# Hemianthus Callitrichoides Ground Cover



## Vispilio (May 8, 2008)

So I've been toying around with a few different ground covers. I tried Spike Moss, 
Liver Worts, Riccia, Kyoto, Star, Christmas, Pillow, and Weeping Mosses. 

I've come up with some beautiful results, but this little accident has been one of my favorites.

I was breaking down one of my planted 60g shrimp tanks, and I had one little scrap of HC clinging to a rock. I hate wasting plants, and I love a underdog, so I tossed it into a 2g viv I had setting around. After about 2 months I was shocked how much it had grown. 



























So needless to say after seeing the outcome of that one inch scrap, I began growing the HC en mass.










I now finds it way into every Vivarium I build.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

sweet! I know that latin name, what's the common name? babys tears?


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## Vispilio (May 8, 2008)

Dwarf Baby Tears is the common name, though that is shared by a few other plants I think. We have always just referred to it as HC.


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## Ryan (Feb 18, 2004)

By far my favorite ground cover to use.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

yeah I've tried that before and it does do well in vivarium conditions.


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## Lnm130 (Jan 18, 2009)

I found this at a local fish shop. They had three different varieties, and I didn't know which converted best in the vivarium. So it is HC. Maybe I should swing back by there sometime soon...


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## sgvreptiles (Jan 26, 2009)

I have some baby tears going in one of my vivs. It seems to me like it needs ALOT of light. All the peices in the shady parts died off on me.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

Lnm130 said:


> I found this at a local fish shop. They had three different varieties, and I didn't know which converted best in the vivarium. So it is HC. Maybe I should swing back by there sometime soon...


all do well.


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## dabruno (Aug 27, 2008)

is ricca or hc easier to grow?, which is a fuller/more lush cover?


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## Ryan (Feb 18, 2004)

HC seems to grow faster for me. Fairly lush too.


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## Vispilio (May 8, 2008)

Let's see some pics of tanks you guys have with HC ground cover.


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## BlightedChemist (Jul 21, 2008)

Is this moss available from any online stores that anyone knows of? or would I have to find a specialty shop somewhere.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

it is not a type of moss. It's an aquatic type of plant that adopts well grown emersed. you can usually find it in online aquarium plants stores. The HC is a bit more expensive, so try going to a planted tank forums and see if any of the members have it for sale. You'll find it cheaper there than online vendors.


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## BlightedChemist (Jul 21, 2008)

raimeiken said:


> it is not a type of moss. It's an aquatic type of plant that adopts well grown emersed. you can usually find it in online aquarium plants stores. The HC is a bit more expensive, so try going to a planted tank forums and see if any of the members have it for sale. You'll find it cheaper there than online vendors.


Oh, Alright thanks for the clarification, I'll have to look around once I get there.


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## mellowvision (Feb 6, 2009)

it's funny really, because it's one of the most treasured ground covers in planted aquaria, and it's fairly hard to grow well immersed. I've covered the floor of an aquarium, using high light, ferts and co2... but it eventually choked itself, and the rest of the tank, out. I just recently started growing it emmersed, and it's doing so well. growing so much faster than I saw it grow underwater... and with less light, almost no ferts, and no co2.

somehow I think maybe this is a terrestrial plant that grows well underwater, not an aquatic plant that does well in air.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

mellowvision said:


> it's funny really, because it's one of the most treasured ground covers in planted aquaria, and it's fairly hard to grow well immersed. I've covered the floor of an aquarium, using high light, ferts and co2... but it eventually choked itself, and the rest of the tank, out. I just recently started growing it emmersed, and it's doing so well. growing so much faster than I saw it grow underwater... and with less light, almost no ferts, and no co2.
> 
> somehow I think maybe this is a terrestrial plant that grows well underwater, not an aquatic plant that does well in air.


yeah a lot of people try to grow it emersed since it grows much faster and you dont have to worry about algae.


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## chinoanoah (Mar 9, 2009)

How much light do you have over your viv? and What is the HC planted in?


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## mellowvision (Feb 6, 2009)

the hc was grown emmersed, rooted in a mix of coco fiber, worm casings and black gravel. I got in as a single 8"x4" mat, which containted enough substrate to keep the roots intact. I broke it apart to lay it over where I wanted it. I have a layer of cocofiber under it, well plantation soil really, but I can't tell much difference... but that is thin, and under that I have flourite where I have substrate. The HC is also layed directly on top of the cork bark as well, where it seems to be rooting just fine, into the cork. http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/members-frogs-vivariums/38204-5-5g-nano-paludarium.html


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## mellowvision (Feb 6, 2009)

oh, and the lighting... it's a small tank, and I have 2 20w 6500k spiral cf's hanging over the tank. one is about 2" above the tank, the other is more like 6-8" above.


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## chinoanoah (Mar 9, 2009)

thanks for the info!


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## maverick3x6 (Jul 31, 2008)

I had purchased HC for my planted amazon tank (fish) in the summer, and most of it died off... I salvaged the remainder of it and placed it in my viv with moderate lighting and it sustained itself. I just recently upgraded to a bunch of 20w 6500k CFs and within a few days it's getting kind of frisky... can't wait to see it spread out. 

A cheap + reliable place to acquire aquatic-but-really-made-for-vivarium plants is
Freshwater Plants: Freshwater Aquarium Plant Species for the Home Aquarium

cheers!


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## LorenK (Apr 3, 2008)

Are you growing this in a water feature of does it grow on the substrate?


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## andrew__ (Sep 23, 2007)

I haven't had much luck with HC submersed (then again I was trying it low light, bad substrate & no CO2 so that couldn't have helped) but that looks so awesome I may have to give it a try as a terrestrial plant now!


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## maverick3x6 (Jul 31, 2008)

Found a similar plant...

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/plants/38622-whats-deal-helixine-baby-tears.html#post344085


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## alifer (Oct 24, 2005)

Wow ... I just recently tried some HC on the wet wall of my viv & it is growing beautifully. It grows better in the viv than in my planted tank & it's much brighter green than my Christmas moss. It does grow better toward the top of the wall and doesn't get enough light on the floor of the viv to grow, so the floor will have to stay Xmas moss. 

-Rick


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

pretty sweet plant, looks like dwarf baby tears


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## Marinarawr (Jan 14, 2009)

Julio said:


> pretty sweet plant, looks like dwarf baby tears


It is Dwarf Baby's Tears .


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## gillenws (Jul 13, 2009)

i tried putting baby's tears into an auratus viv... perhaps i put the frogs in before the plant really had a chance to take root and whatnot, but they absolutely trampled it! i've put it in an imitator viv and letting it grow in, so hopefully the imis will be small enough not to ruin it.


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## NorthernFrogguy1976 (Apr 7, 2009)

where can i get HC?


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