# Red tiger lotus



## Daisy Mae (Jun 21, 2015)

I just bought one to plant into a cylinder. Have just prepped the plant, planting next week. Hoping it performs well for me, I think they're very pretty plants.


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## brandynhart095 (Jul 27, 2015)

The thing is ordered them expecting to get the plant but all I got were the bulbs so I'll have to see how they turn out


Brandynhg


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## Daisy Mae (Jun 21, 2015)

That's funny, I was expecting a small bulb at the bottom of the plant, but what I got was the plant with a decent root system, and a few leaves which were starting to melt from the transit. So now I have a couple small leaves, stubs of leaf stalk, and good roots. Good luck with yours!


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## xmpjx (May 31, 2015)

I love mine! I have it in dirt capped with gravel no co2. The leaves are wonderful colors, don't seem to break really easy, and grow quickly. It's definitely one of my favourites and I haven't had any trouble keeping the color.

In the picture below it was just planted, I ended up cutting off the tall leaves only leaving the dark bunch near the substrate. This was July 2










The following picture was taken August 20.










*got it shipped, it arrived with leaves, and a basket holding the bulb and some decent roots in rock wool


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## brandynhart095 (Jul 27, 2015)

Yeah they look really nice that's why I got them, so a single bulb can make that many leaves? That's awesome


Brandynhg


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## xmpjx (May 31, 2015)

It can, and more. There are tons of small leaves near the substrate coming up, and I do only have one bulb in there.

I do trim the leaves that grow taller than the group to keep it a bit more bushy.


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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

I have a ton of these. In red and green. Once established they grow very fast and will send out random bulbs that create new plants every few months. I've got at least 12 growing now off two that I bought six years ago. And I've shipped out at least 30.

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## brandynhart095 (Jul 27, 2015)

That's really cool, I can't wait for mine to pop up out of my gravel.


Brandynhg


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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

They do require root tabs to get the best growth out of them. And they will grow as tall as your tank allows, within reason of course. Very sensitive to excel. 

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## brandynhart095 (Jul 27, 2015)

The one bulb I got had a big root coming out already so that looked good and id rather have them shorter so you can see the color of the leaves, I don't look at my tank from ankve


Brandynhg


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## rhiro (Sep 21, 2012)

pantherspawn said:


> I have a ton of these. In red and green. Once established they grow very fast and will send out random bulbs that create new plants every few months. I've got at least 12 growing now off two that I bought six years ago. And I've shipped out at least 30.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk


Would you be able to explain how the bulbs are formed? Do they form on the end of the leaves?

Thanks


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## brandynhart095 (Jul 27, 2015)

Good question rhiro


Brandynhg


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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

rhiro said:


> Would you be able to explain how the bulbs are formed? Do they form on the end of the leaves?
> 
> Thanks


The bulbs of the Lotus will create new bulbs in the root system, basically replicating itself. These new bulbs will then seperate and usually make their way to the surface where the water currents move them to a different location. 

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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

I love tiger lotus but I've not bought one,. their leaves get HUGE. I do have dwarf lily plant and with some iron dosing it gets decently red too (not as vibrant as the tiger though)... I will say I don't like how the dwarf lily plant stem and leaf simply disintegrate when they break from the plant.. but then N. Taiwan (aka the banana-less banana plant) has no problem just growing new roots or whole new baby plants when clipped. I think tiger lotus likes to make baby plants at the stop of its stem by the leaf too, not sure if it will when clipped though?


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## johnpfaff (Oct 18, 2013)

Red Tiger Lotus with a big bulb needs control, control. I have a high tech tank with one Red Tiger Lotus. Planted in a container to keep roots from spreading. Common to trim one or two leaves each day. Sort of like fire - a good slave but a terrible master.


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## rick dale (Feb 26, 2014)

*Tiger lotus*

How do you plant these? Do you bury the bulb , or what!


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## brandynhart095 (Jul 27, 2015)

Yeah I just got mine and I burried it but I'm not sure if that's what is supposed to be done


Brandynhg


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

I believe (from dwarf lily bulbs) you should only partially bury the bulb, not fully, its better to bury the roots and rest the bulb on top of the substrate. At least that's what I was told.


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## Jaxfisher (Jun 2, 2013)

I have several growing in my 120g with no CO2. I have to constantly trim it back to keep it from sending leaves to the surface. I give it root tabs, but at times holes will appear in an otherwise perfect leaf. I figure it is a deficiency of some kind, but do not know what. Do others experience this or know why it's occurring?


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## Oso Polar (Apr 22, 2015)

It may be a potassium deficiency or it may simply be fish. Some fishes, for example, loaches, do this sometimes.


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## big b (Jun 3, 2015)

My lotus died about a month after I got it. The leaves kept on falling off and the bulb sort of dissapered and rotted I guess.


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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

big b said:


> My lotus died about a month after I got it. The leaves kept on falling off and the bulb sort of dissapered and rotted I guess.


They seem to die off often, but will come back to life in a few weeks or months. They seem almost seasonal. 

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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

Jaxfisher said:


> I have several growing in my 120g with no CO2.  I have to constantly trim it back to keep it from sending leaves to the surface. I give it root tabs, but at times holes will appear in an otherwise perfect leaf. I figure it is a deficiency of some kind, but do not know what. Do others experience this or know why it's occurring?


This is common. They grow so quickly that the leaves don't seem to get enough nutrients once they get taller. Trimming the longer leaves will help keep the plant shorter and longer lasting. Not to mention because the leaves are so thin, they are very delicate with water chemistry and tank mates. 

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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

brandynhart095 said:


> Yeah I just got mine and I burried it but I'm not sure if that's what is supposed to be done
> 
> 
> Brandynhg


It's best to let the bulbs sit on top of the soil until the first sign of growth starts. Once you determine which end of the bulbs will sprout, then bury the bulb with only the new growth at the surface of the soil. 

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## Zoomy (Sep 13, 2014)

No one ever told my dwarf lily that he/she's supposed to be a diminutive plant. Every week when I change the water I'm cutting at least 6" crazy new growth off. It easily grows an inch/day and the leaves are huge!! It would easily take over half of my 50g tank if I didn't keep lobbing-off so much.

And all I did to "plant" the bulb was drop it in the tank where I wanted it to be. The roots figured out the rest.


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## brandynhart095 (Jul 27, 2015)

I just put bulb out of gravel and the root was sticking up some and has already found its way back into the gravel


Brandynhg


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## Idrankwhat (Mar 20, 2013)

I love this plant and was disappointed that there was only the green dwarf variety when I was looking. To my amazement the leaves have started turning this really cool shade of pink with deep red accent spots. Quickly becoming my favorite specimen.


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## BigJay180 (Jul 20, 2014)

I've found that once any lilly hits the surface, they explode. The growth goes from low tech 'meh' to high gear once they start feeding on atmospheric CO2.

In a low tech tank they exploit their atmospheric co2 advantage over their neighbors and shade them.


So yeah. Lots of trimming, especially surface lilies if they go crazy.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I have a love/hate thing with tiger lotus. They are nice and grow fast but then that can become something to hate when it gets out of hand. I've had them in 75's and a 125 with CO2 and they were driving me nuts. They can get too thick and would fill the tank given time. As they get going, the tops will grow and expand as far as you let them. To keep small leaves and not have them spread totally over the water surface, it required almost daily trimming. But if you are able and willing to keep them controlled, they will throw off lots of small plants. Near the base of the plant, I had a large jungle of roots and small bulbs formed there and sprouted. Some of these would break off and drift around until they hung someplace and rooted to start the deal again.


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## brandynhart095 (Jul 27, 2015)

And you had them in a cichlid tank?


Brandynhg


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Yes. All my tanks are cichlids tanks. I was a cichlid guy and then got into plants so the fish are first with plants second priority. I find no trouble with the lotus and the cichlids. When I started getting holes, I bumped up the iron and it went away. Given a chance the lotus would fill the swimming space. The stories one reads about no plants in the African lakes is a bit more myth than truth and all the African's seemed to really like the plants as a place to hide. 

This tank is in a terrible place to get pictures due to the reflections from windows but this shows the way my lotus put off new bulbs. Right behind the insignus is a small clump where a bulb is forming. Just to the right of the reflection? 









These small plants then drift around and can wind up making very natural situations like coming up through the holey rock?









Do I love it or hate it? :confused1:


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## rhiro (Sep 21, 2012)

pantherspawn said:


> The bulbs of the Lotus will create new bulbs in the root system, basically replicating itself. These new bulbs will then seperate and usually make their way to the surface where the water currents move them to a different location.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk


Thanks for the response.


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## brandynhart095 (Jul 27, 2015)

PlantedRich said:


> Yes. All my tanks are cichlids tanks. I was a cichlid guy and then got into plants so the fish are first with plants second priority. I find no trouble with the lotus and the cichlids. When I started getting holes, I bumped up the iron and it went away. Given a chance the lotus would fill the swimming space. The stories one reads about no plants in the African lakes is a bit more myth than truth and all the African's seemed to really like the plants as a place to hide.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks for reply I am also a cichlid guy and that's why I was wondering, I just got these plants as the first ones to my tank and a few others, my fish are bothering one a little so I might have to transfer it over to my girlfriends goldfish tank but they don't seem to be bothering it anymore


Brandynhg


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## BigJay180 (Jul 20, 2014)

PlantedRich said:


> Yes. All my tanks are cichlids tanks. I was a cichlid guy and then got into plants so the fish are first with plants second priority. I find no trouble with the lotus and the cichlids. When I started getting holes, I bumped up the iron and it went away. Given a chance the lotus would fill the swimming space. The stories one reads about no plants in the African lakes is a bit more myth than truth and all the African's seemed to really like the plants as a place to hide.
> 
> 
> Do I love it or hate it? :confused1:


Your tank is absolutely gorgeous, and I love the colors in the fish. I went with rainbow fish because I expected African cichlids to uproot any plants and destroy them. Plus...digging to spawn.


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## brandynhart095 (Jul 27, 2015)

BigJay180 said:


> Your tank is absolutely gorgeous, and I love the colors in the fish. I went with rainbow fish because I expected African cichlids to uproot any plants and destroy them. Plus...digging to spawn.



That's why I made specific spots that I knew they would dig to spawn In and everything, they like the enclosed hidden spots inside of rocks for spawning


Brandynhg


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Digging among the African cichlids is a really mixed bag. I find the mbuna to love the rocks of course. But then even among the mbuna, there is a fair amount of difference in where and how they may dig. Under the edge of rocks is a bad spot for plants if the rock has a bit of overhang. Many fish like to have it as a sort of cover for their site. But I find I can cut the edge digging if I can get enough fish spawning sites that are actually inside rock cover like small caves. But then my favorite fish are the really big guys who do little digging until the female is ripe. For those bigger open water types who only come down when they feel it is needed, I leave some open space. So I work on bigger open sites for the big guys and under the rocks for the mbuna. Plants in pots on top of the rocks and caves to fill in. 
Some points on how/why of my tank arrangement?









The open spot at left is next to the end wall and gives the big guy a better shot at keeping the mbuna back while eggs are being laid. He is able to keep them clear from the end to the rock pile covered with java fern. Under the fern, wood and rocks is a cave
"owned" by the dominant mbuna. Center is where I leave open to add a divider when needing to catch holding females. I stick the divider in to cut the chase in half! Then to the right is a rock pile for other cichlids that need to hide or lesser mbuna to live. Who gets the spawning site at right end is open for them to decide. It is only about 6X6" and the big guy is not interested so they have their space when the time comes. 
I like my tank and thanks for the compliments. It is always a work in progress as I do get bored when there is not something going on in the tank. 
Today I had to bite the bullet and tear out a fair amount of work to catch a couple yellow labs who have been holding for way too long. They get so painful looking that I have to move them sometimes! 








And at times, things don't work out at all the way I planned???


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