# Baby tears (Dwarf)



## Donald Hansen (Jan 21, 2011)

I've been reading that you should remove plants from rock wool before planting them in the tank. Has anyone been able to do that with Baby tears (Dwarf)? I haven't tried yet but it looks like it would just be a big mess.

Here's an obvious question. If rock wool is so bad for the aquarium why do the suppliers use it? Can't they find something better? What would you use?

DLH


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

Hello Hansen. Dwarf Baby Tears is a very tricky plant to grow. I've tried it in several of my tanks with no luck. It creates a real mess when it dies. Typically it comes attached to porous lava rock, which is good because when it dies, you at least have a piece of rock you can use for Java Fern or Anubias. There are a lot of other plants easier to grow and look just as nice. 

As far as the rock wool is concerned, it's not bad for the tank, but you should remove as much of it as you can before putting the plant into the tank. The plant roots will spread out and grow better without it. Companies use it because it holds the plant together and is a good attachment for the plant roots.

BBradbury


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Search on youtube and follow how you see them doing with potted HC. Dwarf baby tears can be hard. Many say that it needs to be grown using CO2, but I have also seen that if you have everything else right, lighting, substrate, ferts....you can do without CO2. It is pretty slow growing.

Lighting is very impostant when it comes to this plant since it is essentially as low as you substrate.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

grows slow without Co2, grows fast with it.

Rockwool, cut as MUCH off as you can, usually this leaves 1/4-1/2" of rockwool thickness left attached to the roots, then just plant that plug(once as much is removed as possible, I have baby tears everywhere, especially in the filters where the stuff stuck and grew to the mechanical pads. If it grows tall you need more light if it spreads out, its just right.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

"Dwarf" baby tears (HC) grow tall? Sure you don't mean regular Baby tears, or HM. My HC still grows fairly slow under my light, but my HM grows about an inch every 2 days.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

HC is a *bear* to plant. I had one brief encounter with it and said no more. It was a nightmare. Beautiful as it may be, I didn't have the planting patience for it. Which is funny as I'm normally a patient person. ;o) Lots-o-light needed.

Tweezers are definately your friend when trying to plant it. Oh and planting in gravel...forget about it. ;

But back to the Rock Wool. A little trick to this is to remove it under running water. You won't get it all off, but by gently rubbing it under running water, you'll get quite a bit. DHG is another that's a pain.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

Ben, Yup in the bright light(640w) on the 210 that stuff was growing quite rapidly straight to the surface, maybe 1" max a day but it was visible. 
My glosso really went to the light but yeah the HC was at about 1" a day but didnt grow more then 3" tall, the corydoras loved it.
Now it grows around the top of the overflows on the sponges


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I may have to try it again now that I have new light. I only have 312W of T5HO, but just 2" above the tank on my 125. Maybe if my current plants don't pan out well. I removed all of my HC, but left my HM. Much easier to deal with.


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