Dwarf Baby Tears, also known as Hemianthus Callitrichoides or Hemianthus Callitrichoides in aquarium literature, is perhaps one of the popular foreground plants such as planted aquariums.
It grows tiny, bright green leaves in an amazing speed, since the tank floor with a lush valley rug.
The Dwarf Baby Tears naturally occurs in Cuba, but it's spread throughout planted tanks worldwide. They are generally sold separately in small pots or, for just less patient aquarists that need an immediate carpeting, they come already grown and rooted in coco fiber mats.
They are also able to be utilized rooted in driftwood pieces for aquascaping purposes.
Tank Requirements
The Hemianthus Callitrichoides will flourish in mostly contaminated water with a pH range between 5.0-7.5 and a temperature between 70-84 degrees Fahrenheit. Being so small, this plant is also ideal even for Nano tanks, so given that they are well-lit.
Light as strong as 2 drops per gallon minimum needs to really be available to maintain the plant growing close to the ground. Less light may make it to grow upto the water surface, where it naturally lives in the wild.
Dwarf Baby Tears are usually found rooting on porous rocks or driftwood pieces. They may also be planted in the substrate as a foreground plant, but the effect is a lot more resilient and more natural when attached with additional tank items.
You can tie small sections of Hemianthus to a rock or wooden piece of your choice and leave it to build up its roots round the thing. Many aquarists prefer using cotton ribbon rather than rubberbands or fishing line, even because it's scarcely noticeable and it melts with the years, leaving only the roots attached.
Still another way of keeping them from floating around would be to cover the Dwarf Baby Tears' roots with moss that will add some weight to the plant.
All these mosses will offer more nourishment, along with a fantastic hiding ground for newly hatched fry.
For planting at the substrate, then you are able to plant a whole pot in one place and wait for it to disperse, or you could split up little stalks and plant them around one inch apart for faster coverage.
This really is a timeconsuming process, though, so permit a few aquascaping hours. Plant the stalks utilizing a long set of tweezers and make certain that the roots are well inserted into the ground.
Care
Dwarf Baby Tears want a high-value substrate full of nutrients and minerals, especially iron. The plant is sensitive to iron deficiency and also can display yellowish leaves if there's not enough iron in the tank.
They'll do best with CO2 supplementation and constant fertilization to help hasten growth speed.
Always prune this plant, as while growing, new stems are certain to get on top of old ones and suffocate themDwarf Baby Tears literally kills itself if left unattended.
Trim the stems with a very sharp pair of scissors or a razor blade to keep them in position when trimming.
Reproduction
Even the Hemianthus has pretty slow rise and development speed, but may spread across the substrate after settling in your tank. Roots will branch off and develop a complex network, leading to a carpet-like look, but only in case you make sure to trim the plant to keep it really low.
Yet another popular way of distributing the Dwarf Baby Tears will be to cut off smaller sections of larger plants and replanting them in the substrate.
In this manner they will cover the tank up floor faster, as propagation is made from a number of points.
The Dwarf Baby Tears can be planted alongside other short foreground plants from contrasting colors. The dense rug enables spawning fish to lay their eggs along with the younger fry to hide from harassing adults.
There is no worry if plant-nipping fish spilled on the Hemianthus Callitrichoides, as it'll begin to recover and grow , particularly if it has recently covered a substantial surface.
Try never to add ravaging fish, for example as for example Oscars or even Jack Dempseysinto a tank implanted with Hemianthus Callitrichoides, as they will attempt to uproot poorer stalks when"rescaping" the tank.
Gold fish are perhaps not a fantastic idea as a result of their different environmental conditions and simply because they will stubbornly attempt to eat as much of this plant as you possibly can.
Be creative and use your imagination and also try some aquascaping tricks with this particular small versatile plant. You are able to use it in a number of tanks, even from the smallest to the greatest, in a variety of means.
internet