🌺 Nymphaea lotus 'Red' (Dwarf Water Lily)
Vibrant Beauty for Your Aquarium or Pond
Add a tropical burst of color to your water garden or aquarium with Nymphaea lotus 'Red', also known as Nymphaea stellata or Nymphaea rubra. Commonly called the Dwarf Water Lily, this stunning aquatic plant is beloved for its deep red foliage and occasional lily-like surface blooms. Whether submerged or allowed to send leaves to the surface, it serves as a breathtaking centerpiece in freshwater environments.
🧬 Scientific Classification:
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Scientific Name: Nymphaea lotus 'Red'
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Synonyms: Nymphaea stellata, Nymphaea rubra
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Common Name: Dwarf Water Lily
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Plant Type: Bulb / Tuber
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Placement: Substrate rooted (not attachable to driftwood or rock)
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Growth Rate: Fast
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Difficulty: Easy
🌿 Key Features & Benefits:
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🌸 Brilliant Red Foliage: Broad, deep red leaves add dramatic color and contrast, especially under high lighting.
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🌱 Beginner-Friendly: Low-maintenance and hardy, making it ideal for aquarists of all skill levels.
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⚡ High Growth Rate: Grows rapidly under optimal conditions with strong lighting and nutrient-rich substrate.
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🌊 Versatile Usage: Perfect for freshwater aquariums, ponds, nano tanks, and biotope setups.
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🌤 Natural Shade Provider: Creates shaded zones that reduce algae and offer shelter to fish and invertebrates.
💧 Optimal Growing Conditions:
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Lighting Requirements: Medium to high (more light = richer red coloration)
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Temperature Range: 72–82°F (22–28°C)
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pH Range: 6.0–7.5
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CO₂ Requirement: Not required
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Nutrient Substrate: Required
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Can Be Grown Emersed: No
🌱 Propagation & Growth Tips:
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How to Plant: Gently press the bulb halfway into the substrate. Do not bury completely.
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Growth Timeline: Under proper conditions, new growth typically appears within 8–10 days.
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Trimming Advice: Prune leaves reaching the surface for compact growth or allow vertical growth for surface blooms.
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Dormancy Note: May experience a resting phase—reduce lighting and allow it to recover before regrowth resumes.
📦 What You’ll Receive:
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Bulb Only Without Leaf – For experienced aquarists seeking to sprout naturally.
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Sprouted Bulb With Leaf – For faster results and an immediate visual impact.
👉 Simply rinse the bulb in clean water and place it in your tank or pond. Growth should appear within 8–10 days.
⚠️ Important Note:
While our bulbs are fresh and carefully selected for high viability, we do not guarantee that every bulb will grow, as successful sprouting depends on individual aquarium conditions. Choose the Sprouted Bulb With Leaf if you prefer a guaranteed start.
Pictures shown are sample representations. Unless stated, we do not guarantee whether plants will grow submerged or emersed.
Shipping Policy
At Aquarium Plants Factory, we carefully package and ship all orders to ensure plants and livestock arrive healthy and ready to thrive.
Order Processing Time
Most orders are processed within 1–2 business days after payment is received.
Orders placed on weekends or holidays will be processed on the next business day.
Orders containing out-of-stock, pre-order, or backorder items may require additional handling time.
Once your order ships, tracking information will be sent to your email.
Shipping Schedule
Live Plants
Live plant orders ship Monday through Saturday when using United States Postal Service (USPS).
Most plant-only orders ship within 1–3 business days, excluding products that are out of stock, pre-order, or backorder.
Estimated USPS delivery time is 2–5 business days, depending on your location.
UPS Express Shipping
We offer the following UPS expedited shipping options:
UPS 2-Day Air®
Estimated delivery: 2 business days
Please note that UPS 2-Day Air® is not a guaranteed service in the event of carrier delays, weather disruptions, or operational issues.
UPS Next Day Air®
Estimated delivery: 1 business day
This service is guaranteed by UPS according to their service guarantee policies.
UPS expedited orders ship Monday through Wednesday only to ensure packages arrive within the same week and avoid weekend delays.
Please note that orders require 1–2 business days of handling time before shipment.
To help ensure same-week delivery, please place UPS orders on or before Tuesday at 6:00 AM Pacific Time (PT).
Live Animals Shipping
Live animal orders ship Monday through Wednesday only.
This schedule ensures animals arrive within the same week and do not remain in transit over the weekend.
Handling time for live animal orders typically ranges from 1–5 business days, depending on:
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Weather conditions
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Livestock health
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Shipping destination
Tracking information will be emailed once the order has been shipped.
Free Shipping
We offer Free Shipping on eligible orders over $150 within the contiguous United States.
Estimated delivery time for free shipping orders is 2–5 business days.
If your order contains both live plants and live animals, the shipment may be combined and the appropriate shipping rate will be shown at checkout.
Free Shipping is not available for customers located in:
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Alaska
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Hawaii
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Puerto Rico
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Guam
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U.S. Virgin Islands
Customers in these locations must select Expedited or Express shipping options at checkout.
Delivery Time Estimates
Delivery times shown at checkout are estimates provided by the shipping carrier.
While we work hard to ship orders quickly, delivery times may vary due to factors outside of our control, including:
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Weather conditions
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Carrier delays
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High shipping volumes
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Transportation disruptions
Aquarium Plants Factory is not responsible for shipping delays caused by the carrier.
Delayed or Lost Packages
Occasionally, shipments may take longer than expected.
A package is considered lost only after 15 business days (approximately 3 weeks) from the ship date.
If a package is confirmed lost by the carrier, we may offer a 50/50 replacement, meaning:
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Aquarium Plants Factory covers 50% of the replacement cost
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The customer covers 50% plus shipping
Address Accuracy
Customers are responsible for providing a complete and accurate shipping address when placing an order.
Please ensure that your address is correct when using payment methods such as:
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Credit / Debit Card
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PayPal
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Apple Pay
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Google Pay
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Amazon Pay
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Shopify Pay
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AliPay
Orders returned due to:
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Incorrect address
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Refused delivery
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Failed delivery attempts
may not be eligible for a refund.
Order Cancellations
If you need to cancel an order, please contact us as soon as possible.
Orders can only be canceled before they have been shipped.
Once an order has been shipped, it can no longer be canceled.
Returns
Due to the sensitive nature of live goods, all sales are final.
We do not accept returns or exchanges for:
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Live plants
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Live animals
For any shipping questions, please contact us before placing your order.
Aquarium Plants Factory
https://www.AquariumPlantsFactory.com
WHAT WE GUARANTEE
24 Hours Live Arrival Guarantee* - In a rare case of live stocks dead on arrival, we must be notified within 24 hours by the same day of delivery. Please take clear photos of the damaged product and send it to us within 24 hours. Live Arrival Guarantee will be void after 24 hours of delivery. All replacements are considered final and we will not replace the replacement.
- Picture requirements: Take at least 2 clear photos of damaged product in their original, unopened & sealed transparent packing and send photos and orders information to our email within 24 hours: aquariumplantsfactory@gmail.com
- Please do not take picture of damaged plants, or animals in your aquarium. Once they have been introduced to your aquarium's ecosystem. It is no longer covered by our guarantee.
Please be aware that our Live Arrival Guarantee is subject to certain conditions. Specifically, the guarantee will not be applicable in cases where the package is marked as 'invalid address', 'undeliverable' or is 'returned to sender.' This includes situations such as a vacant delivery address, a missing apartment number, or any other issues that prevent the postal service from delivering your package.
It is crucial to provide accurate and complete shipping information to ensure the successful delivery of your order and the applicability of the Live Arrival Guarantee.
Please keep in mind that Live Arrival Guarantee only guarantees that live stocks will be alive upon arrival. We cannot guarantee that you will continue to have success with them. Many factors, including the aquarium environment, water quality, nutrient, temperature, lighting, filter, and CO2 system, can contribute to the failure to grow live plants and live animals.
WHAT WE CAN'T GUARANTEE
Even though our plants are very clean, but we can't guarantee they will be 100% pest-free because we cannot be responsible for your aquarium. Please use it at your own risk. We recommended all customers rinse the plants with clean water and quarantine them before use.
However, plants in tissue culture will be 100% free from pests, algae and never have been contacting with any aquarium.
- Due to the nature of the product. We don't guarantee our plants will be pests free. ( snails, algae, hitchhikers )
- We don't guarantee our plants will be free of pesticides. We use homemade, organic pesticides in our greenhouse to control pests. We do not use pesticides that contain copper. Copper is toxic to invertebrates such as aquatic snails, crabs, shrimps, etc
- We don't guarantee your aquarium success or are responsible for your aquarium inhabitant including but not limited to fish, shrimp, snail, turtle, etc. So please quarantine all plants when use!
- Unless specific, we don't guarantee aquatic plants will be grow emerged or submerge.
Please review your state's regulations on restricted plants, as we are committed to not shipping plants that are restricted in your area. Do not release any plants into the wild or waterways, as this can harm local ecosystems by introducing invasive species.
Your cooperation in protecting the environment is appreciated. For continuously updated information, refer to the USDA State Noxious Weed list here.
Thank you for your responsible commitment to environmental preservation.
Customers praised this fast-growing aquatic bulb that typically sprouts within days. Many said "it has really taken off" and grows "super fast" with beautiful color. Most bulbs arrived healthy and sprouted quickly, though some came unsprouted or had rot issues. A few bulbs failed to grow. Shipping was excellent and plants arrived in great condition overall.
- It has already developed several new leaves. Very happy with this purchase!
- In less than a week it has already sprouted multiple leaves.
- The day after I put it into the tank it started growing and developing new leaves.
E
I have only had this in my tank for barely two weeks and it has really taken off! The bulb I received had just a few small leaves on it and it has already developed several new leaves. Very happy with this purchase!
A
Ordered dwarf lily with leafs. bulb came with 2 plants attached in good shape
K
I purchased 3 of these and so far they have not disappointed. In fact, they have all taken off so well.
L
The color is so pretty. It grows supper fast. Ive had it since sept 26th.
M
Purchased 2 of these non-sprouted. They were more like 3 bulbs each fused together. Within 2 days of being half buried in substrate they started sprouting multiple places. Within 10 days they now have full blown leaves directly under HOB filter.
2/21/24: My bulb arrived at the end of January '24. No rot, with the beginning of leaves peeking out. I placed it in my betta's little tank. Nothing much happened for a while, though, so I moved it into my plant-test-tank, which has more steady light. It has now been a month, and its growing better, though not very fast. It still looks healthy, so the bulb itself is fine, it is ME that's the problem! :-)
7/1/24: My bulb has now been in water for about 5 months. It started growing veeeery slowly, but THEN it got so large I had to take it out of it's tank!! It became a real nice, lush plant! It is a real shame that I simply don't have tank space for it... for now, it is in a spare plastic tank until I decide what to do with it! So, BE PATIENT, and it WILL grow!
7/2025: The original AND offspring plants are still alive in different tanks. Harder to kill than I originally thought!!
K
3/3 bulbs had already sprouted during shipping. They arrived with little leaves and roots.
I have stocked 4 tanks with plants all from aquarium plants factory. I’m always a happy returning customer.
M
Received the plant on Nov. 4th, 2022. The plant had three sprouts on the bulb.
The attached picture shows the plant on Dec. 3rd, 2022.
A
I received put it into tank after letting it soak overnight from water in tank.
It still floats on top of water so i snugged small corner of plant under wood and hasn't done anything so far. 3days still no signs of it being a plant...?
Anita O'Connor
B
None of them had sprouts when I first got them. But after 2 days 3 of them started growing some fast. Then two more took off. It's been 2 weeks and 5 of them are looking amazing still waiting for the 6th to take off. 5 out of the 6 are doing great. Maybe the 6th was a dud but for the price you can't beat it!
C
My bulb arrived with no shoots or sprouts on it, but I figured what the heck. Rinsed it off and planted it about halfway into the gravel with the side I felt was most likely "up". The next day I had not one, not two, but THREE small little sprouts coming out of the bulb. Now, on day 5, there are roughly a dozen sprouts with several showing signs of forming leaves. Super happy with my bulb and I can't wait until it grows more!
P
Very happy that after only a couple of days my bulb is bowing growth. My first bulb from another seller never sprouted after over three weeks so I gave up. Never had a bad plant from APF.
S
My package arrived safely and well packed. Thank you for email updates and follow up. There were no shoots on my bulbs. In less than a week, I notice these new shoots. I can't wait for the first true leaf.
a
awesome fast shipping both of my bulbs are growing within 2 days i split them in half nowi have 4 my free bulb was rotting had to discard will buy again
D
I apologize for the foggy picture. My tank is still cycling but this plant grows so fast! When it arrived, I could just barely see 3 tiny little sprouts. This pic is 3 days later, there are at least 10 sprouts that I can see from just the front! The biggest one is already about 3/4 in. I debated getting this because I thought the big bulb was ugly but I put it behind a piece of wood with Anubias nana on it and I'm really excited to watch this grow! All the plants in my order were healthy and beautiful, I will definitely be coming back to APF for future orders!
N
Received my items well packaged, and in a timely manner. I'm taking a star off only because the description says you'll get a bulb with sprouts growing. Two of the three I received did not have these, and I'll have to keep an eye on them to make sure I planted them the correct direction, the one that did have a single sprout it was barely visible nothing like the picture. But all in all its a great price, and purchase. I'm not holding any ill feelings because of it..I will still continue to buy my plants from here.
J
It is really the size of the tip of your finger it is growing but time will tell.
Thank you for your feedback. This plant is naturally a very small nano variety, and the size can look smaller at first, especially when newly received. We’re glad to hear it is growing, and with stable aquarium conditions it should continue to adapt and develop over time. We appreciate your patience and hope it does well in your setup.
P
Exactly what I wanted and shipped perfectly
j
As described and arrived in great condition
S
I've had this in my new tank for a little over a week, and it already has two new leaves. Exactly what I wanted.
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