It grows miniature, bright green leaves in an remarkable speed, covering the container floor using a lush valley carpeting.
The Dwarf Baby Tears naturally occurs in Cuba, however, it has spread throughout implanted tanks worldwide. They are typically sold individually in small pots or, for even less patient aquarists that need an instant carpet, 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, given that they are well-lit.
Lighting as strong as 2 drops per gallon minimum needs to really be available to hold the plant growing close to the bottom. Less light may induce it to grow up to the water surface, where it naturally lives from the open.
Dwarf Baby Tears usually are found rooting on porous stones or driftwood pieces. They can be implanted in the substrate for a foreground plant, however the effect is significantly stronger and natural when attached with other tank objects.
You can tie tiny sections of Hemianthus into a rock or wooden bit of your own choice and leave it to build up its own roots across the item. Most aquarists prefer using cotton thread rather than rubber bands or fishing line, because it's barely noticeable and it dissolves with the years, leaving only the roots attached.
Still another manner of keeping them from drifting around is to cover the Dwarf Baby Tears' roots together with moss that'll then add weight to the plant.
These mosses will offer more nutrients, together with a fantastic hiding ground for newly hatched fry.
For planting at the substrate, you can plant an entire kettle in 1 place and wait for it to disperse, or you could separate small stems and plant them about one inch apart for faster policy.
This can be a time-consuming process, though, so permit a few aquascaping hours. Plant the stalks using 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 full of minerals and nutrients, especially iron. The plant is sensitive to iron deficiency and will display yellowish leaves if there is inadequate iron at 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 will get on top of old ones and suffocate them; Dwarf Baby Tears literally kills itself if left unattended.
Reduce the stalks with a rather sharp pair of scissors or a razor blade to keep them in place whilst trimming.
Reproduction
The Hemianthus has pretty slow growth and development pace, but will still spread across the substrate after settling on 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.
Yet another popular way of dispersing the Dwarf Baby Tears will be always to take off smaller segments of larger 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 planted along side other short foreground plants in contrasting colors. The dense carpet will allow spawning fish to lay their eggs and the younger fry to cover up from harassing adults.
There's absolutely not any worry if plant-nipping fish graze on the Hemianthus Callitrichoides, as it will begin to recover and grow , specially if it has already covered a considerable surface.
Try never to include ravaging fish, for example as Oscars or Jack Dempseysinto a tank implanted with Hemianthus Callitrichoides, since they will endeavour to uproot weaker stems when"rescaping" the tank.
Gold fish are not really a fantastic idea as a result of these different environmental requirements and because they are going to attempt to eat as much of the plant as feasible.
Be creative and use your imagination and also try some aquascaping tricks for this particular small versatile plant. You may put it to use in a number of tanks, even from the tiniest to the greatest, in a variety of means.
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