Tiger Lotus... And one for the Aussies.

[Kittiee Katt]

Hi, so there's a beautiful tiger lotus at the LFS and I'm wondering if its hard to keep? Everything I've read on Google says it's pretty easy to keep, but I manage to regularly kill so called "hardy" plants.

I have 3 tanks, one with goldfish, this has sand substrate and is planted out with mostly ambulia for them to eat, light is on for about 10 hours a day however I've no idea what kind of bulb it has.

One with silver dollars, assorted South American tetras and Cory catfish, this has a gravel/sand mixed substrate and I don't turn the lights on (it makes the dollars spazz out) however the tank sits beside a window and gets lots of afternoon sun. It has an Anubis (sp?) on a bit of bogwood and some Java moss on a rock and some Java fern on another rock..

The third one I have houses a crown tail betta and a small school of minnows and has 4mm gravel substrate.

Which of these would I be better off trying to grow it on if I buy it? Its a $45 plant and I don't want to buy it if its guna die..


Also, a question for any Aussies on here, are there any native trees I can put in my tank? I live near the bush so finding dead bits of pesticide free wood is easy, but I don't want to put it in my tank if its guna poison my fish.. Does anyone know of any native (or even an invasive) species I can use?

Thanks and sorry for the long post and many of questions.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

$45 for Tiger Lotus? That's plants only cost like 5 bucks here, you can buy bulbs from Petco, PetSmart for $5 too and come with 3 bulbs each package or order online for same price just cost more with shipping charge. Tiger Lotus need strong light and good substrate, it's root base plants so you will need to use tablet fertilize every month. Also, goldfish is plants destroyer so don't put tiger lotus plants in there.

 

[Kittiee Katt]

Unfortunately everything is very restricted where i live, so i cant order plants online they just get seized at customs. The island i live on is very isolated and has flora and fauna found no where else in the world, so the government doesn't allow much to come through customs.. $45 for a tiger lotus isn't that bad down here, I've seen them sell for 60 bucks a plant, and people buy them..

 

[Fat Homer]

Anything and everything that comes to flora and fauna from overseas gets hella expensive once it hits Australia due to some seriously strict laws over there...

Honestly though,based on what Yuri has said, i'd pass on the plant, since it doesnt really sound like you have a tank dedicated to being a planted aquarium with all the bells and whistles...

 

[Kittiee Katt]

No I don't, I keep my planted setups very simple. No co2 injections, root tabs here and there in the big tank and little tank but not the med one coz it only has water column feeders (java fern, Anubis (so?) Java moss) no ferts whatsoever in that one. Very basic, most work I do is replant the ambulia (sp?) that the goldfish pull up. so skip on it? That's a shame. It's so beautiful..

 

[duanes]

I have kept Tiger Lotus, they are hardy, but tend to melt when conditions change up, or when moved, although they can come back.
If you want it in the submerged state, any time a leaf starts to head for the surface, it must be pruned off, if you let it hit the surface, all other leaves will shoot to the surface almost overnight, like typical lily pads.
I did not use CO2, but used an iron rich substrate mixed with sand like fluorite, and my tank received a bit of indirect sunlight, and used strong bulbs, like these.


It would occasionally melt down, disappear, and eventually start over as a tiny plantlet.

 

[Kittiee Katt]

My tanks all have really basic substrate (as stated above) and the bulbs that came with them at the shop.. Not sure what type.. They all get a little natural light but not much. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

I have kept Tiger Lotus, they are hardy, but tend to melt when conditions change up, or when moved, although they can come back.
It would occasionally melt down, disappear and eventually start over as a tiny plantlet.

+1 Duanes...I totally hate the part "occasionally melt down, disappear" it's very nice plants but cause of that reason I have to remove my tiger lotus out of my tank