Aquarium water lilies - nymphaea - are more modest in size when compared with their wild relatives. They began to contain them in artificial reservoirs not so long ago, but in order to achieve the appearance of flowers of magical beauty that float to the surface of the water, favorable conditions must be created for the plant.
Plant description
A common aquarium plant nymphaea (its other names are tiger lily and lotus) is a real decoration of a home reservoir.
There is an opinion that it comes from subtropical lakes located in the western part of the African continent, but many also consider the plant to be a specially grown hybrid created for aquariums.
Description of appearance:
- leaves of a water lily growing from a stem’s outlet can be round or resemble hearts with a diameter of about 15-60 cm;
- leaf color - light and dark green, red, burgundy, their surface is mottled with brownish, lilac, purple spots;
- the plant has a powerful root system with thick processes.
Nympha is thermophilic and needs an abundance of light, blooms for a long time in mid-July. In a tiger water lily, flowers are white and pale pink.
Aquarium forms are able to grow from 20 to 70 cm in height. Lotus is enough, a capricious plant, so you can start growing it if you have knowledge about the subtleties of caring for them and the conditions of detention.
Types of Water Lilies
The aquarium can contain several varieties of plants, among which the following stand out.
- Tiger green nymphaea, characterized by white flowers and large bright green leaves decorated with dark ornaments.
- Red water lily - a hybrid with leaves of red or dark yellowish-green color and deep carmine patterns.
- Rudge - a nymphaeum with a rounded shape of leaves of a pinkish-green color, the flowers of the plant are white.
- Burgundy look water lilieshaving a small height (not more than 40 cm), and chic leaves of saturated red color.
- A small plant of the mikrant of the pitcher family it has the peculiarity of forming both underwater and surface leaves, the height of the bush of this nympha is only 30 cm.
- Most unpretentious to the content - viviparous nymphaea, she calmly tolerates changes in acidity and water hardness. On the outer side of the leaves an emerald green color prevails, their lower part is covered with burgundy and purple specks.
- Nymphaeum of the stellate - a beautiful plant, characterized by a variety of tones and shades on its unusual leaves, the nymphaea flower is quite large, 12-14 cm in diameter, but high-quality soil is needed for flowering.
Each water lily needs a different approach to growing; besides, one must know that sometimes aquarium accessories are required to provide flowering.
Content Requirements
Aquarium water lily is a tropical plant, so it is easy to understand that it will need a lot of light. For this, additional lighting should be considered - special phytolamps suitable for crops growing in a greenhouse or greenhouse will do. However, lighting devices cannot be installed close to the aquarium - nearby light and heat can cause burns on the leaves of a water beauty.
A necessary requirement for the growth, development and blooming of lotus flowers is warm water (25-30 degrees), as well as its sufficient volume. In this case, the tank should be roomy. The optimal height of the tank is at least 40-50 cm, possibly more if a larger and taller plant is selected for breeding.
Nymphaids prefer a soft and slightly acidic environment, which must be provided immediately upon landing.
And since the water lily loves stagnant water, it is undesirable to change it too often, it is best to do this 2 times a month and only 1/4 of the volume.
Lotus care involves creating a microclimate and this requires a compressor to saturate the water with oxygen, and a thermometer to regulate the temperature.
Sometimes a well-growing water lily slows its growth and does not form flowers due to sudden changes in temperature.
And it can also be due to too hard water. In such cases, the nymphaeum begins to grow green mass, its bushes grow, and the flowers are absent.
To speed up flowering, you can increase the artificial daylight hours for the moody lotus to 12-14 hours. However, much depends on the soil used and the planting process.
How to plant a nymphaeum
To plant water lilies in an aquarium, you need soil, the composition of which must be quite fertile. The substrate can be made independently from components such as black earth, peat, clay, small pebbles (gravel or pebbles). The height of the soil should be 4-7 cm.
Both ordinary and dwarf species of lotus are grown in clay pots, but it is better to use better ceramic dishes.
However, each year it will be necessary to transplant the plant into a more spacious container, since the roots can grow greatly.
The plant can also be planted in the ground, but before that it is carefully rammed. Often used purchased rhizomes of water lilies, and so that they germinate quickly, it is advisable to feed the plant. Bone meal is suitable for this, but it pollutes the water, so another way has been invented. The powder is rolled into balls with an admixture of clay, and then placed directly under the roots.
To prevent flooding, a small amount of river pebbles is placed on top of the soil.Small pebbles and sand are also covered in pots with a nymphaeum from above.
Breeding popular species
Viviparous and red dwarf water lily at home can be propagated in two ways.
- The vegetative method is based on the use of rhizome processes. But for this it is necessary that the nymphaea has completed flowering. Young branches, reaching a length of 15-17 cm, are carefully separated and immediately planted. As a rule, it takes time for them to adapt and begin to grow.
- It is much more difficult to propagate the lotus seeds. You can get them by conducting artificial pollination of flowers in the second half of August. The procedure is recommended to be carried out early in the morning. In this case, it is necessary to draw several times along the petals from their base to the stem with a soft drawing brush. After this, seeds are formed that are to be germinated.
Seeds, as in the case of any seedlings, need to be sown in containers with peat substrate, pour with settled water, and when seedlings appear, transplanted into separate pots with soil and sand soil.
Seedlings are fed with iron salts, humates, bone meal and mineral additives intended for water lilies. Strong seedlings with developed rhizomes can be planted by known methods - into a ceramic container or directly into the ground.
If all the requirements for the maintenance and care of the nympha are met, then the young plant, planted in April, develops rapidly and can bloom in July.
About the nymphaea, see further.
