Egyptian white water-lily

The red form of Nymphaea lotus is also sold as red tiger lotus, and sometimes labelled Nymphaea zenkeri 'red'. It is by far the most popular water lily in aquaristics and easy to find for sale. Wild plants come from tropical Africa, where they grow in still water such as lakes and temporary ponds.

It grows from a tuber and starts with a rosette of underwater leaves, red-brown with a varying number of purple spots. The part that needs managing is the floating leaves. Once the lily reaches the surface it produces almost nothing but floating leaves, so cut those off as soon as they appear. Prune the roots as well as the leaves if you want to keep it submersed. Give it more light than it needs to survive, since that holds off the floating leaves.

Plan on a large tank and keep it as a solitary plant. It grows 20 to 80 cm tall, and a nutritious substrate encourages growth. The optimum is 22 to 28 °C and pH 5 to 8, and it is a fast grower of medium difficulty. It spreads by runners and can also be raised from seed. In an open-topped aquarium the scented flowers can open above the water.