Bamboo in a tank???

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KCK

KCK

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jul 4, 2010
200
1
18
253, US.
I know I've seen bamboo grow in water, or at least I've been tricked into the thought.

I want underwater plants, but I don't want to do all the nutrients so I figure If I just go up the street and get some free bamboo I won't have to worry if it dies.

But the important questions are..

-Does bamboo have any negative effects on certain fish?
-Is there a certain species in specific I need?
-Will it die if I keep it trimmed at the top to stay under tank lid?
(I can let it run out of the tank lid if it needs it's tops)
-How to gather bamboo and how to start it's roots & such
-How tall it has to be to gather
-Any past experiences or knowledge greatly appreciated.


Last time I asked for help with a thread I immediately had more people telling me what I'm doing wrong then helping..
Please don't bother if your post isn't doing anyone any good,
If your heart so truly desires, have at it.
Thanks a lot
 
I believe I have found the answer to my issues,
Dracaena sanderiana, Lucky Bamboo,
Grows underwater quite well.
I'm goin to try a shoot of regular garden bamboo, (actual bamboo)
and a shoot of the Lucky(not bamboo) in the tank and see how the garden does.

Anything I'm missing?
 
Mac.;4475305; said:
nope, sounds good I have only used the lucky bamboo, let me know about the other
Click to expand...


Great, thanks.
Well the local plant jedi says the droids I'm looking for are at walgreens.
So I'm waiting for my neighbor to come over, eat her breakfast, and then we're going on a walgreens to petsmart mission.

I tried very hard to get an entire "tree" of bamboo,
but quickly realized I'd need powertools or a good hour of hard digging.
So I just snapped off a couple of branches and stuck them in a jar on my table with a pond snail,
I don't even know if it would grow in dirt at this point but I'll keep you posted.

I'm going to forest my 30g with a bunch of Lucky Bamboo and put an eel in there, and eventually it will be a lovely 50g which I might try to plant the right way.


Has anyone ever tried regular garden bamboo underwater?

And just wondering,
30"x19"x12"
Long/Tall/Deep
Thats 30g right?
 
Any idea what sort of bamboo you're talking about? Like Dracaena, Nandina is another non-bamboo sometimes called bamboo. Some true bamboos grow in water or at least occasionally-flooded areas, but most of them are far too tall for a typical tank. The smallest of these that I know of is Arundinaria tecta, which gets about 4' high. I've never seen it for sale. There are smaller true bamboos, but I don't think they like water much. Most plants don't like "wet feet".

Dracaena will root from cuttings, but I'm pretty sure true bamboo will not.

If you want something with a bamboo-like look, consider a horsetail such as Equisetum hyemale or maiden cane, Panicum hemitomon.

By the way, there's a "Conversions" button at the top of the page that will let you calculate tank volume from dimensions.
 
Be wary of common "lucky bamboo" I have read a few things stating that it can be mildly toxic to children and small animals so i would assume that it would be mildly toxic to fish or other water critters that take a nip at it as well, however i have not researched enough to know if there is any definitive prove of these claims.
 
I have grown lucky bamboo in my tank but the leaves have to be out of the water. If the leaves are under water the plant will not grow, but will slowly die. I have never heard of a true aquatic bamboo, however I'd love the look of it and if I'm proven wrong, i'd be delighted.

I keep only about 4 inches of it out of the water, but i did not trim the top, but rather the bottom-most leaves. This is because I was pushing it lower down in the water because it was suctioned to the side of the tank, it grows nice roots and soon enough It will hit the bottom.

I have also noticed that the bamboo requires a lot of ferts. without it, the leaves are very thin.
 
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