Dwarf Baby Tears, also known as Hemianthus Callitrichoides or Hemianthus Callitrichoides in aquarium literature, is perhaps one of the most popular foreground plants such as planted aquariums.
It develops tiny, bright green leaves at an awesome rate, within the tank floor having a lush emerald carpet.
The Dwarf Baby Tears naturally does occur in Cuba, but it's spread through planted tanks worldwide. They're normally sold individually in little pots or, for less patient aquarists that need an instant carpet, they are already grown and rooted in coco fiber mats.
They are also able to be found rooted in driftwood bits for aquascaping purposes.
The Hemianthus Callitrichoides will flourish in mostly acidic water with a pH range between 5.0-7.5 and also a fever between 70-84 degrees Fahrenheit. Being so 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 should really be available to hold the plant growing close to the floor. Less light will induce it to rise upto the water's surface, where it typically lives from 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 a lot more resilient and natural when attached with other tank objects.
You can tie modest segments of Hemianthus to some stone or wooden piece of your own choice and leave it to build up its roots across the thing. Many aquarists prefer using cotton thread rather than rubberbands or fishing line, since it's hardly noticeable and it dissolves with time, leaving 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 into the plant.
All these mosses will provide additional nourishment, along with a good hiding ground for newly hatched fry.
For planting in the substrate, then you are able to plant a whole pot in one place and wait patiently for this to spread, or you are able to split up little stalks and plant them around one inch apart for faster coverage.
This really is a time consuming procedure, though, so allow some aquascaping hours. Plant the stalks employing a very long pair of tweezers and make sure the roots are well embedded into the ground.
Care
Dwarf Baby Tears want a high-value substrate full of minerals and nutrients, especially iron. The plant is sensitive to iron deficiency and will display yellowish leaves if there's insufficient iron in the tank.
They will do best with CO2 supplementation and also constant fertilization that will help hasten growth rate.
Always prune this plant, as while growing, new stems can reach top of older 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 spread upon the substrate after settling into your tank. Roots will branch away and create 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.
Yet another popular way of dispersing the Dwarf Baby Tears will be always to take smaller segments of plants and replanting them in the substrate.
This way, they will cover the tank up floor faster, as propagation is manufactured out of a number of points.
The Dwarf Baby Tears could be implanted along side other short foreground plants in contrasting colors. The dense carpet will allow spawning fish to lay their eggs and the young fry to hide from harassing adults.
There is no worry if plant-nipping fish graze on the Hemianthus Callitrichoides, as it's going to begin to recover and grow , especially if it has already covered a considerable surface.
Try never to include ravaging fish, for example as Oscars or Jack Dempseys, to a tank implanted with Hemianthus Callitrichoides, since they will endeavour to uproot weaker stems when"rescaping" the tank.
Gold fish are perhaps not just a good idea because of the different ecological conditions and simply because they will stubbornly attempt to eat just as much of the plant as possible.
Be creative and use your own imagination and also try some aquascaping tricks for this particular tiny versatile plant. You can put it to use in several tanks, from the tiniest to the greatest, in a variety of ways.
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