It develops miniature, bright green leaves at an remarkable speed, covering the container floor using a lush emerald carpet.
The Dwarf Baby Tears naturally does occur in Cuba, but it has spread throughout planted tanks worldwide. They are typically sold separately in small pots or, for even just less patient aquarists that want an immediate carpeting, they are already grown and rooted in coco fiber mats.
They can also be utilized rooted in driftwood pieces for aquascaping purposes.
Tank Requirements
Being small, this plant is ideal even for Nano tanks, so provided they have been 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.
Dwarf Baby Tears usually are found rooting on porous stones or driftwood pieces. They can be planted within the substrate as a foreground plant, however the effect is a lot stronger and more natural when attached to additional tank objects.
It is possible to tie modest segments of Hemianthus to some stone or wooden piece of one's choice and then leave it to develop its origins round the item. Most aquarists prefer using cotton ribbon instead of rubberbands or fishing line, even because it's barely noticeable and it dissolves with time, leaving only the roots attached.
Still 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, as well as a good hiding ground for newly hatched fry.
For planting at the substrate, then you can plant a whole kettle in 1 place and wait for it to disperse, or you could separate small stems and plant them around one inch apart for faster policy.
This is a timeconsuming procedure, though, so allow some aquascaping hours. Plant the stalks employing a 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 nutrients and minerals, particularly iron. The plant is more sensitive to iron deficiency and also can display yellowish leaves if there is inadequate iron from the tank.
They'll do well with CO2 supplementation and also constant fertilization that will help accelerate growth rate.
Always prune this plant, as while growing, new stems are certain to reach top of older types and suffocate them; Dwarf Baby Tears literally kills itself when left unattended.
Reduce the stalks with a rather 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 rate, but will still spread across the substrate after settling in your tank. Roots will branch off and produce an intricate network, resulting in a carpet-like appearance, but only in the event you make sure to trim the plant to continue to keep it really low.
Still another popular way of dispersing the Dwarf Baby Tears will be always to take smaller segments of larger plants and replanting these at the substrate.
This way, 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 in contrasting colors. The dense carpeting will allow spawning fish to lay their eggs and the young fry to hide from harassing adults.
There is no worry when plant-nipping fish spilled over the Hemianthus Callitrichoides, even as it's going to begin to recover and grow again, specially if it has recently covered a considerable surface.
Try not to add ravaging fish, for example as for example Oscars or even Jack Dempseys, to a tank planted with Hemianthus Callitrichoides, as they will attempt to uproot poorer stalks 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 try to eat just as a lot of their plant as feasible.
Be creative and use your imagination and also take to some aquascaping tricks with this small plant that is versatile. You may use it in many tanks, from the tiniest to the biggest, in an assortment of ways.
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