So before Thanksgiving, I gave my tank a very thorough cleaning so it could impress the family and I noticed a small bit of moldy/fungusy stuff growing on the back of my driftwood. Since it was a small amount I broke off the piece that had mold and forgot about it. I looked again two days ago and the entire backside of my wood was covered in the stuff!! It was so gross, and I can't believe how quickly it spread! Needless to say, the driftwood is now gone and the tank has been completely remodeled as a result. Pics will follow shortly.

Pics! So far it seems my Angels and Rainbows love the remodel, my Pleco and Redtail hate it, and as usual, the Neons don't care. And before anyone mentions it, yea I used some fake plants wanna fight about it?!

Well my fish did not "love the stuff". They were staying as far away from the wood as possible, thats what first got me wondering about it. Plus the stuff was atrocious to look at. Its bad enough that the driftwood was still turning my water tea colored 4 months after I bought it, and now even the piece itself was no longer attractive. And when I pulled the wood out, it was already rotting to the point where I could snap pieces of it off effortlessly (I'm skinny, this is usually hard for me to do, lol). I think me and driftwood just weren't meant to get along.

Lol the fighting over fake plants line was not meant to be taken seriously. I am well aware that the pleco needs wood to survive and I already put a smaller piece in for him. You are correct that it was on the back side of the wood but the backside of the wood is visible on the left side of the tank (it was at an angle). I'm usually at work while the lights are on in the tank so it took awhile for me to notice. Not to mention that the entire backside was covered in a week, so the front wasn't far behind. Soaking the wood in something else is far easier said then done. The piece is huge, it doesnt even fit in my bath tub (width and height not length). Lastly I highly doubt it was just my perception. Every fish other then the redtail was on the opposite side of my tank for two days before I noticed the mold and the two days before I had the time to take the wood out, including the pleco. I am not saying that your incorrect about moldy wood being harmless, or that fish might like it, but the fact is lots of things can and do go wrong with decaying matter such as driftwood, and even if the stuff is harmless, its awful to look at and far to rapidly growing for me to want to deal with it. The woods gone, the tanks rescaped, thats all there is to it, lol.