Cultivating Baby Dwarf Tears (Hemianthus

Callitrichoides) Emersed

“Hemianthus callitrichoides, sometimes known as ‘dwarf baby tears’, or more

commonly as ‘HC’, was discovered by Tropica founder Holger Windeløv during an expedition to a

small rocky stream east of Havana, Cuba; it was described in aquaristic literature for the first time

in 2003. Since its introduction into the hobby, HC has become increasingly popular and a

foreground plant of choice, making this once rare plant moderately easy to obtain.” - Aquatic Plant

Central.

I was first introduced to the world of aquascaping and Iwagumi through Takashi Amano. I find the

field quite inspiring and complex. One of the first few aquatic plants I fell in love with were HC. As

an initiate, I found that while there were a number of resources for reading available, they were not

aggregated into a single coherent and comprehensive guide for these delicate beauties. This report I

intend for initiates or as a reference to those unfamiliar with the species. I hope it will be of some

help for anyone seeking to successfully replicate and cultivate a beautiful dense carpet of HC.

Emersed (Dry Start) or Submersed?

I started cultivating HC emersed rather than submersed for my planted tank for three important

reasons:

Relatively quicker for HC to densely carpet my scape emersed;

Allowed roots to establish itself deeper into my soil. This prevented floaters when my tank

was first flooded which was extremely frustrating;

Algae threat is minimized to zero as it allows HC to establish it’s dominance prior to

flooding;

Tank and Lighting

I first housed my intended scape in a tank and a good light source. I have a 20 liter (5.5 gallon)

rimless tank with a 27W, 8000K power compact fluorescent bulb. This works very well for a tank

of this size and is sufficient for HC.

HC demands a substantial amount of light. I remembered, it is a tropical plant and tried to replicate

it’s natural habitat for it to flourish. If one has to ask “does one have enough light?” - one probably

doesn’t. At the very least (the common general rule), one should follow the two watts per gallon

rule and it doesn’t hurt to have more light. I used 8000K lamps, which has the same spectrum as

daylight.

Substrate

There are three layers to the substrate scape. First, I layered the bottom with ADA’s Powersand

Special which is basically a fertilizer type substrate with additional nutrients and beneficial

microorganisms.

Next, I add a layer (at least 4cm depth) of ADA Amazonia 1, Normal Type. This is the main

substrate. I prefer this over Amazonia 2 (ADA has recently updated the composition) as it does not

crumble easily once flooded and has a more desirable chemistry (less acidic) with my source of

freshwater.

Finally, I topped it off with Amazonia 1, Powder Type. The powder type has finer granularity

which is much more suitable for HCs rooting.

Hardscape

I then added my hardscape. This included my choice of Seiryu stones. Once happy with my scape, I

sprinkled a little more Amazonia Powder soil to cover any gaps and to make the hardscape seamless

with the substrate (i.e. makes it look more natural)

Planting

This was the “fun” part. Actually planting HC, I ended up with a sore back at the end of the process.

I had a friend help me (and lined up a back rub afterwards) - I did not regret it.

How many pots of HC do I need? I found that most aquatic plant suppliers will sell you HC in pots of rock wool. I started with about

six or seven pots for a tank of this size. The more I had to start with, the faster it carpeted. I kept the

pots in a humid ziplock back as I worked through planting.

Do I need to remove the rock wool or can I just plant HC with it? I removed it. It is a little extra work, but I found that as time goes by, I did not have to deal with

excess dirt, rot, etc. and got better results.

I started by cutting off the excess rock wool at the very bottom with a sharp scissors. Next, I used

tweezers to separate out the HC into smaller clumps or stems.

I wet the substrate so that it was uniformly moist as I did not want to work with a dry substrate. I

was careful to not let any puddles or flooding to occur. I used a mister and spray over the scape a

few times.

Next, I individually planted these clumps/stems with a tweezer. Tweezers made it a lot easier, one’s

fingers / hands are never small enough. When planting, I allowed about 5mm to 10mm of spacing

between the clumps/stems. HC are no different than people as they need space to grow and flourish.

Humidity

As the HC are from the tropics, they require high humidity when grown emersed. To control for

this, I got a clear saran wrap and covered the top of the tank. This kept the humidity high and heat

within bounds after a day’s worth of lighting. I was then done with the initial set up of the HC’s

environment.

Photoperiod

I set my lights on a timer for 8-10 hours a day.

The Daily Process

I then followed this daily routine which requires under 10 minutes a day for the next month or two:

Every Morning, when I wake up

1. I would wish good morning to my HC

2. then unwrap the saran wrap cover

3. then mist the whole terrain with water, including the hardscape

4. I then would cover the tank with saran wrap

Every Evening, before bedtime (Optional)

1. I would inspect the tank without opening the saran wrap

2. If the hardscape appeared dry, it is an indication of insufficient humidity – I would mist

more and check that my saran wrap is sealed is tight!

3. I would wish good night to my HC and get some rest

How Long Before I Get My Carpet?

Patience is key. The longer I waited, the more the HC established itself. It took about a month

before I saw a dense carpet. I was not concerned that I did not notice any progress the first couple of

weeks. I placed faith and trust in mother nature.

Important Notes

When I mist excessively during my daily routine, it will caused flooding in the soil.

Flooding / excessive pools of water is not desirable as partially drowned HC will require

CO2 supplements and will take longer to establish;

I kept the tank in a relatively warm place, avoiding cold draughts;

I avoided unwrapping the saran wrap at night as heat trapped from the photoperiod will

dissipate. Heat is good, it encourages faster growth. So I confined all unwrapping / open air

maintenance work on the tank to the mornings at the start of the photoperiod;

Every two or three days, the saran wrap will cumulate water from evaporation / humidity

(dew). I replaced the saran wrap so that layer of dew would not decrease light exposure;

The hardscape (stones) and glass walls of the tank are good humidity indicators. If they

appeared dry, I would immediately mist more and ensure that the saran wrap is sealed

tightly. I also considered increasing the misting dose every morning;

I refilled water in my mister with overnight tap-water. This reduced chlorine traces. I usually

use water from my refrigerator’s filter. Alternatively, I preferred Brita-filtered tap-water to

unfiltered tap-water.

Frequently Asked Questions, Concerns, and Fallacies

HC will suffocate if I do not leave a small gap in the saran wrap seal. On the contrary, my HC did dry out over time and perish when I left a small gap in the saran wrap

seal in one of my first experiments and has this surprisingly affected me emotionally. My

subsequent trials proved that the seal does need to be tight and that air flows in when you execute

the daily misting in the mornings, sufficient to sustain growth and life until the next morning.

Is it okay to miss a day of the daily routine? They are plants after all and plants have slow

reaction times. I found that HC will perish from neglect as they are extremely sensitive and delicate. I learnt to treat

them with respect very early on.

The soil seems a little flooded. It took me awhile to practice a balanced level of daily misting. Excessive water will cause

mold/algae to grow in the cumulated pools of water. This creates difficulty for HC growth in

establishing roots and new stems. I used a syringe to extract excess cumulated water.