The rosette of leaves floating on the water, which forms a water nut (Trapa natans), is beautiful. That's why she has many friends in this country. But can a water nut be kept in an aquarium? Many hobby gardeners and aquarists ask themselves this question. Below you will find the answer.
Can you keep a water nut in an aquarium?
Keeping a water nut (Trapa natans) in an aquarium is possible, but challenging. It needs warm, standing water, at least 60 cm deep, lots of light and a nutrient-rich soil layer. Keeping a garden pond is often the better solution.
General background information about the water nut
The water nut, sometimes also known as the water chestnut, is a popular annual floating plant that is only very rarely found in the wild. It is said that it is threatened with extinction in Germany. It has been protected since 1987.
Legal reproductions of the plant are available commercially. If you decide to keep a water nut, you should make sure to get a specimen with a nut when purchasing. Then the chances are greater that the plant will grow and thrive well. In addition, the presence of a nut makes successful reproduction more likely.
Basically, the water nut is a demanding plant that is very difficult to cultivate. Due to its specific requirements, it feels more comfortable in the garden pond than in the aquarium. However, some aquarists also report having positive experiences with keeping aquariums.
In short: you can certainly try to keep a water nut in the aquarium, but you should be prepared from the start that this experiment risks going wrong.
What living conditions a water nut needs
Three points are extremely important if you want to keep a water nut - whether in an aquarium or in a garden pond:
- warm environment
- Standing water (calm, without much movement)
- lots of light
The water nut also values a particularly thick, nutrient-rich soil layer (mud layer). It develops long roots to draw the nutrients it needs from the soil.
This shows that you would need a fairly large aquarium (at least 60 centimeters of water depth is essential) in order to offer the water nut suitable living conditions. This “giant aquarium” would also have to be intensively illuminated – whether through sunlight or artificial light. Every hobby aquarist knows that these requirements are anything but easy to fulfill.
If in doubt, you should keep other beautiful aquatic plants in your aquarium. A sunny garden pond is the better solution for the water nut.
Good news at the end: If you can provide a water nut with the conditions described, there is virtually no maintenance required.
