Dwarf Baby Tears, also called Hemianthus Callitrichoides or even Hemianthus Callitrichoides in aquarium literature, is perhaps one of the most popular foreground plants for planted aquariums.
It develops tiny, bright green leaves at an amazing rate, within the tank floor having a lush valley carpet.
The Dwarf Baby Tears naturally does occur in Cuba, however, it has spread throughout planted tanks worldwide. They are typically sold individually in small pots or, for even less patient aquarists that need an immediate carpeting, they come already optimized and grown in coco fiber mats.
They can also be found rooted in driftwood bits for aquascaping purposes.
Tank Requirements
Being small, this plant is ideal even for Nano tanks, so provided they have been well-lit.
Light as strong as two drops per gallon minimum needs to be available to keep the plant growing near the ground. Less light may cause it to grow up to the water surface, where it naturally lives from the great outdoors.
Dwarf Baby Tears are usually found rooting on freshwater rocks or driftwood pieces. They may also be implanted in the substrate as a foreground plant, however the effect is significantly more resilient and natural when attached with other tank items.
You're able to tie little sections of Hemianthus into a stone or wooden piece of one's choice and leave it to produce its origins around the item. Most aquarists prefer using cotton ribbon instead of rubberbands or fishing line, even because it's barely noticeable and it dissolves with time, leaving only the origins attached.
Another manner of keeping them from drifting around would be to pay the Dwarf Baby Tears' roots with moss that will then add weight to the plant.
All these mosses will offer additional nourishment, as well as a good hiding ground for newly hatched fry.
For planting at the substrate, you are able to plant an entire pot in one place and wait patiently for it to disperse, or you can separate little stalks and plant them about one inch apart for faster coverage.
This can be a timeconsuming procedure, though, so allow a few aquascaping hours. Plant the stalks using a very long set of tweezers and make sure the roots are well embedded into the ground.
Care
Dwarf Baby Tears need a fine-grained substrate rich in minerals and nutrients, especially iron. The plant is more sensitive to iron deficiency and also can display yellowish leaves if there's insufficient iron from the tank.
They will do best with CO2 supplementation and also constant fertilization that will help hasten growth speed.
Always prune this plant, even as while growingnew stalks can reach top of older ones and suffocate them; Dwarf Baby Tears literally kills itself if left unattended.
Reproduction
The Hemianthus has pretty slow growth and development pace, but may spread across the substrate after settling on your tank. Roots will branch off and produce an intricate network, resulting in a carpet-like appearance, but only in the event you make sure to trim the plant to keep it low.
Still another popular method of distributing the Dwarf Baby Tears is to cut off smaller sections of larger plants and replanting them in the substrate.
This waythey are going to cover the tank up floor faster, as propagation is manufactured out of several points.
The Dwarf Baby Tears can be planted alongside other short foreground plants in contrasting colors. The dense carpet will allow spawning fish to lay their eggs as well as the younger fry to hide from harassing adults.
There's no worry when plant-nipping fish graze on the Hemianthus Callitrichoides, as it'll begin to recover and grow again, especially if it has covered a considerable surface.
Try never to include ravaging fish, for example as for example Oscars or Jack Dempseys, to a tank planted with Hemianthus Callitrichoides, as they are going to make an effort to uproot poorer stalks when"rescaping" the tank.
Gold fish are perhaps not really a fantastic idea because of the different ecological conditions and since they will stubbornly attempt to eat just as much of their plant as feasible.
Be creative and use your own imagination and also take to some aquascaping tricks for this specific small versatile plant. You can put it to use in several tanks, even from the smallest to the greatest, in an assortment of ways.
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