Want deep red in a low-tech tank? Red Tiger Lotus is the one plant that delivers it without CO₂ or high-output lighting. It grows from a bulb into broad arrow-shaped leaves mottled with darker markings, and a single bulb becomes a centrepiece within a couple of months.
What You'll Receive
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Sprouted Bulb with Leaf: A live bulb already sprouting with one or more leaves
OR - Bulb Only (No Leaf): A healthy dormant bulb ready to sprout under optimal conditions
Plant Profile
- Common name — Red Tiger Lotus, Tiger Lotus
- Scientific name — Nymphaea zenkeri 'Red'
- Placement — Background or centrepiece
- Mature height — 8–20 in
- Growth rate — Fast
Care
- Difficulty — Beginner
- Light — Medium to high. Strong light is what brings out the deep red and mottling
- CO₂ — Not required. It colours up in a low-tech tank
- Water — 72–82°F · pH 6.5–7.5
- Substrate — Required. Heavy root feeder — nutrient substrate or root tabs
- Growth habit — Fully aquatic. This plant cannot be grown emersed
- Propagation — Rhizome division; the bulb produces daughter bulbs
Grower's Notes
- Set the bulb on the substrate, don't bury it. Press it in far enough to stay put and leave the top exposed — buried bulbs rot rather than sprout.
- Root tabs are not optional. This is one of the hungriest root feeders we sell, and in inert gravel it stays small and green instead of colouring up.
- It will send leaves to the surface and form lily pads. Cut any leaf heading up on a long stem right at the base — that keeps the plant compact and submerged instead of shading everything below.
- It must stay submerged. Despite reaching the surface, this is a fully aquatic plant with no emersed form — it is not suited to paludariums or wabi-kusa.
- New growth usually appears within 10 to 15 days. If it goes dormant and drops its leaves, leave the bulb in place — it normally restarts.
Notes
- Photos are for reference; leaf colour, size and marking vary considerably with lighting and nutrients. Sprouting is not guaranteed on any individual bulb.
- Never release aquarium plants into natural waterways.
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
-
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
-
Live animals
For any shipping questions, please contact us before placing your order.
Aquarium Plants Factory
https://www.AquariumPlantsFactory.com
What We Guarantee
24-Hour Live Arrival Guarantee — We guarantee that live plants and live aquatic animals will arrive alive. In the rare case of a Dead on Arrival (DOA), you must notify us within 24 hours of the delivery time recorded on the carrier's official tracking page. The guarantee is void after that 24-hour window, as condition can no longer be attributed to transit.
How to Submit a Claim
- Take at least 2 clear, well-lit photos of the affected items in their original, unopened, sealed packaging, plus a photo of the shipping label on the box.
- Email your photos and order number to hello@aquariumplantsfactory.com within 24 hours of delivery.
- Do not photograph plants or animals after they have been unpacked, planted, or introduced to your aquarium — once an item enters your aquarium's ecosystem, it is no longer covered.
Approved claims are resolved with a replacement, store credit, or refund at our discretion, under the terms of our Refund Policy. Each item is eligible for one replacement only — replacements are final and we cannot replace a replacement.
Conditions That Void the Guarantee
- Incorrect or incomplete shipping address (vacant address, missing apartment number, or any issue that prevents delivery)
- Packages marked "invalid address," "undeliverable," refused, or returned to sender
- Packages left unclaimed, held at a carrier facility at the customer's request, or not retrieved promptly after delivery — live goods must be brought indoors and unpacked the day they arrive
- Carrier delays, weather events, or delivery exceptions once the package has left our facility
- Shipments to freight forwarders or package-forwarding services
Providing accurate, complete shipping information and monitoring your tracking are essential to keeping your guarantee valid.
Please note: the Live Arrival Guarantee covers arrival only. We cannot guarantee ongoing success — aquarium environment, water quality, nutrients, temperature, lighting, filtration, and CO2 all affect long-term results.
What We Can't Guarantee
- Pest-free plants (potted & bare-root): Although our plants are grown in our own clean greenhouse, we cannot guarantee they are 100% free of snails, algae, or other hitchhikers. We recommend rinsing and quarantining all plants before adding them to your aquarium. Tissue culture (in vitro) plants are the exception — they are grown in sterile lab conditions, are 100% free of pests, algae, and disease, and have never been in contact with any aquarium.
- Pesticide-free plants: We use homemade, organic pest control in our greenhouse and never use copper-based pesticides, which are toxic to invertebrates such as snails, crabs, and shrimp. However, we cannot guarantee plants are entirely pesticide-free — always rinse and quarantine before use in invertebrate tanks.
- Your aquarium's success: We are not responsible for your aquarium inhabitants, including fish, shrimp, snails, and turtles. Please quarantine all plants before use.
- Growth form: Unless specified, we do not guarantee plants will grow emersed or submersed in your particular setup.
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 aquatic bulb plant for arriving healthy with sprouting leaves and rapid growth, noting "beautiful pink leaves" and "gorgeous color." Most reported new growth within days. While some bulbs were smaller than expected and a few experienced melting or poor condition on arrival, the majority found the plant thrives with minimal care, adding vibrant color to tanks.
- This thing arrived healthy as a horse and is putting out new leaves every 2-3 days. Beautiful!
- The color is gorgeous and honestly I would love to have more in my tank!
- After 3 days in quarantine it already had three small leaf shoots and two roots. I am impressed.
A
It come in the package was smashed and I thought oh no its going to be dead and I carefully unboxed it and found it in perfect condition. Thank you
S
Received a very nice and healthy bulb with leaves
M
The Red Tiger Lotus arrived perfectly with two beautiful pink leaves. I put the bulb part way in the gravel and now will have the pleasure of watching it grow.
H
The bulb arrived quickly and with the tiniest of sprouts already emerging, which has been growing steadily since I put it in my tank. Photos are from Day 1 and Day 3.
G
Order two of these and they arrive in pristine condition and add such a pop of color to my tanks!
F
Mine arrived several days ago with three healthy leaves and bulb, it is already working on its fourth leaf
P
The bulb with leaves is smaller that how it shows in the picture but still amazing and I think is actually better because now it gets to grow in a tank where it's going to live most of its live, the picture is how it arrived and then after a week in the aquarium 2 leaves melt but new ones are growing out already, I can wait to see it thrive. Very happy with my purchase.
U
Took me a week for the plant to appear healthy, it grows fast. Happy with the purchase
C
Wow - I expected a bulb with one tiny sprout, they usually look like a tiny blade of grass. Instead, I received a bulb with a tiny plantlet - fully developed little leaves and lots of roots! Just beautiful, and super healthy. Thank you so much!
I took the picture the same day it arrived.
S
The bulb arrived in great condition and is already sprouting new leaves!! Definitely will order from here again!
d
All but one came in fine (leaves broke away from bulb). That's ok since the deal is buy two get one free. Looking very nice. Can't say much else.
B
When I got this plant, it had one or two small leaves on it. I honestly thought it was going to die because I put it through the ringer. But this beauty came back!!! And oh my god has it grown! It’s grown so well I now have to cut some of it back. Thank you for the amazing care you give your plants. This is my go to store, everything I get looks fantastic!!
M
Plants arrived quickly and in perfect condition. The bulb that came had already sprouted and, within only a month, has really taken off. It is a stunning plant that adds so much color to the tank. I will definitely be buying more of these plants in the future. Highly recommended for beginners looking for some color in their tank.
C
I bought the bulb sprouted with leaves since this is my first planted tank and wanted instant gratification. The plant came beautifully colored and already had 4-5 leaves on it! I planted it about halfway in the substrate. It’s been 4 days since receiving and I’ve already got lil baby leaves coming in that are the most beautiful magenta! I use a Finnex Ray 2 and am not supplementing with CO2 until next week when I get paid lol I wish my tank was larger so I could put more of these in there!
D
I have yet to order a plant that hasn't come in perfect condition! I ordered the buy 2 get 1 free deal and I could not be happier with the plants I received. After a week they are already showing some new growth. Small bulbs came with a few sprouted leaves each.
C
After about 2 weeks this is where it’s at
V
I bought the bulb only variation and after just a couple of days I'm starting to see the leaves come in. Hope they adapt well.
J
I was hoping for something more substantial
K
I have had consistent quality with every order. My fish are big jerks that treat plants like toys in an underwater rugby game...these bulbs take a beating and regenerate every time.
P
Bought it and it arrive already sprouting stems and within a week I already have a few baby leaves sprouting out. I planted it about as wrong as anyone could and it has still sprouted
S
I waited till my little lotus sprouted before writing a review. My snails love to play on it and even laid eggs on the bulb 😅
Can’t wait to see it when it’s full grown!
W
Why do my tiger lily leaves start to wilt and turn mushy?
Insufficient Lighting:
Tiger Lotus plants prefer moderate to high lighting. Low light can cause slow growth and leaf deterioration.
Lack of Nutrients:
A nutrient-poor substrate or lack of root tabs can affect the plant's health. Adding a root fertilizer can help support strong leaf growth.
Water Quality or Temperature:
Unstable parameters, such as sudden changes in temperature, pH, or hardness, can stress the plant. Tiger Lotus thrives in tropical temperatures (72–82°F) and slightly acidic to neutral pH.
If you’re seeing new shoots or leaves forming from the bulb, that’s a good sign it’s adjusting. Trim away any melted or mushy leaves to encourage healthy new growth.
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