboo
• Cork Bark, soaked thoroughly
• Coconut, husk and shell
• Driftwood, sterilized
• Madrona, wood and bark
• Mopani, aquarium

and I know Palm Tree bark may only use for dry set up however there is no proven this Palm Tree bark can still use for wet setup. Hence remember the aged barks like Cork barks, diftwood, Mopani Bamboo will continue to leach tannin into the aquarium for many years after their addition and slowly decay with increasing water acidity as a result. Softwood bark like Palm Tree bark will decay at an impractical rate will also leach tannin badly if wet setup usage. If you're not a concern, then this tannin can even be beneficial to 'black water' loving fish species.

Hope this will help you.

[tatayui]

Hi MsaoeX

I'm not too sure about this Palm Tree Bark, if you can upload the palm tree bark picture , that's will be better.

For my experience, i know wood that safe to use in dry and wet setup
• Ash, wood and bark
• Aspen, wood and bark
• Bamboo
• Cork Bark, soaked thoroughly
• Coconut, husk and shell
• Driftwood, sterilized
• Madrona, wood and bark
• Mopani, aquarium

and I know Palm Tree bark may only use for dry set up however there is no proven this Palm Tree bark can still use for wet setup. Hence remember the aged barks like Cork barks, diftwood, Mopani Bamboo will continue to leach tannin into the aquarium for many years after their addition and slowly decay with increasing water acidity as a result. Softwood bark like Palm Tree bark will decay at an impractical rate will also leach tannin badly if wet setup usage. If you're not a concern, then this tannin can even be beneficial to 'black water' loving fish species.

Hope this will help you.

This post is interesting. Thanks for sharing the info. Very Useful.