# Nymphaea micrantha?



## JMN16150 (Jul 16, 2013)

I was sold this as Nymphaea micrantha. Is it really? I hope it is... What do you think?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Not in the best of shape for now, but I think so, yes.


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

envy you somuch! i been looking.they do not ship very well...beautiful plant when at its peak!


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

I would like to see this plant fully grown and healthy. "Lotuses" are so underrated in our hobby. I know of one single tank from the mid 90's (Japanese, not Amano's) that used Nymphaea in a striking way as a dominant plant.

From what I've seen these plants lose leaves on a dime and return in full glory without a problem. I find them hard to kill, very hard actually. Not sure about this particular species but it should be fine if you can still see leaves like that.


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## JMN16150 (Jul 16, 2013)

niko said:


> I would like to see this plant fully grown and healthy. "Lotuses" are so underrated in our hobby. I know of one single tank from the mid 90's (Japanese, not Amano's) that used Nymphaea in a striking way as a dominant plant.
> 
> From what I've seen these plants lose leaves on a dime and return in full glory without a problem. I find them hard to kill, very hard actually. Not sure about this particular species but it should be fine if you can still see leaves like that.


I'm with you all the way, the lotus and lilies are what allured me into the plant hobby in the first place. Especially the red tiger lotus.
I currently have:
Nymphaea zenkeri 'red'/ Red Tiger Lotus
Nymphaea stellata/ pubescens... Dwarf Waterlily 
Nymphoides sp. 'Taiwan' (not technically a lily, but lily like)
and
Nymphaea micrantha (debated, thanks to you guys )

I also have this weird fella that i encountered at a lfs next to a nymphaea rubra. It is pretty green and starting to grow a tinge of very light pink. The spots are tinier than the ones found in a tiger lotus. Any guesses?


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Well if you love Nymphaea and if you want you can make a very unique aquascape by using a lot of them in a tank. Noone has done that, or at least I have not seen it since that mid-90s tank that I mentioned. My guess is that it is all Amano's fault all over - because what he does is what most people consider beautiful and that is by far not always so nor it has to be limited to his examples.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Being a water lily nut, I have an 18 gallon tank (same foot print as a 10 gallon) with _N. micrantha_ as the dominant plant. The tank is just beginning to mature. There is a carpet of _Helanthium tenellum_, with the lilies coming up out of it. The idea is to have lily foliage above the _Helanthium_, with a few leaves all the way to the surface. Right now the tank has a heavy growth of frog bit until the lily leaves get to the surface.

I agree with Cavan about the plant in the first photo. The second photo may be the same species. My guess is that there are different cultivars of _micrantha_ with different amounts and color of variegation. Interestingly, if you put any of them out in a pond, the floating leaves lose all variegation and are solid green. This is different from some other tropical _Nymphaea_ cultivars which keep strong variegation on the emersed foliage.


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## JMN16150 (Jul 16, 2013)

Thanks guys, -just read that there's two different variants that are currently in trade.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Some photos of aquarium _Nymphaea_ flowering in my ponds. The white one is _N. lotus_ 'Red Tiger' and the blue is _N. micrantha_. In the terminology of water lily enthusiasts, _lotus_ is a night blooming tropical. and _micrantha_ is a day-blooming viviparous tropical. The _micrantha_ flower shows a slight mottling of paler blue. This was present on most flowers from this plant, and does not seem to caused by any disease or pest. It might be related in some way to the variegation on the submerged leaves.

The emersed foliage of _lotus_ retains some red spots, but the foliage of _micrantha_ is solid green.

If there is a water lily taxonomist looking at this, I would welcome any comments, LOL!


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Here, a tiny one:
http://www.aquaa3.com.br/2014/01/a-menor-e-mais-rara-ninphea-nymphaea.html


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## JMN16150 (Jul 16, 2013)

Amazing pictures, Michael. Have you guys heard of Nymphaea minuta? It's pretty..... and pricey -$38! on most websites. It shows emersed foliage on most pics, but can actually grow submerged leaves as well.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Hey, only $38!

Look at it this way - you can load on all kinds of crap food for that money, actually eat it, and feel like it. Or you can get a living thing, a very special one.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

JMN16150 said:


> Amazing pictures, Michael. Have you guys heard of Nymphaea minuta?


I hadn't until now, and I am overcome with lust!


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