Waterlilies in Community Aquarium?

[amanda_]

I bought 2 ready-to-plant waterlilies from walmart. The seeds are in a mesh bag with some muddy substance surrounded by coco fibre. The coco fibre is supposed to keep water clean. The lilies are meant for a pond but would it be ok in my aquarium? Would the coco fibre change my water parameters too drastically? Is the coco fibre safe for my fish? Are water lilies a poor option for an aquarium?

 

[Zezmo]

There are a lot of ifs to answer that.

The easy answer is, yes they would probably grow, but you probably should not put them in your aquarium.

There are many plants that fall under the term "lilly". Did the stuff you bought give an exact species? That would help a lot.

Beyond that, perhaps you could provide some info on your aquarium, size, lights, substrate etc. Are you already growing plants?

In the aquarium/pets section Walmart sells bulbs that grow into plants that are more suited for an aquarium.

 

[theotheragentm]

If you're getting water lilies that are meant for larger waterways such as ponds, I would avoid it. I have some pictures of just a 100 gallon barrel with lilies here. Those first pictures are probably 2 weeks of growth from having only 1 or 2 leaves on the surface. The other pictures are later, but I pruned out quite a few leaves. 1 or 2 leaves make it to the surface every day from just two plants. You would definitely steal away nutrients from other plants if you have them.