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Nymphaea lotus space requirements

4K views 10 replies 3 participants last post by  Angel079 
#1 ·
OK so it was suggested to me in a different thread that this plant would satisfy my floating plant obsession (Nymphaea lotus). Thanks Lupin!

However I'm a little scared to get one. I have a 32g and I read that this plant can get quite large... is there a way to keep it trim without making it look like I gave it a bad haircut? Will this plant take over my tank? Also, my tank is covered... would I need to reduce the water level in there to account for the floating leaves and potential flower and will the light bulbs fry it to a crisp? (2X 20W)

I'd like to hear your thoughts if you have this plant in your tank.
 
#2 ·
I've had red tiger lotus in several tank incl the new one now...but I must have done something wrong/ different cause mine was in the gravel and not floating...so I can't help you there, but generally your lights are far enough away from the water top that it will not "fry" it.

And yes you can trim its outer leaf's off, sorta like the swords where you'd cut the outer leaves off.
 
#3 ·
Here's a pic from mine "in the gravel" non floater...
 

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#4 ·
Nice! I think they're supposed to sprout a shoot or 2 or 3 or 4 and go to the surface and ... well... float. From the shoot?

Heck... that is one nice plant if I've ever seen one.

How do you reproduce/spread (can't think of the proper word) it?
 
#5 ·
Hm must have done something wrong...mine never shut out of the water :-( Thou it sure is pretty...

You mean runners? Yes they have runners and then they root in the substrate and then they have runners and so on...sorta like Guppy's of the plant world...
 
#6 ·
Still satisfied with the suggestion?:mrgreen:
 
#7 ·
@Lupin...since you suggested this plant to Hawkin...Seriously what did I do wrong cause mine never developed shoots all the way up "covering" the water surface. It grew to ~12-13" and then pretty much only grew sideways getting bushy after that!?
 
#8 ·
Did you trim the leaves that reach the surface? If not, that'd explain the bushy appearance.
 
#9 ·
Naw this one you see in the pic never got a trim, I just let it be....just no leaf ever grew this high up? Possible there's different sub species of the Red tiger lotus? (I donno just maybe that's why)
 
#11 ·
It ain't gonna get too big and even if its growing "too big" for your visual taste you can trim it back. Seriously I can only suggest it, I love it as a "color splash" in the tank rather then all 1 solid green color :)
 
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