Dwarf Baby Tears (Hemianthus Callitrichoides) is one of the minimalist plants that create an amazing atmosphere in different aquascapes. Once you decide to plant this vibrant green flowering plant, you will fall in love with its little round leaves. Its creeping stems will take over the tank, and it will get prettier every day.
This plant is also referred to as Cuba or HC. It is a great hobby getting along with this plant species, although I would think twice when talking about the difficulty of the caring process if you are a beginner.
Taking care of this amazing minimalist plant also reduces your stress level. Our planting guide is the first step to growing a wonderful plant by creating its own ecosystem and making it feel like home. This article will help you further to take care of your Dwarf Baby Tears. The more you learn, the more affection you get from them.
Overview
Dwarf Baby Tears is a great plant for foregrounds or carpeting fish tanks. It is safe for shrimps, Goldfish, Betta, and Guppies. All it takes is a good care guide, and it will thrive and gently cover the bottom of the tank. Its bright green is a great feature that will enhance the aqua space by refreshing and vitalizing it.
Dwarf Baby Tears and its ideal tank mate Neon Tetras
This plant is the ideal one not only for carpeting but also for making a playground for various species that like to hide. Dwarf Baby Tears does require a good caring guide, which is not as easy as it looks. This little plant is very elegant when meeting an environment with the proper condition and is also very delicate to keep up with.
| Care | Medium to difficult |
| Lighting | Medium to high |
| pH | 6.0 – 7.5 |
| GH | 1 – 10 |
| Temperature | 68 – 75° F (20 – 24 °C) |
| Substrate | Needed |
| Growth rate | Slow |
| Aquarium placement | Foreground (carpeting), floating |
| Height | up 3 – 5 cm (1 – 2 inches) |
| Fertilizers | Not necessary but recommended |
| CO2 | Needed |
| Propagation | Cuttings, Spreads by runners |
This is a very delicate plant. It is suggested to provide the proper environment in order to thrive.
Apparence & Natural Habitat
Dwarf Baby Tears is an adorable foreground plant for the aquarium passionate. The elegance of this plant with its little green leaves is exceptional. Is perfect if you want to create a soft bed of lush green or as coverage on the surface by floating in the water with its bright clusters.
Tiny oxygen bubbles forming on the leaves of Dwarf Baby Tears that looks like tears. It give your aquarium a amazing look.
This plant was first discovered in Cuba. It is known as a minimalist rocky plant from shallow waters with high nutrient content. It commonly thrives in rivers, between rocks and fallen trees. Its roots anchor the pores of these surfaces to feed. It is adapted to thrive from nano to medium tanks and, once settled, is easier to take care of.
Dwarf Baby Tears vs Monte Carlo
Dwarf Baby Tears and Monte Carlo are both amazing plants for tanks. They are very popular and also similar to each other.
Dwarf Baby Tears, so far, is the most elegant plant to grow in a tank. In appearance, it has smaller leaves, is delicate, and is harder to grow. Meanwhile, Monte Carlo is a more invasive/aggressive plant that can penetrate driftwood. It has larger leaves and is so much easier to grow even in low-light conditions.
Baby Tears plant requires substrate and a lot of CO2 to thrive. Meanwhile, Monte Carlo can grow without them. Monte Carlo is resilient in overcrowding. Therefore, the Dwarf Baby Tears is not.
They are both wonderful plants for tanks, but Dwarf Baby Tears is more delicate when talking about caring requirements.
Benefits of Dwarf Baby Tears
It is also known as the shrimp paradise. Every aquarist (including me) keeps Dwarf Baby Tear in every shrimp tank. It provides many environmental benefits starting with oxygenation, filtration, and forage ground, but also a great appearance.
- Oxygenation
Of all the benefits that Dwarf Baby Tears has, a vital one is the oxygenation of the water tank. Despite the oxygen that it provides, it also creates the pearling phenomenon, which is the production of small oxygen bubbles by making an amazing show. - Filtration
It has a great role in both chemical and biological filtration. They absorb nitrates and keep stable conditions in the tank. Nitrates in large quantities are toxic for shrimp and fish, which makes this plant’s benefit vital. - Forage ground
This plant will also improve the survival rate of your shrimps. That’s right, the carpets that Dwarf Baby Tears create serve as a foraging ground where shrimps can pick tiny bits of food and organic matter to feed themselves. - Hiding place
The carpet that this plant creates, it’s also the perfect place to hide for small and fry species. - Breeding
Breeding is a vital activity and often requires a proper environment. Therefore, the carpet created by this plant is the perfect place for the fish to spawn their eggs and carry out mating activities. - Aesthetics
The lush carpet with the bright green effect gives a fine texture to the tank, very pleasing to look at. The small, vibrant green leaves give an aesthetic look to the foreground of the tank.
How to Plant Dwarf Baby Tears
Dwarf Baby Tears can be planted as a whole or by cutting off small sections of it. New baby Dwarf Tears can be easily born from the small sections in the right conditions, as mentioned above. Despite the water conditions, it’s important to choose the purpose of planting, like carpeting or floating plants for the aqua space.
Therefore, it is important to start with a substrate to create the proper base where the plant will thrive and the proper water conditions. Baby Tears plant is one of the best aquarium carpet plants.
Planting Dwarf Baby Tears plant in aquarium substrate.
Dwarf Baby Tears Aquarium Carpet
When choosing to carpet these delicate plants, there are a few steps that you should consider. Therefore, the dry start method is the best way to start with.
- You need a dry tank
- Put a substrate with liquid fertilizers if inert.
- Light the plant for full 10-12 hours, important for photosynthesis and growth
- Cover the tank with glass or plastic (not completely, start peeling day by day)
- Don’t create puddles when saturating (when hills, always pre-saturate)
- In about 5 to 8 weeks, carefully fill the tank with water (don’t worry if leaves float)
- Trimming is the main process when talking about the carpet’s appearance is trimming. You should trim the plant slowly by cutting small pieces without damaging it as a whole. It is important not to go too far. You should know that when you see the white roots showing up. These cuts can melt away the sections and leave holes. You should be careful and just snip a small layer on top.
After a few weeks of care and maintain, Dwarf Baby Tears gives a amazing green look at your tank,
Dwarf Baby Tears as a Floating Plant
Dwarf Baby Tears are also great as floating plants. It is the same as the planting process of carpeting, except for the trimming part. In this case, you should not trim the plant. You should let it thrive up to the surface of the water to create the floating effect.
How to Grow Dwarf Baby Tears: Tank Requirements
To grow Dwarf Baby Tears in a proper way, you should pick the proper tank. It is important for the plant growth to consider the below Tank requirements.
Water Parameters
The water parameters are vital for the plant and should be carefully checked. The temperature should range from 68 – 75° F (20 – 24 °C) and frequently checked with a digital thermometer. Another important requirement is the pH level which should range from 6.0-7.5. When replacing, you should be very careful. This plant is so delicate it can float when pouring water aggressively, and a friendly cleaning method.
Lighting
This plant cannot grow in the dark. A medium to high light is required. Lightning is very important and should be about 10-12 hours daily.
Fertilizers & Substrates
Substrates are needed for the survival and growth of this plant. Aqua Soil Powder and other nutrient-rich subtract are ideal because they enable faster and easier root growth.
Fertilizers such as Flourish Excel and iron supplements are essential for this plant’s growth.
Propagation Tips & Spread
Propagation is the process of stem cutting. It’s done by cutting Mature Dwarf Baby Tears and splitting them into many small pieces to plant them back in the tank.
Dwarf Baby Tears can spread fast in your aquarium substrate.
You should be careful not to damage the plant when splitting.
The better the split (with healthy leaves and root parts), the better the spread among the subtract.
Ideal Tank Mates
This plant is friendly, and these are its tankmates:
- Dwarf shrimps (Red Cherry, Orange Sakura, Black Rose, Green Jade, Rili Shrimp, etc.) or Caridina species( Crystal Red, Blue Tiger, etc.)
- Snails like Ramshorn, Nerite snails, Japanese trapdoor snails, Mystery snails, etc.
- Compatible fish, Neon tetras, Odessa Barb, Bettas, Panda Garra, Corydoras. Since they do not damage the plant, they are friendly and use it for their activities.
Peaceful fishes are ideal tank mates for Dwarf Baby Tears.
Conclusion
Dwarf Baby Tears seems to be a very capricious plant. It is great for carpeting with its minimalistic leaves and very elegant for tanks. It is clearly difficult when planting and taking care of it, which makes it not the best plant for beginners. It needs enthusiasts that are experienced with planted tanks in order to take good care of it. One good option for beginners is Subwassertang, an easy-to-care aquatic plant.
