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Nymphaea lotus Bulb

Tiger lotus bulb — bold, dramatic leaves for any large planted tank

Regular price
£6.99
Regular price
Sale price
£6.99
  • Hurry, only 1 item left in stock!
Description

Nymphaea lotus (tiger lotus) is one of the most visually striking aquarium bulb plants, producing large, broad leaves with distinctive colouration that ranges from green with dark spots and mottling to deep red or purple depending on the variety. In an open-top aquarium the plant will eventually produce floating surface pads and flowers. As a submerged plant, regular trimming of any surface growth encourages a denser, more manageable spread of submerged leaves below the waterline.

It grows in medium light without CO2 injection and does best in a nutrient-rich substrate. Nymphaea lotus is a vigorous grower that can dominate a tank if left unchecked — regular removal of surface leaves channels the plant's energy into submerged growth and keeps it proportionate. With management it is a spectacular background plant.

Supplied as a dormant bulb. Plant in substrate leaving the top third of the bulb exposed. Allow several weeks for growth to begin from dormancy. Suited to aquariums of 100 litres and above as a focal point background plant where its large, bold leaves create maximum impact.

Our Delivery Promise To You

We pack every order carefully at our UK facility and dispatch quickly, so your plants and aquarium products reach you in the best possible condition.

Order before 4pm Monday to Friday and we’ll dispatch the same day where possible. Most orders arrive within 1-2 working days.

If something goes wrong in transit, get in touch and we’ll help put it right.

Nymphaea lotus Bulb - Aqua Essentials
Nymphaea lotus Bulb
Nymphaea lotus Bulb

Customers praised the healthy bulbs and fast growth, with "leaves sprouting within a week" and "rapid" development once established. However, some noted inconsistent sprouting times (days to 3 months) and color variations. A few faced challenges with fungus or fish interference. Most found the plant "easy to grow" with beautiful red leaves that reach tank surfaces quickly.

  • Growth on this plant is like nothing I have ever seen, looks absolutely fabulous and very red.
  • Fast grower, already puts on an amazing display with thirty or so smaller red leaves in 6 weeks.
  • Beautiful red leaves emerging every couple of days, arrived quickly and very nicely packed.
  • 5 stars: 23 (55%)
  • 4 stars: 10 (24%)
  • 3 stars: 8 (19%)
  • 2 stars: 1 (2%)
  • 1 star: 0 (0%)
S
Susan

It has a tiny root very healthy looking

J
John B.B. (Edinburgh, GB)
The good the bad and the good

Received my 2 lotus bulbs , 1 large one and the other a bit smaller, put them in my betta tank, after a good few days they both were showing signs of growth with tiny leaves beginning to show, unfortunately the large bulb also started to show a white fungus growth, so I dipped the bulb in a bleach dip (1-5 parts strength) for 2 minutes, then put it in a freshwater dip and left it there for a day, but the fungus was still growing, again a bleach dip this time for a good 5-6 minutes and after that returned to a freshwater dip and left for 3 days, it killed the fungus, I’ve returned the bulb back into my betta tank with so far 1 new leaf starting to grow, so all good now. 👍

L
Linda T.
Review

I purchased two of these, one of them took a little longer to sprout and I thought it might be dead - but it was just a slow to get going, now both seem healthy and are growing fast!

J
James W.
Review

Added to the tank 2 weeks ago, leaves are now starting to grow properly, nice and easy to add to the tank

M
Mark P.
Review

Can't really say much yet, bulb came well packaged. Been in tank a couple of weeks now but only a few small sprouts showing so far.

N
Nicholas H.
Review

Started growing a few hours after I added it to my tank. Nearly a month later and the leaves are at about 2 inches. Great fun watching it grow as there's noticeable difference each day. Only reason it's not 5 stars is because It's made the one side of my tank look quite bare as you'll need to make room for its eventual size. Perhaps it's unfair to not give a full 5 stars. But y'know picky planted tank keepers *eye roll* ????

J
Jerry H.
Review

Took 2 weeks to sprout but looks great once it did

s
sheila C.
Review

Arrived looking very healthy but so far haven't done very much. Still live in hope

G
George B.
Review

Probably a bit too early to review.
Started sprouting quite quickly but kept getting moved around by fish so anchored it down with pebbles.
No seems to be growing vigorously with leaves and shoots. Looking forward to leaves reaching top of tank and maybe flowers.
If that happens would definitely give five stars.

D
Donato N.
Review

Been in my tank a month and it hasn't flowered

A
Agostinho U.
Review

I cannot really comment and therefore give a mid point mark. There was no growth after a few days - perhaps not yet. Then one day I saw my shrimps were actually grazing on the bulbs!! Avoid it if you have bulb as it will become very expensive slack.

P
Pat H.
Review

Nice healthy bulb-growing very well

A
Alison B.
Review

I've had this bulb for a week or so now. 2 strong roots of about an inch long have appeared in this time! Can't wait to see the leaves. I had to remove the little bulb from my tank as my corydoras having been doing rather a lot of excavating around it! It's now in a tub of water in a terracotta pot with tropica substrate & sand, on my windowsill. Will return to tank once rooted in soil & leaves emerging...

E
Eric L.
Review

Got this for my betta sorority tank, looked good on the photos. When it arrived it was just as ordered, after a couple of days it sprouted a tiny leaf and hasn’t stopped growing since. It’s a fast grower and already puts on an amazing display, the small leaf is now 3 inches with red and green stripes and it has thirty or so smaller red leaves in about 6 weeks. The bettas love to spend time resting on the leaves, and I think had I known how good it was I would have brought 3or4 of them and nothing else in the tank.

J
John D.
Review

Well packaged and speedy delivery. Bulb has some small leaves, it’s just planted so let’s see how it goes. Looks very healthy so fingers crossed. Thank you

S
Sameera S.
Review

As always arrived quickly and very nicely packed. The bulb after dropping it in the tank had leaves sprouting within a week, and new beautiful red leaves emerging every couple of days since then. Looks beautiful but I do have to trim the large stalks so as to keep the leaves under water and stop them from reaching the surface.

R
Reggie W.
Review

It is difficult to comment properly on this one as from experience, I know it can take a bit of time to grow but once it takes off, its very rapid. Mine had 1 tiny shoot but it got eaten. The bulb looked in healthy condition with at least 1 node

M
Mark T.
Review

Not as quick growing as I expected. 2 weeks in and there are some shoots starting to gather pace.

K
Kevin K.
Review

Bulb took ages to sprout then was not colour as posted.

K
Kevin K.
Review

Took 3 months to show signs of growing. Mine was not colour of picture but was dark red.

K
Kevin K.
Review

must be nearly a month now since i got one of these bulbs and only have less than a inch of growth,

C
Customer
Review

Bulb firm and solid but hasn\'t started sprouting yet as haven\'t grown before don\'t no how long it takes

D
Damian D.
Review

This is my second lotus, first from ebay was just a dead bulb. I get bulb from Aqua Essentials about 10 days ago and there are first leaves already.

P
Pippa G.
Review

Good bulb, sprouting already very well packaged.

S
Stephen W.
Review

Bought this some weeks ago and it\'s just started to show leaves, hope it grows as well as my red lotus plant.

P
Philip R.
Review

Still a bulb a week later

S
Sue H.
Review

It looks healthy enough but until it grows I won\'t know how good it is. Well packaged and prompt delivery

B
Brian T.
Review

Bulb arrived promptly and looked good - dropped it in tank and it sprouted within 2 days - too early to say how well it will do, but early signs good, it now has one small leaf (after a week)

A
Abraham B.
Review

excellent service , quality plants i fully recommended aquaessentials. thanks a lot !

M
Michelle N.
Review

I wait to see the bulb develop

D
Dave C.
Review

These are good, solid, healthy bulbs. I ordered five but they only had the three healthy ones in stock, but the remaining two arrived only a few days later. I have shoots coming already. Great plants and very easy to grow. Recommended rear/specimen plant option and a good supplier.

S
Sarah F.
Review

Came well wrapped and is growing rapidly. Can't wait to see it full grown.

T
Thomas L.
Review

Small but healthy. Growing well.

Common Questions

What colour will the leaves be?

Colouration varies by variety — from green with dark mottling to deep red or purplish. Bright light tends to produce richer, darker colouration.

How do I plant the bulb?

Plant in substrate leaving the top third of the bulb above the surface. Never bury it completely.

How long before it starts growing?

Allow several weeks for the bulb to come out of dormancy and begin producing leaves.

How do I keep it from taking over?

Trim floating surface leaves regularly — this channels the plant's energy into submerged growth and keeps the plant from spreading aggressively.

Does it need CO2?

Not required — it grows in medium light without CO2. A nutrient-rich substrate gives the best results.