maylasian vs. african root

[fishyjoe24]

I've always used maylasin driftwood and it has held up good and i've had it for years. but anyway here's the story, I was at keller fish farm friday afternoon and I asked the guy working there(i'm guessing he was the owner) about the african root and why they didn't have maylasian driftwood and he told me that maylasian de-tear-e-rates over time and doesn't help lower the ph and that african roots is the strongest and helps lower the ph. is this the truth or just his opinion?

what do you ladies/guys think?

[dcacjc]

I have some African Root that I have had in water for over 10 years and it looks just like it did the day I got it. It will leach in to the water for about 6 months.

[Mr.Malawi]

yeah thats all Kfarms has is root.. decent selection too.. and yeah if you were talking to the chubby indian guy thats the owner now..

[fishyjoe24]

yeah thats all Kfarms has is root.. decent selection too.. and yeah if you were talking to the chubby indian guy thats the owner now..

yes it was the cubby indian guy with an accent.

[AndrewH]

Well technically once you've cut (or it's naturally broken off) the wood from the tree or roots from the tree, they're all in a state of decay. One might decay faster than the other, but eventually they'll both deteriorate completely (might be talking decades and longer if the wood is kept within water, but still at some point it'll break down).

I think I know which one the fish prefer ;)

Look here (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/images/2/2d/African_Dream_Root.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/index.php%3Ftitle%3DAfrican_Dream_Root&usg=__HgroNXRWUuMXYqlI79n1XaHsE8A=&h=224&w=250&sz=24&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=XPF8CA0zyD_k9M:&tbnh=99&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dafrican%2Broot%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26r lz%3D1B3GGGL_enUS266US266%26sa%3DN)

[Mr.Malawi]

wow thats a nice piece..

[masroberts9]

sure... i like this one. http://a1272.g.akamai.net/7/1272/1121/20071108193203/www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/normal/p-33027-42130-driftwood.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:popupWin1('/product/detailed_image.cfm?pCatId=18456&large=/images/Categoryimages/larger/lg-33027-42130-driftwood.jpg', 50, 50, 460, 485))except that its a fake.

[Mr.Malawi]

wow that's also a nice piece fake or not.. i would actually prefer a fake .. how much was that?

[fishyjoe24]

wow that's also a nice piece fake or not.. i would actually prefer a fake .. how much was that?

that looks like the one from petsmart, around 30 dollars.

[AndrewH]

x2 agree... that fake one looks pretty darn good.

[Typical Tony]

i got a fake one myself that looks similar to that. i like it.

its hard to find a real piece of driftwood that looks good and is decently priced.

[masroberts9]

i got the pic from dr foster. i think they want like $40 for the big piece.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+6635+12162+18456&pcatid=18456

[biggin]

This is kinda dumb IMO. Does one waste away faster then the other? I dunno, but the time that it takes to actually happen makes it irrelevant. As long as you keep it wet it will do fine for a long time.

I have heard one is better for dropping the PH but there are still better substitutes for both which makes that a null factor.

It is personal preference, and he can prefer one over the other and choose to sell that but as far as justifying it more then just a personal preference is a little silly IMO.

I've always used maylasin driftwood and it has held up good and i've had it for years. but anyway here's the story, I was at keller fish farm friday afternoon and I asked the guy working there(i'm guessing he was the owner) about the african root and why they didn't have maylasian driftwood and he told me that maylasian de-tear-e-rates over time and doesn't help lower the ph and that african roots is the strongest and helps lower the ph. is this the truth or just his opinion?

what do you ladies/guys think?

[masroberts9]

x2

[Holey_Rock_of_Texas]

i prefer the maylasian for my plecos. i feel like the african root is way to tough for them to chew.

[kSpieler]

Having had both types of wood in the same tank at the same time, I can say that, Yes, the Malaysian will degenerate faster than the root...but IMHO that makes it better for supplementing a pleco's diet, since it's easier for them to scape the surface off.

[fishyjoe24]

thanks,