red tiger lotus roots rotting ??

[candymancan]

I have a very nice red tiger lotus I got like 3-4 weeks ago from the local fish store before they closed.. I got it for 5$.. I had to keep trimming the lilly pads that kept growing to the surface and now it doesn't grow high anymore it grows low... and its still growing a million leafs all the time... but they are tiny now.. about the size of a quarter dollar where before they got to the size of my hand..

I pulled it up for a second while cleaning my tank and all the roots were mush and rotten... I never buried it all the way only half way.. The only reason I buried it half way was to anchor it because it floats if I don't...

Why are the roots rotting like this ? There are like no roots left.. only a bulb and lots of lilies

 

[jetajockey]

They could've taken some damage or just aren't transitioning well. If you still have a bulb and viable leaves though it should grow more.

 

[candymancan]

The leaves I have like maybe 10-15 on it.. and its growing new ones every day.. but the new leaves are only the size of a quarter maybe bigger... prior to this rotting the leaves got the size of my palm... Maybe it is from the transition I dunno but I have had this lotus for a month or so now..

And its bigger leaves are rotting as well. they get giant holes in them and then I have to pluck them.. my nitrates are going back up now.. prior when it grew like a week nitrates went down.. now they are going up and PH is going back down.. which is telling me the plant isn't using nutrients like it did before.. because it has literally like 3 roots now

 

[Coyne]

My experience with lilies is that they will go dormant from time to time. It seems like every few months all of the stems/pads die of and don't come back for one or two months.

The reason you have several small pads instead of a few larger pads is because you were trimming the larger pads off. The plant will adjust how it grows when you keep removing the larger, longer stemmed pads. I actually prefer it this way.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[limnologist]

The size of the leaves is a simple matter. I grow bonsai and it is widely known in the bonsai world that the more you cut the leaves off of a plant, the smaller their replacements will be.

As for the rotting roots, I suggest increased water flow around them.