Thanks Jagat. It wasn't my idea. Quite a few people do it so I can't claim that but wanted to share it with anyone who hasn't seen it before. As you say it's a great idea.
Yeah technically lucky Bamboo; Dracaena Sanderiana is the the family Asparagaceae but in terms of common names and what we'd say when asking for it in a store etc...
My bamboo grows wild in all directions in my tank hasn't rot either had it submerge for over 4 years now. It has grown really tall with lots of sunlight and oto fish also I've fertilized a few times in the past.
Just yesterday I saw some in ikea and immediately searched up using it in aquarium. Really wish I'd bought more than two! They're so pretty and the fishies seem to like them
😂 “People keep asking what these bamboo-looking things are…” Ironically, they’re actually closer to an asparagus. When I read that, I was shocked. But it makes sense. The lucky bamboo species is _Dracaena sanderiana_ to be “specific”; _Dracaena_ is then placed with the other genera under the asparagus family, Asparagaceae. It’s the same genus as snakeplants (or 'mother-in-law’s tongue', which were _Sansevieria_ & still are, to some). A lot of basic, common houseplant trees are also Dracaena. Many common hybrids are sold like 'Janet Craig' or the 'Corn Plant'. In the greater family of Asparagaceae (asparaguses), lucky bamboo "cousins" include edible asparagus, all the various asparagus ferns (which are, of course, not ferns), all the agaves, yuccas, dasylirions and Joshua trees… spiderplants, _Beaucarnea_ (elephant foot or ponytail palms), etc. Look at a giant agave flower spike before it gets to its highest potential-it looks like a giant asparagus. Just like the flowers of asparagus ferns look like edible asparagus.
Yes indeed you are right and thank you for sharing all of that additional information. If anyone is looking to buy some in their local garden centre of home improvement store though lucky bamboo is what they'll need to ask for to find it hey. 👍
Hello, now THAT is what I call interesting...Do you ever have to trim the roots? They all look very hairy or are they best left ? Very informative. May even give it a try soon. Thank you.
For sure Jade! Any slice of nature we can bring into the home I find good for the soul and gives us a sense of wellbeing. Raises the corners of the lips eh?
I did way back. After a few months it didn't do so well. Probably effected by conditions though; species of bamboo, water parameters and conditions, etc.
So the light shining down into the tank is enough for them? The room where I keep my tank is usually fairly dark because I have axolotls and they don’t like a lot of light.
I'm not too sure about that bud because I've never kept them in a dark room. This is a plant that people keep in vases etc in their homes so the light of a normal family home is certainly enough. For you I'd say try it. They're pretty cheap to give one or two a shot in your tank and if it goes well grab a few more. 👍
What substrate do you recommend using for them and also how would you clean the substrate just with a siphon? I'm a beginner fish keeper and I wanna start putting plants in my tank thanks.
To be honest you can use pretty much any substrate. People keep them in vases with water for years so the choice is yours! I tend to use a gravel vac. You can get them in any pet store or online. Hope that helps. Give me a shout if I can help with anything else.
I don't push them into the substrate by the way, just sit them on top. Some of the roots will bury down into it, some will stay above it and take nutrients from the water.
@@Sigmagrind I normally use a thin layer of Tropica clay based substrate under the gravel when I set a tank up. If I think a root feeder needs a helping hand at any point I'll add a root tab. For plants that get their nutrients out of the water column I've been using a 50/50 mix of TNC Complete and TNC lite with good results. It's often a case of getting to know your set up (plant requirements, water composition, etc) which can take time. Better to start with less than you need at first and dial it up if your plants are struggling than go in too heavy. Consistency is important too including doing your maintenance routinely and your light period (when they turn on and go off, how long they're on for). It can change over time too. As the plants grow they need more, when you trim them they need slightly less. Hope that's helpful to you.
I didn’t see this video before i did all that. I didn’t seal the cut part. Been a 2 week nothing died. Any advice? Should i seal it with wax now? Fish havent die yet
Cut it into 340 little pieces and put them in a blender. Mix it really well on high and throw it all into the toilet. Won't help a damn bit for your aquascape but it will take care of your bamboo population problems.
Well one of the benefits to the fish is the bamboo will suck up nitrates out of the water column. Fish may enjoy swimming around it, graze biofilm and algae off of it and give them something to hide behind if they need to relax or evade other fish. For us it's a different nice way of decorating our tanks and it is said it has odour control properties.
I bought 3 of them last year. Didn't exactly know what I was doing. I planted them in the substrate. 2 of them popped out of the water pretty quick, but one was completely submerged for almost a year before I pulled it up to the surface. It's not a healthy as the other 2, but still coming along ok.
It will grow fine by itself and feed off of nitrates from the water colum. If it roots into a substrate with nutrients it will probably grow faster but it's not necessary and to be honest you don't want it to grow too quickly.
Does the bamboo already have to be rooted, or can I just cut some and put it directly into the gravel and it will root on its own? The wax that you added, was that on the top that sticks out of the aquarium?
You're right it's from the Asparagaceae family. If you do that I'd keep the wax seal at the top of the stem out of the water (if you have one). I wouldn't like to think about the fish picking at the wax.
If I were to cut the leaves off a seal the cut with wax, could the whole stem be submerged in water? My tanks won’t allow for the leaves to pop out the top. Would love bamboo in my tank (ideally I’d like artificial to save the faff but can’t find any decent ones).
I don't think they'd last indefinitely but should last a couple of months or more. You might consider that worth it since they are quite cheap to pick up but I would remove them as soon as you notice them breaking down.
Do you mean fish chewing on the bamboo? I've never noticed that. Perhaps plecos grazing on biofilm on the surface of the plant but I've never experienced them eating the bamboo itself.
@Lee Sutton should be good for you. Goldfish can be hard on plants but this is pretty tough and has lots of additional properties including looking great. Hope you enjoy it.
I set up a dwarf frog tank and put some lucky bamboo in it. I set the tank up about a month ago and I’m having severe melt problems with the bamboo and I really don’t know what the issue is. The tank was set up with the following: a gravel bottom layer, root tabs on top of the gravel, capped off with black sand. Bamboo was planted right into the sand, with the roots in contact with that root tab layer. Some tank ornaments are included as well. The tank is 3gal and has a 50W heater to keep the tank around 75 deg F, and a small hang on back filter. I do 25-50% water changes weekly. The bamboo looked fine for the first two weeks or so, but started to show signs of melt soon after. After leaving the tank for the weekend, the bamboo is severely melting now. I know bamboo can be planted either partially or fully submerged. Some of the stalks and leaves are fully submerged, some have the leaves partially poking out of the water. Both are melting, so it could be a chemical imbalance - my water here in Pennsylvania is quite hard so maybe that’s a factor. The one thing my tank is missing is an overhead light. I put the tank by an east facing window figuring it was getting enough natural light, but I’ve never heard of lack of sufficient light causing melt. I’m probably gonna have to toss this set of bamboo because I don’t think it can be salvaged. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
You paid far too much for your Dracaena!! Not bamboo and it's from Africa. £3 per shoot!! 3 quid would buy you a whole plant which you could take endless cuttings off and save yourself a fortune.
Yeah I know man. Nearest place to me that does it at a decent price is thirty miles away though and the garden centre is only five minutes away. I wanted some extra bits for the video.
