Red cherry shrimps and lucky bamboo

miraloma · Post by **miraloma** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:21 pm

I'm starting a shrimp tank and my local fish store sales person has no idea what Java Moss is. I did see some lucky bamboo type plants in their live plant section. I have a few stalks of those sitting in a small gravel pot right now. Would it be ok to put the lucky bamboo in the tank with my shrimps? I plan to have Red Cherry Shrimps though, not bamboo shrimps. I don't want to kill either the bamboo or the shrimps.

Newjohn · Post by **Newjohn** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:38 pm

Hello miraloma

And welcome to the Forum.

I have a piece of Bambo in one of my tanks and I have not had a problem.

But I first soaked it in a bucket and did several water changes to the bucket to make sure there were not fertilizers on the plant.

John

miraloma · Post by **miraloma** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:55 pm

Cool, thanks for the advice!

Opopanax · Post by **Opopanax** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 8:31 pm

I've done this with Bamboo and it works fine.

Things to watch: Leaves can rot fairly quickly. You're going to want to make sure that you go through and clean them out regularly.

The other issue is make sure that you're using actual bamboo. Lots of the bamboo and "lucky bamboo" that you can buy is not true bamboo and will rot quite quickly if submerged in water.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 8:49 pm

The other issue is make sure that you're using actual bamboo. Lots of the bamboo and "lucky bamboo" that you can buy is not true bamboo and will rot quite quickly if submerged in water.

Interesting, are these another type of plant that just look like bamboo

?

Opopanax · Post by **Opopanax** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 8:59 pm

Lucky Bamboo is actually not bamboo. The scientific name is Dracaena. It's actually part of the lily family

The bamboo will grow in water, but the leaves must not be submerge. The the stalks are fine to be under water.

There is "grass" bamboo that you can get. These do "Ok" in Aquariums but with mixed results. Typically these are really more "bog" style plants than anything.

IF you already have lucky bamboo go ahead and use it. It will take a long time to rot, but you'll notice after a few weeks that the submerged leaves are turning yellow. Any leaves below the water will rot. I've had my luck bamboo underwater for 3 months before the stalks began to deteriote to the point that it was no longer decorative for the tank.

Honestly, you'll be better off using a different true aquatic plant - unless you're able to have your leaves above the water line.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 11:05 pm

I think bamboo adds a unique asian look and feel to a tank. That's why I have had some in my tank for over a year