Dwarf Baby Tears, also known as Hemianthus Callitrichoides or even Hemianthus Callitrichoides in aquarium literature, is perhaps one of the most popular foreground plants such as planted aquariums.
It develops miniature, bright green leaves at an incredible speed, since the container floor with a lush valley rug.
The Dwarf Baby Tears naturally occurs in Cuba, but it's spread through planted tanks worldwide. They're generally sold individually in little pots or, for even less patient aquarists that need an instant carpet, 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 given they are well-lit.
Lighting as strong as 2 g per gallon minimum should really be available to hold the plant growing close to the floor. Less light will induce it to rise upto the surface, where it typically lives in the open.
Planting your Dwarf Baby Tears
Dwarf Baby Tears are usually found rooting on freshwater rocks or driftwood pieces. They may also be implanted in the substrate for a foreground plant, but the effect is much more resilient and natural when attached to additional tank objects.
You can tie tiny sections of Hemianthus into a rock or wooden bit of your own choice and leave it to produce its origins around the thing. Most aquarists prefer using cotton thread rather than rubber bands or fishing line, even as it is scarcely noticeable and it dissolves over the years, leaving only the origins attached.
Another way of preventing them from drifting around is to cover the Dwarf Baby Tears' roots together with moss that will add some weight into the plant.
These mosses will provide more nutrients, together with a good hiding ground for newly hatched fry.
For planting in the substrate, then you can plant a whole kettle in 1 place and wait for this to disperse, or you are able to split up little stalks and plant them about one inch apart for faster coverage.
This can be a time-consuming procedure, however, so allow some aquascaping hours. Plant the stalks employing a long set of tweezers and make certain that the roots are well inserted in the ground.
Care
Dwarf Baby Tears want a high-value substrate full of nutrients and minerals, especially iron. The plant is more sensitive to iron deficiency and also will display yellowish leaves if there is insufficient iron at the tank.
They will do best with CO2 supplementation and constant fertilization that will help hasten growth rate.
Always prune this plant, as while growing, new stems can reach top of old ones and suffocate them; Dwarf Baby Tears literally kills itself if left unattended.
Reproduction
Even the Hemianthus has pretty slow rise and development speed, but may still spread across the substrate after settling on your tank. Roots will branch off and produce a complex network, leading to a carpet-like look, but only if you remember to constantly trim the plant to keep it really low.
Another popular method of dispersing the Dwarf Baby Tears is to take smaller segments of larger plants and replanting these from the substrate.
In this manner , they will cover up the tank floor faster, as propagation is made from many points.
The Dwarf Baby Tears could be planted alongside other short foreground plants from contrasting colors. The dense rug enables spawning fish to lay their eggs as well as the young fry to hide from harassing adults.
There is not any worry when plant-nipping fish spilled over the Hemianthus Callitrichoides, even as it's going to begin to recover and grow , particularly if it has already covered a considerable surface.
Make an effort not to include ravaging fish, for example as Oscars or Jack Dempseysinto a tank planted with Hemianthus Callitrichoides, as they are going to try to uproot poorer stalks when"rescaping" the tank.
Gold fish are perhaps not a good idea because of these different ecological requirements and simply because they are going to attempt to eat just as a lot of this plant as you possibly can.
Be creative and use your own imagination and try some aquascaping tricks with this tiny plant that is versatile. You are able to use it in a number of tanks, even from the smallest to the largest, in an assortment of means.
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