Dwarf Baby Tears, also known as Hemianthus Callitrichoides or Hemianthus Callitrichoides in aquarium literature, is one of the popular foreground plants for planted aquariums.
It develops miniature, bright green leaves at an incredible speed, since the container floor with a lush valley carpeting.
The Dwarf Baby Tears naturally occurs in Cuba, however, it has spread through implanted tanks worldwide. They are usually sold separately in tiny pots or, for just less patient aquarists that want an immediate carpeting, they are already grown and rooted in coco fiber mats.
They are also able to be seen rooted in driftwood pieces for aquascaping purposes.
Tank Requirements
Even the Hemianthus Callitrichoides will thrive in mostly contaminated water with a pH range between 5.0-7.5 and a fever between 70-84 degrees Fahrenheit. Being small, this plant is also ideal even for Nano tanks, given that they are well-lit.
Light as strong as two watts per gallon minimum needs to be available to maintain the plant growing close to the bottom. Less light may induce it to rise upto the surface, where it typically lives in the open.
Planting your Dwarf Baby Tears
Dwarf Baby Tears usually are found rooting on porous stones or driftwood pieces. They can be implanted in the substrate for a foreground plant, but the result is much more resilient and natural when attached with other tank items.
You can tie little sections of Hemianthus into a rock or wooden bit of your own choice and leave it to build up its own roots across the object. Many aquarists prefer using cotton ribbon instead of rubberbands or fishing line, because it's barely noticeable and it dissolves with time, leaving only the origins attached.
Another manner of preventing them from drifting around is to cover the Dwarf Baby Tears' roots together with moss that'll add some weight into the plant.
These mosses will provide more nutrients, together with a fantastic hiding ground for newly hatched fry.
For planting in the substrate, you can plant a whole pot in 1 place and wait patiently for it to spread, or you are able to split up little stalks and plant them about one inch apart for faster coverage.
This is a time consuming process, however, so permit some aquascaping hours. Plant the stems utilizing a very long pair of tweezers and make sure the roots are well embedded into the ground.
Care
Dwarf Baby Tears desire a high-value substrate rich in nutrients and minerals, particularly iron. The plant is more sensitive to iron deficiency and will display yellowish leaves if there's insufficient iron at the tank.
They will do best with CO2 supplementation and constant fertilization that will help hasten growth speed.
Always prune this plant, even as while growing, new stems are certain to reach top of older types and suffocate themDwarf Baby Tears literally kills itself when left unattended.
Reduce the stems with a very sharp pair of scissors or a razor blade to help keep them in place whilst trimming.
Reproduction
Even the Hemianthus has pretty slow rise and development speed, but may still spread across the substrate after settling in your tank. Roots will branch off and produce a complex network, leading to a carpet-like look, but only in case you make sure to trim the plant to continue to keep it really low.
Another popular method of propagating the Dwarf Baby Tears is to cut smaller segments of plants and replanting these at the substrate.
In this manner they will cover up the tank floor faster, as propagation is made from several points.
Tank Mates
The Dwarf Baby Tears could be planted along side other short foreground plants from contrasting colors. The dense carpeting enables spawning fish to lay their eggs as well as the young fry to hide from harassing adults.
There's no worry if plant-nipping fish graze on the Hemianthus Callitrichoides, as it will quickly recover and grow again, especially if it has covered a significant surface.
Do your best never to incorporate ravaging fish, such as Oscars or Jack Dempseys, to a tank implanted with Hemianthus Callitrichoides, since they are going to attempt to uproot poorer stalks when"rescaping" the tank.
Gold fish are not a good idea as a result of the different ecological conditions and simply because they will stubbornly try to eat as a lot of this plant as you possibly can.
Be creative and use your imagination and try some aquascaping tricks for this particular tiny versatile plant. You can put it to use in a number of tanks, even from the smallest to the largest, in an assortment of means.
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