I have a bit of bamboo that I've had in my 10 gal betta tank for over a year...its always done really well. This weekend when I was doing waterchanges I noticed part of it was a tad yellow so I pulled it out to examine it. The smallest of the three stalks in squishy...I fear it might be dead. This is one of the little potted things that you can get at stores like mmm and the three stalks are bundled together. The two larger stalks are fine but I was wondering if any of you have had to dissect these plants before. Should I just cut the dead one off as close to the base as I can or should I try and extricate it from the bunch? Should I do anything to make sure the rest of the plant doesn't go to squish? I took it out of the tank but Tiberious misses his bamboo, he likes to rest on the curves of the stalks.

just cut out as much of the stalk's dead part and into the healthy section as much as possible. Maybe you could still save it. It could still grow roots from all of its nodes anyway.

I didnt know you could put real bamboo in tanks because thats what i want in mine I just didn't know U could. lol

i think you have to leave the leaves exposed and just submerge the roots other wise it rots

It's not real bamboo but is actually a plant called Belgian Evergreen. Vendors simply remove much of the leaves from the stout stalks to give them the appearance of greenish bamboo stalks.

The problem is that a lot of newbies buy it, dunk it completely underwater, and then wonder why their tank smells like rotting plant & mold. x_x;;