This is a pond plant - not an aquarium plant. Essentially it will need high light for it to do well and to bloom.

Depending upon the species will determine the size. There _are_ dwarf lilies available, but even they can get rather large. Essentially, leaf stems will grow to the water surface and then spread out. The next leaves coming up, will do the same, but as the plant grows, the stems will need to lengthen in order to "find room" for their leaves to spread out on the surface. One lily - if given enough light indoors which it will need to bloom - will cover a standard tank surface pretty easily... which is why it's really a pond plant!

Most of the recommended depth to plant lilies from the surface is 18-24 inches.

Hope that helps! I have a pond, which is why I know a little about lilies (which I can't keep because my koi tear them up, no matter how hard I try and protect them. I have voracious and cunning koi!)

There are bulbs that work in the aquarium but they do take a little work to keep them in check.

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=104

Here is a link that might be useful: tiger lotus info

Oh - I have that growing in my tank - but it's not a lily. Don't know if the lotus ever blooms in a tank situation.

Tiger lotus (Nymphaea lotus (zenkeri)) is in fact in the same genus (Nymphaea) as what are commonly referred to as water lilies. They are in the family Liliaceae; thus they are in fact lilies.

Nymphaea lotus will bloom in an aquarium with adequate light.

It seems to grow easily for me in my aquarium (in fact hard to kill) but I've never seen anything close to a flower bud. I probably don't have enough light for it to bloom, and don't really care since all I really wanted was surface coverage for some fish that appreciated little areas to hide under leaves.

Do these need extraordinarily high light to bloom in an aquarium setting?

I take back what I said, they aren't in the family Liliaceae; they have their own family in fact: Nympheaceae. They are close relatives of lilies though.

Yes, a lot of light, warmth, and a lot of surface leaves are required to bring them into bloom.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nymphaea lotus 'zenkeri'

Thanks for the responses.
I bought these before I did any research. The package says that they will grow 3-5 inches in about 20 days or so,it just doesn't say if that is their max so I went for it.
Suenth,that site doesn't come up for me.
Hey Skygee and Pricem11 any suggestions for some plants for an aquarium(1-2 1/2 gallon ) that will give my fish some life in the tank without overtaking it?
Thanks again.
Grice

Maybe it doesn't hold the searches for very long. I checked it before I posted

Just go into the forum and hit the search button and type in lotus or nymphea

Here is a link that might be useful: planted tank

Thanks Suenth.
Grice

Umm... for only 2 1/2 gallons??? The problem with the tiny tanks is the lack of any real light. Plants usually need lots of light to grow well. But I'm also thinking of the size - you don't want something that will grow so quickly that it'll get out of hand. Java moss? or Java fern would probably do okay. I like Hygrophilas, but you'll have to keep trimming and they do like light.

Quite honestly, for a tiny tank like a 2 1/2 gallon, get a really nice looking silk/fabric plant. Many are very realistic looking - and without the need to have tons of light to stay green! ;)

Thanks Sky.

For plants in a tank of that size, I'd go with anubias nana and java moss.

Thanks so much Drygulch.
Skygee I do take exception with you("for a tiny tank like 2 1/2 gallon"). I don't find it all that "tiny". I am only keeping bettas in that tank,one betta per tank,so I think that a fifty,twenty ,or even ten gallon tank would be a bit much. Compared to what the bettas are subjected to(those horrible little cups) in stores and shops,I would think that a 2 1/2 gallon tank would seem like the ocean! When and if I decide to expand my fish family then perhaps I will invest in a larger community tank.
Grice

Oh - don't take exception - I have tiny tanks like 3 gallons! These are for the bettas. I meant tiny for plants - and essentially tiny for plants that require light. The 3 gallon tanks I use have only a 5 or 6 watt flourescent bulb. Not enough for any sort of plants that I would like to grow. The type of lighting really limits one when trying to keep live plants, so I just use some nice silk fabric plants in my tiny tanks - much easier to maintain and realistic looking. I think you read too much into what I previously wrote. I didn't mean to offend you. Sorry.

Skygee,no offense taken. I was not attempting to reprimand you or anything of the sort. Hope it did not come across that way. I was simply saying that 'tiny'is a relative term compared to what small cups bettas come out of from the store.
I hope you and the rest of the readers don't read too much into my reponse to you. It's just that I didn't see the need to buy a ten gallon tank(or larger)since I am only interested in keeping bettas at the moment so I decided to go with a smaller tank.
As for the plants,I appreciate the advice.
Btw,do you think a fifteen watt bulb would be ample?
Grice

IMO, no - even with 15 watts, it's not strong enough for anything but as drygulch suggested - anubias - which grows very slowly - and java moss, which needs very little light.

I have anubias growing in my cichlid tank - but it's a pretty large variety. I don't know the species drygulch suggested, but perhaps there are smaller "dwarf" species of anubias available.

Remember, too, that when light goes through water, it loses candlelight. Most plants need quite a bit of light for photosynthesis... and what will happen with most plants is they'll grow very weedy (stemmy) have smaller leaves, and just not look very nice. Or some will simply not grow at all.