Mopani Wood

[hyla]

I ordered two different sizes of Mopani wood today for my gray tree frog habitat. It is aquarium grade and under the description says to soak the wood for several hours. I am assuming this is to prevent water discoloration in an aquarium. Do I need to do this step or not? Also, I would like to add a live plant but want to keep it in its own pot, instead of planting it directly in the substrate. I would like to go for a more forest looking set up rather than tropical one. Any suggestions?

[SludgeMunkey]

I am stuck using a smart phone at the moment so I cannot give a very detailed answer.

If you head over to WWW.caudata.org/cc.shtml I wrote a couple of articles on wood and substrates that will answer your questions.

As for the plants, many folks prefer to keep them in small pots buried in the substrate. This facillitates easy cleaning when a substrate change is required.

[adawinters]

Just to throw another opinion out there on the wood-soaking, I usually soak wood for several days, changing the water out at least once a day for water as hot as it will come out of the tap. I don't really mind tanins, but I do like to leech as many out as possible before I add wood to my tanks. I guess that's just a personal preference, but I thought it might be useful. Definitely check out the links that SludgeMunkey posted. He's a pro with aquascaping and viv design from what I gather.

[Buck Rogers]

Mopani wood is amazing!!!! I have this wood in all of my cages. It is the toughest wood you can find and when you actually find it in the bush after it has fallen and being sitting in the sun for long enough its as hard as rock.

I recently brought some back for my monitor cages from a bush herping trip here in South Africa and it took us almost an hour to saw through the one piece.

You'll find the wood is actually a grey-white colour (provided it has being cut and standing for a while) this is because it comes from such a hot area that the trees need to be lighter coloured to reflect sun light. They shouldn't have too much colour to them, but leaving it to soak in water for a day or 2 never does any harm.

[hyla]

Johnny I think that link is messed up, says page not found when I click it. So I guess I should soak the wood then? I also bought one of those magnetic ledges, hope it works out and looks nice. Are there such things as mini ferns? Thinking of ordering plants from Black Jungle or Josh's Frogs...

[Buck Rogers]

Are there such things as mini ferns? Thinking of ordering plants from Black Jungle or Josh's Frogs...

Yes there is. I have seen it on Black Jungle before. Also look out for something called maiden's hair, its a very fine type of fern and is relatively small and looks really pretty.

[SludgeMunkey]

Sorry about the messed up link. Android OS is great but I have not figured out how to copy and paste a link. Try this one:

Caudata Culture Articles

Buck has the advantage as he can get natural, unprocessed mopani. The rest of us get debarked and sand blasted bits. With reptiles, mopani is king. With amphibians I suggest extreme caution in using it in aquatic or semiaquatic enclosures.

Mopani, also known as mopane is sometimes called the turpentine tree with good reason. It contains a high amount of various taxols, phenols and turpenines. This makes it bug and rot resistant but also potentially harmful to amphibians with their permeable skins.

No matter what the supplier claims, unless the wood is sealed with a water proof resin I highly recommend thoroughly soaking and then boiling the wood.

While tannins are present the risk of a low pH is very high. Soaking and boiling lowers this risk but regular and vigiliant tank maintenance is required.

There is a direct link to low pH of both water and substrate to acute renal failure (bloat) in amphibians.

[hyla]

Thank you all...I will definetely check out those plants, I think it will look much nicer than the fake stuff I have now. As for the wood, this is for a gray tree frog habitat so it isnt semi aquatic or aquatic at all. I have a small water bowl in there for soaking and the humidity stays pretty moderate. I dont like having that little voice in the back of my head saying "that might be poisoning your frog" so now I will have to decide whether or not to return it.

[hyla]

But to add, I just read that article and I did buy aquarium grade mopani so maybe I am ok afterall.