Description

The tiger lotus is an African water lily with round submerged leaves mottled green or red, depending on the variety. Planted in the middle of the tank it is a solitary centrepiece that draws the eye on its own. It has one habit worth knowing: left alone, it starts sending up long-stalked floating leaves that reach the surface, cover it and steal light from everything else. Cutting them as soon as they appear keeps the plant compact and submerged-leaved, which is where its colour is.
Scientific name
Nymphaea lotus
Position
Middle
Difficulty
Medium
Natural grow
Medium
Max height
50 cm

🌊 Water parameters

pH
5.5 - 7.5
GH
2 - 12
Temperature
22 - 30 °C
Current
Low or moderate

Requirements

Light requirements
Medium
Light spectrum requirements
6000 - 8000 (Kelvin)
Require CO2
no
Soil requirements
Nutritious sustrate

Habitats

Sources

  • GBIF
    GBIF Secretariat (2026). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei. Consultado vía GBIF.org, 2026-08. Nymphaea lotus.
  • Tropica
    Tropica Aquarium Plants. Plant database. Ficha de cultivo; consultada 2026-10. Nymphaea lotus.

Taxonomy verified.

Tropica supports the light, CO2, growth and difficulty; the pH, temperature and hardness ranges have no citable source.