Dwarf Baby Tears, also known as Hemianthus Callitrichoides or even Hemianthus Callitrichoides in aquarium literature, is probably one of the most popular foreground plants such as planted aquariums.
It develops miniature, bright green leaves in an remarkable speed, since the tank floor having a lush emerald rug.
The Dwarf Baby Tears naturally occurs in Cuba, but it's spread through planted tanks worldwide. They're normally sold separately in small pots or, for just less patient aquarists that want an instant carpet, they are already grown and rooted in coco fiber mats.
They can also be utilized rooted in driftwood pieces for aquascaping purposes.
Tank Requirements
Being so small, this plant is ideal even for Nano tanks, so given that they are well-lit.
Light as strong as two watts per gallon minimum needs to be available to hold the plant growing near the floor. Less light can cause it to rise up to the water surface, where it naturally lives in the great outdoors.
Dwarf Baby Tears usually are found rooting on freshwater rocks or driftwood pieces. They can also be implanted within the substrate as a foreground plant, but the effect is a lot more resilient and more natural when attached to other tank objects.
It is possible to tie small sections of Hemianthus to some stone or wooden bit of your choice and leave it to build up its own origins across the item. Most aquarists prefer using cotton thread instead of rubber bands or fishing line, even since it's barely noticeable and it melts with time, leaving only the roots attached.
Still another way of preventing them out of drifting around is to pay for the Dwarf Baby Tears' roots together with moss that'll add some weight to the plant.
These mosses will provide extra nutrients, together with a good hiding ground for newly hatched fry.
For planting in the substrate, then you can plant a whole pot in 1 place and wait patiently for this to disperse, or you can separate small stems and plant them around one inch apart for faster policy.
This can be a time-consuming process, though, so allow some aquascaping hours. Plant the stems utilizing a very long set of tweezers and make certain that the roots are well fit into the ground.
Care
Dwarf Baby Tears desire a high-value substrate full of minerals and nutrients, particularly iron. The plant is more sensitive to iron deficiency and will display yellowish leaves if there is not enough iron at the tank.
They'll do well with CO2 supplementation and also constant fertilization that will help accelerate growth rate.
Always prune this plant, as while growing, new stalks can reach top of old ones and suffocate them; Dwarf Baby Tears literally kills itself if left unattended.
Reduce the stalks with a rather sharp pair of scissors or a razor blade to help keep them in place while trimming.
Reproduction
Even the Hemianthus has pretty slow rise and development pace, but will still spread across the substrate after settling into your tank. Roots will branch away and produce an intricate network, resulting in a carpet-like appearance, but only in case you make sure to trim the plant to keep it low.
Another popular method of dispersing the Dwarf Baby Tears will be to cut smaller segments of larger plants and replanting those from the substrate.
In this manner , they will cover the tank up floor faster, as propagation is manufactured out of many points.
Tank Mates
The Dwarf Baby Tears may be implanted alongside other short foreground plants in contrasting colors. The dense rug enables spawning fish to lay their eggs and the younger fry to cover up from harassing adults.
There's no worry when plant-nipping fish graze on the Hemianthus Callitrichoides, even as it'll quickly recover and grow , especially if it has covered a substantial surface.
Try never to incorporate ravaging fish, such as for example Oscars or Jack Dempseysinto a tank implanted with Hemianthus Callitrichoides, as they are going to make an effort to uproot weaker stems when"rescaping" the tank.
Gold fish are not a fantastic idea because of the different environmental conditions and simply because they will stubbornly attempt to eat as a lot of their plant as possible.
Be creative and use your own imagination and take to some aquascaping tricks with this particular small versatile plant. You are able to use it in a number of tanks, from the tiniest to the biggest, in an assortment of ways.
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