Anyone else own Nymphaea rubra(water lilly?
 

I got one!
And wholy cow does it ever grow quickly!!

I have this plant and I love it! It does grow amazingly fast and provides plenty of cover for the fish which I like.

uh oh! I put it in the middle front of my 55!

they grow very big very fast

Omg
 

My water lilly went from a bulb with almost nothing to this in 3 days....THREE DAYS...

Yeah I have two in a 55 gal, I pull at least 5 lily pads out on a weekly basis.

Mags, you can keep your lotus compact, leafy and submerged by trimming the larger and floating leaves off once the plant starts to reach a larger size. I would advise that you use really sharp scissors to do so because crushed or torn stems can prove fatal. It's also important to trim as close to the base of the plant as you can.
If your lotus starts putting out tendrils across the gravel, that's how it spreads. It's a good idea to trim them unless you want a tank full of lotus. Using an iron fertilisation will help to keep and even intesify the colour.

Give it a month or six weeks to really settle in, trimming the extra large leaves and those racing for the top, you'll find that you can shape it to suit your taste.
In time it'll probably shoot up a spike and bloom. They do that in tanks with rich substrates and bright lights.

As I mentioned before, I absolutely love this plant and I hope it continutes to do well for you. :-)

i own 4 of them,3 reds and one green variant they are fast strong growing plants but they are a real beauty they dont do very well with other plants as they tend to growd out the light even growing submerged you can keep them from growing on the surface by removing the floating leaves as they grow,there regognisable as they will head for the surface rolled up while submerged leaves will open underwater the floating leaves are still nice a sight and will be enjojed by most fish and allowing the plant to grow surfaced will encorage it to flower

Thanks!! Very helpful info here and from everyone..I look forward to maintaining this plant!
I really need to get a hold on the algea and cyanobacteria in the 55 though....And I don't wanna dose the tank... GOnna post about it.