trying to learn... are you up for a civil discussion on Lucky Bamboo???

[Magnum Man]

yes, I'm one of those people... I have several forms, in several Tanks... some claim "they are poison" some have had really good luck with them... me, I'm doing OK... & trying to understand...

the longest ones I have had, are little stubby 4" stalks... & they have been in my tanks, for 6-9 months so far... I've lost a few ( ones that did not have a good root base before they went into my tanks )... I have several that have 12" stalks, & those are all doing great, ( I've not lost one of those yet ) & the tops have doubled in size, since I put them in the tank... then I have some that were "braided" kind of, into what I call "towers" I have a love hate relationship with those... they came with colored twist ties, & before I put them in the tanks, I one by one replaced those with small white zip ties... they are very stabile in the tanks, which I need... I have 5 - 5" tinfoil barbs in that tank, & they bounce off everything, when feeding... the down side... there is like 20 stalks per tower, & I have one that died in one of the towers... so I need to figure out how to deal with that... ( I plant them in bowls ) so I can pull it out easily, & cut that one out, & replace it, if I buy a few loose ones in a matching diameter...

time for a few pictures, then, I hope some discussion...

this is the tank that has the towers... this picture is maybe 3 months ago, & towers had been in the tank 2 months or so...

This was from this morning... 3 months or so later... growth is slow, but the fish are doing great in this tank

this is the taller stalks... again, been in the tank about 2 months here...

This was taken this morning... about 3 months later... ( less plants, as I had to thin them out a little to work on this tank, its open on 3 sides, so all maintenance has to be done from the top of one end )

these are the original ones I started with... that have been in the tank as long as 9 months... again slow growth, but still alive ( sorry not a dedicated picture, will try to include a picture specifically of the plants

this is not a good picture, it was taken about a month after the tank was set up, & I was still trying to polish the pond dirt from the pots out of the water...



mine, are all completely submerged... I know some people say the tops must be above water...

heard stories of them "melting"... none of mine do that... the stalks are solid, so they get soft & no tops grow, when mine die... mine I have no CO2 yet in the tanks... going to start, ( for the benefit of other plants in the tanks ) the only fertilizers I'm using currently are root tabs, & I've never put one on a Bamboo

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

I shall be following this thread ad I'm curious what others think.

I think bamboo is so attractive but I've never tried it in my tanks because of the general belief that they rot in the long term. I know that it can flood where it grows naturally so it can withstand being in water (your tanks prove that fact) but I'm not sure that it's a permanent situation...

 

[Back in the fold]

Here’s what I see on this topic and others . Some guys do things successfully that other guys say is impossible or just plain wrong for whatever reasons . Are those guys wrong or just getting away with something temporarily and the consequences will catch up to them sooner or later ? That I do not know but in my time I have seen guys do things I can’t and it puzzles me when I can’t do the same thing by following their exact same formula . I figure it all boils down to variables . No two guys have exactly the same water , plants , fish or whatever. Maybe one guy tinkers with things too much and doesn’t let things settle down and work . Another guy sets it up , walks away and even he don’t know why it works but it does . I like bamboo . I like how it looks and I like how it goes with Bettas and other Asian fish and I wish I could grow it but it always fizzles out on me but I’ll give it another go someday .
Your aquarium sure looks cool with it in there .

 

[Magnum Man]

I think with a civil discussion, maybe we can figure this out further... maybe mine will hit 10 months & all die??? but most all look like they are going at least as good as my other aquarium plants... maybe I'll add plant conditioner & or CO2. for my other plants, & the Lucky Bamboo will just die, that's why I'm documenting this ( better clarify, this is not real bamboo, it is an other grass, Dracaena sanderiana )... my base water is pretty nuetral ph... 2 of the tanks have drift wood, which should push the ph a little softer... the short stalks are in my Rainbow tank, no drift wood, & a little limestone, to push the water a little more alkaline temps are all set at 78 degrees... if we need to talk about more conditions let me know

honestly, I didn't go into this expecting it to last forever... I was originally hoping they would give me some greenery that wouldn't pollute my tanks too badly, while the rest of my traditional aquarium plants get established... I've got way more dead Java Fern leaves, while those are cycling... assume those are going to be ok, as there is tons of new growth, & I've heard often the older leaves will die off, when transplanting

 

[Magnum Man]

I just love this little guy... thought I better mention, that all the "bamboo" is "potted"... when I 1st started, I used bowls, half full of pond soil, with a thin layer of black aquarium gravel over the top, to help keep the soil in place, then a layer of each aquariums gravel over the top to blend it in... in this picture the substrate is larger polished pebbles, still pond soil on the bottom, & the pots are short canning jars... in the Tin Foil tank, with the towers, there is no soil, only aquarium gravel... not pictured are the 12" stalks removed from the 45 gallon, & again, just aquarium gravel... not seeing a difference, so I don't think the pond soil was needed...

 

[Wills]

I've not heard of them being toxic before? Some house plants are I know but not sure on this one - even toxic house plants I've not come across any reports of aquarium fish dying from them eating the roots or just being in the tank. Its something I actively encourage because of the benefits.

In terms of keeping them fully submerged I'm not sure, I have mine so the stems touch the bottom of the tank but the leaves and the curly part of the stems are out of the tank - in time I'm setting up a mesh on the wall behind the tank to grow more terrestrial plants on but I'm also going to clip the bamboo higher up so less of the stem is in the water. I've gotten quite a few leaves in a month or so since they went in.

Wills

 

[Back in the fold]

I get that you like your little Plecostomus but wait until he gets big and starts leaving long stringy spaghetti turds waving and wafting over everything in your aquarium. Filthy things those Plecostomus . They should be left in the wild but that’s just me .

 

[Magnum Man]

this one only gets 5.5" long... but yep... got a 7" "regular" pleco in the Tin Foil tank... trying to figure out what to do with him, before he gets to 14" ... he keeps the glass clean, but the turds are unsightly... he may go outside to my Tilapia set up in the Duck weed tank???

 

[Back in the fold]

this one only gets 5.5" long... but yep... got a 7" "regular" pleco in the Tin Foil tank... trying to figure out what to do with him, before he gets to 14" ... he keeps the glass clean, but the turds are unsightly... he may go outside to my Tilapia set up in the Duck weed tank???

Or you could dry him and make a hood ornament out of him .

 

[Jacob the tank keeper]

That's a bit cruel... But yea, stop getting plecos! I do think the tiny bristlenoses are cute though...

Anyways, I personally kept bamboos in my tanks in different environments, now, the ones with the tops going out of the water of course did very well, more than doubling the leaves. The ones underwater started showing signs of yellowing and mushing if that's a word... Not sure of the parameters, but that was like 2 years ago. but I am trying it out again in my shrimp tank, started it 2 weeks ago, so far so fine but it's such a short amount of time... Only time will tell

 

[Magnum Man]

Lately been into Ottos for helping clean up... the only plecos that interest me are small unique ones... never again on a plain brown that can grow 1.5 ft long

 

[Magnum Man]

Jacob... any idea how long they lasted before yellowing & fading away???

 

[Jacob the tank keeper]

Jacob... any idea how long they lasted before yellowing & fading away???

Mine only took 2 months. That's why I'm amazed at how long you kept yours. I also read about people successfully keeping them underwater, that's also why I'm trying it out again. Maybe how stable it is also matters, I'm trying one with healthier roots, and overall looks healthier. Maybe it might even be like a emersed to submerged thing??? (Theory, no proof to back this up)

 

[Back in the fold]

@Jacob the tank keeper I think you are on to something with the emersed to submerged theory . I remember reading something about that once a long time ago but I don’t remember exactly what.

 

[Jacob the tank keeper]

@Jacob the tank keeper I think you are on to something with the emersed to submerged theory . I remember reading something about that once a long time ago but I don’t remember exactly what.

I'm glad you think that, I was afraid of being called stupid... Anyways, I'll try to do some research, maybe tanks with Co2 have bamboo doing better than tanks without, that's how it works for most emersed to submerged plants I think