It grows tiny, bright green leaves in an remarkable rate, covering the container floor with a lush emerald rug.
The Dwarf Baby Tears naturally occurs in Cuba, however, it's spread through implanted tanks worldwide. They're normally sold separately in smallish pots or, for even less patient aquarists that want an instant carpet, they are already optimized and grown in coco fiber mats.
They can also be seen rooted in driftwood bits for aquascaping purposes.
Being small, this plant is ideal even for Nano tanks, so given that they have been well-lit.
Light as strong as 2 watts per gallon minimum should really be available to maintain the plant growing near the bottom. Less light will cause it to rise up to the surface, where it lives in the wild.
Planting your Dwarf Baby Tears
Dwarf Baby Tears usually are found rooting on freshwater stones or driftwood pieces. They may be implanted within the substrate for a foreground plant, however the result is significantly more resilient and more natural when attached to other tank objects.
You're able to tie tiny segments of Hemianthus into some stone or wooden bit of one's own choice and then leave it to produce its own origins across the item. Many aquarists prefer using cotton ribbon rather than rubberbands or fishing line, even since it's barely noticeable and it melts with the years, leaving the roots attached.
Still another way of keeping them from floating around would be to cover the Dwarf Baby Tears' roots with moss that will then add weight to the plant.
All these mosses will provide additional nutrients, 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 1 place and wait patiently for this to spread, or you could separate small stems and plant them about one inch apart for faster coverage.
This is a time consuming process, though, so permit a few aquascaping hours. Plant the stalks utilizing a long set of tweezers and make certain that the roots are well fit into the ground.
Care
Dwarf Baby Tears want a high-value substrate full of minerals and nutrients, particularly iron. The plant is more sensitive to iron deficiency and also can display yellow leaves if there's insufficient iron at the tank.
They'll do well with CO2 supplementation and constant fertilization to help hasten growth speed.
Always prune this plant, as while growing, new stems can reach top of older types and suffocate them; Dwarf Baby Tears literally kills itself if left unattended.
Reproduction
The Hemianthus has pretty slow rise and development rate, but will still spread upon the substrate after settling in your tank. Roots will branch off and develop an intricate network, leading to a carpet-like appearance, but only if you make sure to trim the plant to keep it low.
Yet another popular way of distributing the Dwarf Baby Tears will be always to take smaller pieces of plants and replanting them in the substrate.
This way, they are going to cover the tank up floor faster, as propagation is made from a number of points.
The Dwarf Baby Tears could be planted alongside other short foreground plants in contrasting colors. The dense rug allows spawning fish to lay their eggs along with the younger fry to cover up from harassing adults.
There's absolutely no worry if plant-nipping fish graze on the Hemianthus Callitrichoides, as it will quickly recover and grow , specially if it has already covered a significant surface.
Do your best not to add ravaging fish, for example as for example Oscars or Jack Dempseys, to a tank implanted with Hemianthus Callitrichoides, since they will try to uproot poorer stalks when"rescaping" the tank.
Goldfish are not really a fantastic idea because of the different ecological requirements and since they are going to try to eat just as a lot of the plant as possible.
Be creative and use your own imagination and take to some aquascaping tricks for this small plant that is versatile. You are able to use it in a number of tanks, from the tiniest to the biggest, in a variety of means.
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