Growing African Lily (Crinum Natans) In The Aquarium

African Lily, Onion Plant, Swamp Lily, Spider Lily

The floating water snowflake is a water plant originating from Western Africa (Cameroon, Gabon), where it can be found in shallow streams, brooks, and rivers with a muddy-sandy bottom, among stones.

The species is characterized by long, lanceolate, leathery, and strongly corrugated leaves, which grow rosette-like and directly from a small bulb. They are dark green in color. The root system is highly developed. There are several varieties of this plant, which differ in leaf width, shape, and degree of corrugation.

Due to the size it achieves, it requires tall aquariums and plenty of space around (it expands about 30 cm to the sides). It looks best in the background - on the sides or in the central part of the tank. In a too low aquarium, the leaves lie on the water surface, completely shading the interior.

The plant is very resilient, also against nibbling by herbivorous fish, but it grows slowly. It prefers water with a pH=6.0-7.5. Fertilizing with CO₂ is beneficial, and systematic substrate fertilizing is necessary for its growth. The substrate should be heaped with a thick layer - about 5-8 cm. If the plant is improperly planted (the bulb is completely covered with substrate), its growth slows down even more or completely stops, losing leaves. It should be noted that the tubers of bulbous plants are only covered about 1/3 of their height, and their trimmed roots should be widely spread throughout the substrate. Otherwise, the tuber will rot and the plant will die.

This is a seed species, which in the right conditions develops a flower stem and blooms above the water surface (beautiful white flowers). In the aquarium, it is propagated vegetatively - through the offspring bulbs growing from the parent plant.