MudHog

Is lucky bamboo aquarium safe? I want to make a hanging plant shelf for my 37G tank and have it house approx. 10-12 lucky bamboo stalks. The roots and about 2" of the stalk would be in the water. The leaves and rest of stalk would be exposed. Will my fish try to eat the roots and will the roots harm them if they would nip at the roots? I guess I could always make some sort of box to close in the roots and just drill holes for the water to flow in and out if needed.

Separate note, those that know about lucky bamboo, do the stalks themselves get big, say like the trunk of a tree? Trying to think of an attachment method and I'm thinking of something like a clip. Sort of like what holds a visi-therm heater to the wall of an aquarium, except sizes enough for the bamboo and not necessarily suction cup mounted.

Dino

I will get a shot of the pieces we have in tanks here tomorrow.
We have had it in tanks for almost 2 years here with no problems.

MudHog

awesome, thanks Dino.

How are you mounting/supporting the stalks?

clinton1621

I have some in a small tank with my goldfish, I use a twist tie around the stems attached to some tank decor to keep it in place.... as far as the roots, I havent had any problems with them, but you could probably cut a hole into a sponge filter and put the roots inside so they arent spread out in the water too much

Dino

They are only propped up between the glass top and the filter.

Blub

They can be used in a tank, as long as the leaves are above surface. I would think you can 'plant' them in the substrate, if it is deep enough.

Butterfly

Yep exactly right
This was planted in the sand and growing out of the space between the hood and the back of the tank.
Carol

Attached Images

bambo in kuhli tank.jpg (43.7 KB, 10 views)

MudHog

Carol, how long is your stalk? I was looking at some to possibly go down to the substrate and plant them, but don't know where I would find upwards of 36" stalks.

Dino

I saw some for sale in Atlanta Thursday that had 3 foot stalks.
Though, usually it is the foot tall ones I see.

MudHog

same her Dino. Usually no taller than a foot are what I see in stores and whatnot. www.lucky-bamboo.com does have up to 60", but everything they list is "temp. out of stock" so I really don't trust to buy from them to begin with.

Butterfly

That is a ten g tank so it's not real tall. But the two pieces grew in the filter until it was tall enough to plant and leave the leaves out of the water.
Carol

Dojella

I feel stupid asking this, but do the leaves have to be out of the water? Can they be submerged?

As far as the 'trunk' of the bamboo, I've got some (not in an aquarium) lucky bamboo I've had for over 2 years and the stalks have stayed pretty much the same diameter, but many side branches have sprouted from the upper halves and the height has gone from about 6" to about 2 feet!

MudHog

Dojella,

See about from HatchetHaven on the leaves needing to be above the water level.

jdhef

You should never feel stupid asking any question here. You should only feel stupid if you have a question and don't ask it!

Butterfly

Right on! We all have to learn, and after all these years I'm still learning things and hopefully always will.
Yes the leaves have to be out of the water, they tend to die and rot if submerged.
Carol

Blub

If we weren't constantly learning new things, then life would be a bore!

sirdarksol

Lucky bamboo can get really tall, so 5' stalks are a possibility, though the little 1' lengths are more common.
I also have some lucky bamboo growing in a tank, and it's doing pretty well.