Night-Blooming Water Lily — White & Gold
Opens at dusk, glows until mid-morning — pure white petals around a blazing gold center.
Night-blooming Nymphaea open as the sun sets and hold their flowers through the night and into mid-morning, which makes them the only water lily most people are actually home to see. The blooms are large, star-formed, and brilliant white against a dense yellow stamen crown, floating above bronze-edged pads. Farm-raised tropical rhizome, shipped established and ready to plant.
What it needs to thrive
- Lighting
- Full sun — 6+ hours daily. Blooms open on the dusk temperature drop.
- Flow
- Still water only. Spray or current will stop flowering entirely.
- Feeding
- Column and root feeder — dose a complete liquid fertilizer weekly; root tabs for heavy substrate rooters.
- Temperament
- Peaceful — shrimp-safe, fry-safe, and grown pesticide-free.
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Ideal Tank Size
- 100 gallon pond or larger
- Water Parameters
- 60–85°F seasonal · pH 6.5–8.0 · full sun to part shade · nutrient-rich pond soil, gravel capped
Plant the rhizome crown-up in a wide basket of heavy pond soil capped with gravel, 12–18 inches below the surface, in the warmest part of the pond.
Peaceful. Tropical — lift and overwinter indoors above 50°F in cold climates, or treat as an annual.
Quarantine, dip, and acclimation
Quarantine
Hold all new fish in a bare-bottom 10–20 gallon QT for a minimum of 4 weeks. Observe for flashing, clamped fins, white spots, or breathing changes. Treat preventatively with copper (1.75–2.5 ppm chelated) or tank-transfer method for ich, plus a praziquantel course for flukes. Invertebrates and corals skip QT but go through dip and observation instead.
Recommended coral dip
For every new coral: a 5–10 minute bath in your reef-safe dip of choice (Bayer Complete, CoralRx, or Reef Primer) following label dosage, followed by two clean saltwater rinses. Inspect plugs and bases for flatworms, pyramid snails, and eggs — remove or refrag onto clean plugs before placing in display.
Acclimation
Float sealed bags in your QT or display for 15 minutes to match temperature. Then drip acclimate at 2–4 drops per second for 45–60 minutes until volume has tripled. Net livestock into the tank — never pour shipping water in. Dim the lights for the first 24 hours to reduce stress.
