# Tiger Lotus -- Your Experience?



## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

I ordered 1 Red Tiger Lotus from aquariumplant.com and they send me 5 different sized bulbs which ended up being 2 red and 3 green ones. The greens have grown a lot recently, on bulb had a big plant and several small ones, and I separated the big one, so now it is growing without its bulb.

They are beautiful... but I am not sure about their characteristics and requirements. Are these plants continuously growing, or do they have phases of dormancy where only the bulb remains? Will they start to cover the surface when leaves reach it? Will they start growing emerse leaves like pond lilies?

Any experiences or help appreciated... I really like them, as they look very different than other aquarium plants.


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## Slaigar (Jun 8, 2003)

I do not think that they have a dormancy stage, though the "hardy" water lilies can survive winter. You can easily propagate the plant when it has enough roots by just separating it from the bulb/tuber.
There is a little maintenance in this plant because you can NOT let it touch the surface!!! Once it can touch the surface, the underwater leaves will die and every new leaf will shoot for the surface as well. Regular pruning of the leaves and roots will keep the plant young.
I have heard and also experienced that temperature fluctuations can cause the plant to die(not the bulb). I have read that it needs bright lighting, but I have burnt all the leaves on mine with 4watts per gallon(the Wallichis like it). When moving, try to avoid shock! I lost all the leaves from mine after a week from buying it from my lfs(combination of both lighting and temperature change).

If possible, could you take a picture of one of your bulbs/tubers? A while back I purchased bulb(had red leaves at the time) and I am trying to figure out the species(either N. Zenkeri, Maculata or Daubenyana). I believe the ones from aquariumplant.com are Zenkeri.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Thanks, just what I wanted to know. I was afraid they would need a yearly dormancy period like some Aponos.
I am pretty sure it is Nymphaea lotus zenkeri, the bulbs were very different in size, and some seem to grow slower and others faster.
I will post a couple of pictures when I have a chance, probably tomorrow.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

As promised, here some mediocre pics of my Nymphaea lotus. I got actually 2 red and 4 green ones (though I ordered only 1 red, how generous is that...)


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## Slaigar (Jun 8, 2003)

Those are absolutely beautiful. Getting that many for one is good deal. Just remember to keep an eye out for those leaves that shoot for the surface. I would check every morning, depending on tank size, the leaf may be able to make its way to surface from dusk to dawn. A bit of maintenance(especially since you have 6!) but it will look great.


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## 2la (Aug 18, 2002)

That last one looks more like N. stellata.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

I will keep an eye our for those leaves. Yesterday, one of my large swords (not sure what it is, looks like cordifolius, although I never ordered that one :roll: ) was shooting out one leaf straight to the surface, snap... took it off (not sure if they switch to surface leaves like the lotus.

2la, that is just how they all look when the first leaves appear, that last pic is a really tiny one, in a few days/weeks it will be like the others.


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## 2la (Aug 18, 2002)

Thanks. I've never seen N. lotus with arrow-shaped leaves before, only N. stellata. I guess my LFS gets them at a slightly more mature (or less emersed) state.


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## Dara (Jul 3, 2003)

2la, that is the way tropical waterlilies are. A lot of them have arrow shape leaves. I have a pond with many different waterlilies and most of my tropical ones have arrow-shaped leaves when they are young. Though some may be very different. The only way to know what species you have in your aquarium is to let it flower. Put it in a pond if the flower is purple it is probably N. stellata. If it is white it is probably N. lotus. Though there are many species that have the same colors, but since they are only a few species used in aquariums it will be easy to guess if it is one or the other. I should note that the species name, N. stellata, is not in use no more. It seems it is only still used in the aquarium world. Well, it N. stellata is now known as N. nouchali.


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## convicted_convict (Jun 30, 2003)

Oooops, i let one of my lotus send up floaters. Now there are five on top and 2 on their way. Still got a ton of leaves on the bottom. Hopefully they don't die. I will have to propagated one of my many lotus's to put in front of it. Well I guess I can look foward to flowers. 
I have them growing like rockets in 1.75 watts. They are Nyphaea lotus Zenkeri. The leaves that are submerged are iredescent ( I can't spell that) From the side they are red and from above they are green. Quite cool.


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## rumples riot (May 29, 2003)

Just wondering if anyone has had the same thing happen as I have. I shifted my Tiger lotus and had a major melt down. Now my plant has one very small leaf on it, and one that shot just last week died and melted. My Fe is pretty High and I am just wondering if this could be the cause or was it just the shift in the tank?

Ph 6.9
Kh 5
Fe .5
Nitrate 5ppm
2.8 watts per gallon
CO2 Dupla injection


Rumple


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

For how long did you have it grow in one place? I am still not convinced that they grow without a dormancy period... maybe the moving around triggered the dormancy and now it is wanting to sleep in a bag of moist peat :lol: for a few months.


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

hey guys, how do you plant these bad boys?


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## jread (Jan 2, 2004)

I have one in my tank that hasn't done anything at all... :?


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

i hear conflicting info on how to plant.. some say plant the bulb...some say leave the bulb out in the open...just trying to get an idea from the pros


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## 2la (Aug 18, 2002)

Plant the roots; leave the bulb above the substrate. When the plant is larger, detach it from the bulb so you can grow another lotus.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Hehe this was one of my first posts :shock: 
The bulbs I have bought didn't have roots. I bury them half in the substrate, so they don't drift away. Just make sure the right side is up, you know the one where the little plantlets come out :hehe:


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## Opiesilver (Nov 3, 2003)

If they are not sprouted when you get them, just toss them in the tank until you get a sprout. A good bulb should not float for more than 24hrs. Any that do after that are not good bulbs. You may grow a great plant from one, but the bulb is rotting from the inside out and at some point may seep quite a bit of nitrogen gas into the tank. The only thing you have to do to plant them is to push them into the substrate about half way. They are very heavy root feeders. A natural Walsted tpye aquarium is just about the perfect environment for them. They will grow in just about any light level. I imagine if you had a bucket and a flashlight they would probably grow.:hehe:


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

2la said:


> Plant the roots; leave the bulb above the substrate. When the plant is larger, detach it from the bulb so you can grow another lotus.


Thanks for all the posts guys..a true wealth of info... 

2la, how do you detach it from the bulb without hurting it? and if you detach it, you are saying that another lotus will grow from the bulb?? 

very interesting stuff....


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## Pete (Nov 29, 2003)

I have a red tiger lotus and recently it seperated from the bulb when i went to move it. So i have placed the now seperated bulb in a holding tank and to my delight it has sprouted 2 tiny leaves . So do you think i could move the bulb to the main tank now for re-planting, or should i just leave it for a little while to establish it's self ?
Pete...


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## 2la (Aug 18, 2002)

hubba, when the plants large enough it should be easy to detach from the bulb, almost like there's a natural cleavage line. Pete, I'd let it go a little longer, just to make sure it can handle the stress of a move. It most likely can, but better safe than sorry, right?


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## Pete (Nov 29, 2003)

Cheers 2la, i will do just that. 
Pete...


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

3 cheers for 2la, hip hip hooray! hip hip hooray! hip hip hooray!


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## ^iMp^ (Oct 12, 2003)

*IF* I were to let a dwarf lilly grow to the surface, what should I expect to see? How large can the leaves get? Are there any other disadvantages/advantages to allowing it to grow this way?


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

You should expect to see stems :mrgreen: Not sure if that is a disadvantage, it is not really aesthetically pleasing, apart from the fact that the lily pads are very effective in blocking out the light.

I don't see any advantages... except that if everything is right for the lily you might be lucky and get an awesome, fragrant flower.


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## ^iMp^ (Oct 12, 2003)

There is a particular location in my paludarium where it might work out...just in back of a piece of driftwood (no visible stems). As long as the pads aren't too large, it should work. I mean, how large do these pads get? Or would it simply be a matter of snipping pads off when they get too large?


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

For a paludarium that might be an interesting option <<imagines a little green frog sitting on a big red leaf>>.

Not sure how large the lily pads can get, I think that depends... how nutritious the substrate, how big the bulb, how old and big the overall plant... I had two plants that I let grow like that, and the lily pads were smaller than the submersed leaves.

Snipping them off when they become too many or grow too large would be a good option. My lilies (the ones I let grow to the surface) died after a while. Exhaustion? Not sure.


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## wellbiz (Aug 6, 2003)

The biggest pads(at the surface) I have been able to grow with mine were about 3.5inches across...

Jason


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## Pete (Nov 29, 2003)

The biggest pad i ever seen was about 4 inches in diameter, and that was in a display tank at my lfs. I think it would look rather effective in a paludarium Imp.
Pete...


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

doesn't it need 3-5 floating leaves in order to bloom?


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## wonder woman (Oct 30, 2003)

Just to throw in my own experiences:
I have 4 tiger lotuses growing in my 30g tank, on 60 watts of regular flourescent light (2 aqua-glo bulbs), with regular aquarium gravel. I use Flourish root tabs, Flourish Excel, and Flourish Potassium (I was told by my lfs that red plants need extra potassium). Two of the plants have red leaves, two have green. 
The red ones I've had growing in my 30g for about 4 months. They're doing well, sprouting new leaves regularly. The leaf size of these has grown from about 1/2" when I bought them (dirt cheap @ Petsmart, by the way) to 2" currently. I've moved them a couple of times within the tank, and have never experienced dormancy or dieback. 
The green-leaved ones are newer (about 3 weeks old). One of them has arrow-shaped leaves, the other has regularly-shaped leaves. Both of these are growing. Each one has 1-2 new leaves since I've planted them. 
My planting method is to plant the bulb portion (I couldn't seem to get the plant to stay put without doing so), but leave the very tip (crown) where the leaves come out above the gravel. 
I don't know if/when the plants will reach the point of wanting to grow to the water surface. In the planted display tank at my lfs, they have several red tiger lotuses growing. Some of them have leaves at the surface, but do not seem to be dying back underwater. In fact, they seem to be flourishing like mad. Maybe it's the expert co2 system. Must be nice to have a showpiece unlimited budget planted tank!


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

There is a few similar species/varieties (Nymphaea lotus/zenkeri/stellata/nymphoides/whatnot) out there, plus they vary quite a bit in color and leaf shape, possibly depending on temperature, light, CO2, fertilizers in substrate, etc...
In my tank, the biggest leaves are over 10" long, that's why I wouldn't recommend them for small tanks.


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