They work well for me (even staying moist within my growing conditions). And they have held up for many years. Like most organic mounts, they will deteriorate over time (especially when constantly wet).
Years ago, I used a lot of cholla in aquariums for wood-grazing plecos and shrimp. Underwater they endured well (except for the cholla inside the pleco tanks, for obvious reasons). Of course other hard-woods lasted longer.
