It develops miniature, bright green leaves at an remarkable speed, covering the container floor using a lush valley carpeting.
The Dwarf Baby Tears naturally occurs in Cuba, however, it's spread through implanted tanks worldwide. They're usually sold separately in tiny pots or, for even 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.
Being so small, this plant is also ideal even for Nano tanks, provided they are well-lit.
Lighting as strong as 2 g per gallon minimum should really be available to hold the plant growing near the ground. Less light can cause it to grow up to 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 may be planted within the substrate as a foreground plant, but the effect is significantly stronger and more natural when attached to additional tank objects.
You can tie tiny sections of Hemianthus to some rock or wooden bit of your choice and then leave it to build up its own roots round the object. Most aquarists prefer using cotton ribbon instead of rubberbands or fishing line, even because it's barely noticeable and it dissolves with the years, leaving only the origins attached.
Another way of preventing them from floating around is to cover the Dwarf Baby Tears' roots together with moss that'll add some weight to the plant.
These mosses will provide more nutrients, together with a fantastic hiding ground for newly hatched fry.
For planting in the substrate, you are able to plant a whole pot in 1 place and wait patiently for it to disperse, or you may separate small stems and plant them about one inch apart for faster coverage.
This can be a time-consuming process, however, so permit a few 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 need a fine-grained substrate rich in minerals and nutrients, particularly iron. The plant is sensitive to iron deficiency and will display yellow leaves if there's insufficient iron in the tank.
They will do best with CO2 supplementation and also constant fertilization that will help accelerate growth speed.
Always prune this plant, as while growing, new stems are certain to reach top of older types and suffocate themDwarf Baby Tears literally kills itself when left unattended.
Reproduction
The Hemianthus has pretty slow growth and development rate, but will 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 in the event you make sure to trim the plant to keep it really low.
Yet another popular way of propagating the Dwarf Baby Tears is 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 manufactured out of a number of points.
The Dwarf Baby Tears can be planted alongside other short foreground plants in contrasting colors. The dense carpet enables spawning fish to lay their eggs and the young fry to hide from harassing adults.
There's not any worry when plant-nipping fish spilled over the Hemianthus Callitrichoides, as it will quickly recover and grow , especially if it has covered a significant surface.
Do your best never to include ravaging fish, for example as Oscars or Jack Dempseys, to a tank planted with Hemianthus Callitrichoides, since they are going to attempt to uproot poorer stalks when"rescaping" the tank.
Gold fish are not just a good idea because of the different ecological conditions and simply because they are going to attempt to eat as much of the plant as possible.
Be creative and use your own imagination and also try some aquascaping tricks with this tiny plant that is versatile. You are able to use it in many tanks, even from the tiniest to the biggest, in a variety of ways.
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