Does pale aquarium wood exist?

[Hobbit]

I’m planning a breeding tank for blue velvet or blue dream neocardinia shrimp. I also want it to be gorgeous because why not? So I’m wondering if there are any kinds of aquarium-safe wood that stay fairly pale even when submerged. The little guys are so dark—I want to keep all the decor in their tank light so they stand out.

[Yanni]

I mean, you could try mopani or spiderwood. They get kind of dark as time goes on but they are much lighter color than many other woods

[Shmaty]

43 minutes ago, Yanni said:

I mean, you could try mopani or spiderwood.

I agree on the spiderwood. The only issue with Mopani is that it's usually two tone. If you wanted ALL light wood you would be hard pressed to find even mostly light colored Mopani. Dont get me wrong though, I adore my Mopani! Definetely worth the look. If you can find a store that specializes in lizards and snakes you can probably find some good sizable chunks. Otherwise, I see smaller hand sized ones at petsmart/petco all the time.

[Hobbit]

Awesome, thanks! I will look into those.

[Emika_B]

I love Mopani wood - it has lovely tones though most of mine are on the darker side.  Thing is, it’s really dense so it may leach tannins for quite some time.  I like the ‘tea’ look but not everyone does.

[TheDukeAnumber1]

The lightest wood I have ever seem was drift wood that was sun bleached nearly paper white. Searching for "sun bleached" wood might get you what you are looking for.

[lefty o]

9 hours ago, Emika_B said:

I love Mopani wood - it has lovely tones though most of mine are on the darker side.  Thing is, it’s really dense so it may leach tannins for quite some time.  I like the ‘tea’ look but not everyone does.

this, all my mopani is darker, but it can be found where its 80% or more white/tan.

[morphy1701]

Unless you are dead set on using real wood, you can find light or sand colored artificial wood.

[Hobbit]

@morphy1701 good point! I think real wood will give the shrimp more to feast on, but I’m sure artificial wood would be really pretty.

[Jungle Fan]

I have both spiderwood and Mopani in my tank, next to Pacific driftwood, and after six months you can't tell the difference. Real wood is always preferable for the shrimp, the fish, and plants if you add any. Catfish love the wood fiber as much as shrimp, and the tannins, however miniscule they might be if you've pre-soaked the wood are healthy for all living organisms in your tank.

[Hobbit]

Normally I would totally embrace the tannins. Just going for a certain look this time... Or at least dreaming of a certain look!

5 hours ago, Jungle Fan said:

I have both spiderwood and Mopani in my tank, next to Pacific driftwood, and after six months you can't tell the difference.

That’s good to know. Thanks!

[morphy1701]

15 hours ago, Hobbit said:

@morphy1701 good point! I think real wood will give the shrimp more to feast on, but I’m sure artificial wood would be really pretty.

I agree completely on preferring real wood (my pleco would be very sad without some wood to nibble on!). Perhaps get a larger artificial piece to put towards the front strictly for decorative reasons, then hide some chunks or long pieces of natural wood laid flat in your plants for the critters? That way you have the best of both worlds! Everything in my tank turns green over time anyway and the artificial pieces are much easier to scrub clean!

[Jungle Fan]

Hobbit, if you pre-soak the wood for several weeks and keep changing the water every other day you won't have to worry about it staining the water. I pre-soaked my wood for several months actually because some of it is Mopani that releases a lot of tannin but I 'm also not always a fan of the tea colored water, that's why in my 75 gallon with nothing but real wood I now add the Brightwell Aquatics Blackwater Clear Planted/Shrimp with every water change. Technically it's a blackwater tank, without the extreme tea color look.