Aquatic PlantsAdvanced🌤️ Bright indirect

Dwarf baby tears

Hemianthus callitrichoides · also called HC, HC Cuba, Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba', Micranthemum callitrichoides, Cuba

🐾 Pet-safe

Generally non-toxic to cats and dogs.

The smallest aquarium carpeting plant, with tiny tear-shaped leaves forming an exceptionally fine, dense lawn. Prized for high-tech aquascapes but demanding of light and CO2. Now often treated taxonomically as Micranthemum callitrichoides, though the trade name Hemianthus callitrichoides persists.

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Quick facts

Category	Aquatic Plants
Family	Linderniaceae
Native origin	Cuba (and the wider West Indies / Caribbean); discovered along streams in western Cuba
Care difficulty	Advanced
Light	Bright indirect
Pet toxicity	Pet-safe

Light

High light (roughly 50-90+ PAR at substrate) for a tight, ground-hugging carpet. Insufficient light causes it to grow vertically, trap air bubbles, and detach. This is one of the more light-hungry carpets; the 'bright_indirect' value here is used as the closest high-light option.

Water

Temperature 20-26 C (cooler end preferred), pH 5.5-7.0, soft water (low GH/KH ideal). Requires consistent macro and micro water-column dosing; sensitive to nutrient deficiency, which causes stunting and yellowing.

Soil & potting

Demands a nutrient-rich aquasoil for healthy rooting; inert substrates need ample root tabs and heavy dosing. Plant in tiny pinches pressed firmly into the substrate so it does not float free before rooting. The fine root network eventually mats the surface. It is substrate-rooted, not an epiphyte, so it is planted into the substrate rather than attached to hardscape.

Environment — humidity, temperature, placement

Pressurised CO2 is effectively required for reliable success and dense carpeting; without it the plant is very difficult and prone to melting. Good gentle flow distributes CO2 and prevents detritus buildup. Strictly a foreground carpet. Often grown emersed (dry start method) to establish before flooding.

Propagation

Spreads by creeping stems that root along the substrate. Propagate by trimming the mat and replanting clippings, or dividing established carpet into small plugs. The Dry Start Method (DSM) is a popular way to establish a carpet emersed before flooding.

Toxicity detail

Non-toxic and safe for fish, shrimp and snails. Not invasive or regulated in the aquarium trade. As always, never release into the wild and bin trimmings rather than flushing them.

Growth stages

How this plant changes through its life — each stage often has its own care, diet and space needs.

Photo coming soon

Spore / recruit

Aquatic plants and macroalgae establish from spores, seeds, or drifting fragments that settle and attach to substrate or rock. Many freshwater aquarium plants and marine macroalgae also spread readily from a detached piece that takes root or holdfast.

Photo coming soon

Young growth

Young growth puts out its first blades, fronds, or leaves and anchors with roots or a holdfast. Submersed plants may look different from their emersed form, and growth speeds up as the plant adapts to the water's light and nutrients.

Mature

A mature aquatic plant or macroalga reaches its full size and characteristic shape, forming the dense growth, runners, or fronds typical of the species. Established plants spread to fill space and can be divided or trimmed to propagate.

Sources

Tropica - Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba' plant database (care guide)
Wikipedia - Hemianthus callitrichoides (encyclopedia)