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Today a LFS have me 2 Red Tiger lotus as a gift for saying thanks for selling them a Juv. Arowana...and they were grown in a display tank (4X2X2) with pressurized CO2 and a few tubes of fluros. They took them out of the display tank and packed them for me.

Currently Im usage a Hagen/Nutrafin CO2 setup, 2 18inch plant tubes and weekly does of Sera's Floria (liquid ferts.) The lighting is about 30watts and the tank holds 6Gals.

Just wondering if there is any other requirements for these delicate plants and what would you recommend for me.

Regards
Mango

Last edited by mangor34 at 29-May-2005 07:56

Not trying to be sarcastic, but a bigger tank

They are not that delicate but they get seriuosly huge. My own is 2 foot tall and has leaves that are easily 6 inces across.

They start out small and cute but will eventually put on a growth spurt.

They are not demanding on either light nor nutrients. Although bright light will help in keep them from getting too tall. But they still get wide.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

i have green tigers, not reds, but have found they respond to shorter light spans (8 hours instead of 10 - 12)and they are heavy root feeders that love fert tabs rather than liquid ferts. mine are pretty big - leaves 6-7 x 5inches, and they send beautiful leaves up to the surface. they will undoubtedly outgrow your tank.

Cool, I just purchased some fert tablets by Sera. Quite cheap too...$10? Just want to ask if I could keep triming the plant to make it say miniture? Or you wouldnt recommend it?

Here is a pic of it.
Red Tiger Lotus Pic

trimming won't help, as they send up independant fronds, each of which unfurls to full size...if you can't keep it, i'd swap it for something else at the shop...

Supposedly they can be trained to stay low by cutting any leave you see heading for the surface. Apparently they are supposed to "learn" to stay low. Never worked for me. The leaves just kept getting bigger and bigger and each time they would be a little taller then the last before they "unfurled".

Either way even low they get too wide for a 6g.

Last edited by bensaf at 31-May-2005 05:14

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

1 leaf on my plant would not have fit in a 6g. When I finally met all it's needs it covered 1/2 my 55g within a month. I had to remove it because it was shading so much of the tank.
Here's some 4" congo tetras swimming around it.

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Great pic! wish i had a picture of my 6-inch-long royal whiptails resting on the leaves of mine - they look like they are lying on big wide green and red beds! mine are going through a growth spurt at the moment - i've got 4 big leaves on the surface, three more heading up - pruning time, even though i love the aesthetic of it...the dark stems make a little forest for the fish to play in...

ps, mangor - i'll happily take them off your hands if you don't want them, are you in sydney? send me a private message and we can negotiate a price if you are interested.

Yea, im in sydney. The retail of one of these are like $65? how much you want for em?

I keep two red tigers as center pieces in my tank. I religiously trim any stems that shoot to the surface to maintain a "bushy" immersed plant. It is best to clip the rising stems as early as possible. If the plant develops extensive floating pads, immersed foliage will fade.

If the plants that you are receiving have fully developed root systems, trim the roots aggressively then plant. The existing foliage will wither or become dormant until the bulb redevelops its root sextensive root system. Gravel ferts work well. I have 3W of light on a 20 inch depth with EcoComplete. Fertilization is haphazard and no CO2.



Last edited by bob wesolowski at 01-Jun-2005 07:45

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