Tiger Lotus Shrunk

[Dude]

hello

i bought a very nice healthy Tiger lotus plant with many leaves that were very big as soon as i put it in my tank the new leaves where getting smaller and smaller

i thought it was becase it was being shaded by my big sword plant so i moved it to the front of the tank and removed some of the big leaves

the plant has gotten really small and all the roots have gone brown ... not long ago it grew a small root but thats it....it hasnt been producing leaves exept for one or two every two weeks and the new leaves are tiny..

i know that sometimes the bulb of the plant rots but this isnt the case the bulb looks healthy

what is the matter with my plant






tank info :

liquid ferts once a week
root tabs everywhere
no co2
10 gall tank
3wpg- two spectrum lights
ph 7.2
grain gravel with laterite bottom
other succesful plants : anazon sword cryps hy p , lud repens

 

[Rob.S]

It's probably resting. I have a Nymphaea Stellata, that does the same -- lots of growth, then it dies back for a few weeks; but it always comes back to life again.

 

[Dude]

resting?...
when dose it wake up?..........

 

[SuperColey1]

A lot of the Nymphea species have dormant periods.

The best thing to do when you get them is to gently pull the plant from the bulb and dispose. The whole plant will seperate including the roots.

This enables the bulb to grow new stems and leaves which will have been in your water parameters since they started and thus will not need to adjust to your water parameters (which could also be a reason for the changes you are seeing)

It should only be a week or 2 before you start to see the new plant growing and it will not take long after that for the plant to grow large again.

This plants leaves are naturally small when they start out from the bulb and increase in size as it reaches up and out.

It shouldn't have problems with shading as it is not a high light plant. If it wants more light then it grows upward to get the light it wants. The leaves will not grow smaller.

You could also check out if it really is a Tiger Lotus because several varieties of Nymphea are incorrectly given this name.

A true Tiger Lotus is the Zenkeri. The bulb will be as we know from the garden i.e. 1cm ish and teardrop shaped.
If it is the more common Nymphea Rubra which is often called Tiger Lotus when it isn't has a large 2-3cm bulb like a piece of rotton wood.

With the Rubra you can seperate the plants once grown from the bulb and plant them seperately from thebulb and the once the bulb regrows you can repeat and repeat although your current tank wouldn't really suit this.

Here is a pic of my current setup. If you click on the pic I have labelled the Rubra and Zenkeri although on pics and even in real life it is quite hard to tell them apart.

This has Rubra and Zenkeri in it

The large light green plant that dominates the tank is a relative - Nuphar Japonica - This plant doesn't grow from a bulb it is a carrot like root.

Hope this helps

Andy

 

[Dude]

oo thanks thats really helpful