To a pro like myself, lotus and water lilies are fairly easy to grow from seed. For a price, I can send you some lotus and tropical water lily seeds with instructions. Just email me if interested.

I see lots of cheap prices for aquatic seeds, but some sites warn that it takes forever for the seeds to sprout. What problems are there in sprouting these seeds?

With tropical water lily seeds, water temps can slow down the sprouting time. I always started mine in a small jar in a window. Patience is the main thing.

With lotus, it's making sure that you nick the seed deep enough so that water can get into the seed.