Dwarf Baby Tears HC Cuba (Hemianthus callitrichoides) Care Guide
Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba' is the smallest-leaved aquarium plant, forming a tight foreground carpet under high light and CO2.
Overview
Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba', commonly called HC Cuba or Dwarf Baby Tears, is a small creeping plant in the family Linderniaceae. It was first collected in 2003 from Las Pozas, Cuba, and is regarded as the smallest-leaved aquarium plant. Under high light and CO2 it forms a very fine, dense foreground carpet.
Taxonomy
- Family: Linderniaceae
- Genus: Hemianthus
- Scientific name: Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba'
- Trade names: HC Cuba, Dwarf Baby Tears
Habitat
The species is native to the West Indies, including Cuba, The Bahamas, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. In Las Pozas it grows on the wet margins of streams roughly 56 miles east of Havana. Plants survive in emersed form on damp soil and submerged on flooded banks.
Tank requirements
- Temperature: 22-27 C (72-81 F)
- pH: 5.5-7.0
- GH: 2-8 dGH
- Lighting: high (PAR >80 at substrate)
- CO2: required for dense carpeting
- Substrate: nutrient-rich aquasoil
- Placement: foreground / carpet
Growth and propagation
Growth speed is medium. Once established, individual stems branch and produce runners that creep across the substrate. Propagation is typically done by trimming portions of the lawn every 10-14 days and replanting them; tissue-culture portions are commonly used to start a fresh layout.
Placement and aquascaping
HC Cuba is used as the finest available foreground carpet in nature-style and Iwagumi layouts. Carpets are vulnerable to detaching from the substrate when oxygen bubbles accumulate beneath, so regular trimming is needed once the layer exceeds about 2 cm.