Nymphaeaceae: water lilies and lotus for the aquarium

The Nymphaeaceae are the water lilies: plants rooted in the bottom with floating leaves and flowers at the surface. In the aquarium they are grown mainly for their juvenile submerged leaves, smaller and often mottled red, and the trick is to cut the floating leaves as soon as they appear so the plant does not cover the surface. They need a nutrient-rich substrate, as they grow from a bulb that feeds through its roots.