# Hemianthus Callitrichoides



## SCMurphy (Oct 21, 2003)

It has a chance. HC loves Excel.


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## RachPreach (Jan 16, 2006)

im going to chime in with a question...

I just bought some hc from a member on the forum and recieved it in a 3x3 solid patch. Would it be better to leave it all together and plant it that way or break it up into individual pieces and plant it??


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## mpodolan (Mar 27, 2007)

Riley, you should be Ok. Hc can be finicky, but your setup will give it a good chance.
Rach, it is most often recommended that you plant the stems individually 9or in small clumps) as opposed to as one big mat. This is supposed to help the HC spread more quickly and form a thick mat. Many foreground plants are better when planted this way (ie glosso, marsilea, microsword, etc.) 
HTH


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## Riley (Jan 24, 2006)

Unfortunately I lost the HC. I will be trying it again once I get the rest of the tank scaped. I was busy at work for a little while, and the tank turned into a jungle....and the HC got choked out. Once I get everything to the way I want it again ( especially with an open foreground so the HC can take hold) I will order some more HC. 

mpodolan: saw your post about the emersed grown HC via Toms new method....let me know how that works...if i can grow up a ton of HC im sure that would be helpful.


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## mpodolan (Mar 27, 2007)

I'll definitely keep you updated. i mixed up a solution of NPK to add to the substrate, so hopefully I can get the HC to establish


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## FacePlanted (Jul 27, 2007)

When I took my HC out of their pots and planted it in clumps, the plants did very poorly. It was then that I got frustrated and pulled the clumps and picked apart every single stem. I planted each stem about 1/2-2/3 the way down into the aquasoil. It took a while, but I think it was well worth the effort. The HC rooted quickly and spread out to fill in the entire foreground in only 3-4 weeks. I'm convinced that this is the best way to plant HC. At least in my experience. Dosing excel also really made it lush.

Hope the HC works for you this time. Good Luck!


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## trfjason (Aug 10, 2006)

I have mixed experience with HC. 10 months ago, I got 2 pots of HC for my 31G. At that time, I only have 40W of light and Flourite. I inject CO2 via ceramic glass diffuser and does K and Fe. It quickly spread. In about a month, the area it covered double. However, 2 months later, it started dying..... I did not change anything (fertilizer and CO2). 

Just last month, I decided to upgrade my lights to Coralife Aqualight 65W x2 . Last Sunday, I bought 2 pots of HC. I wonder if I will have success with HC this time.


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## FacePlanted (Jul 27, 2007)

That's very interesting to know...about the decline in the health of the HC after a few months. I'm afraid to stop dosing excel b/c the growth has been so good with it. I feel that if I stop, the HC will end up lacking something that is has been getting previously. But I dont want to dose excel forever either. I have compressed co2 and I thought that was enough. (as well as ferts, etc.)I dunno.


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

Hmmm...40W/31G is kind of low. However, I think it can be done. Did you have good levels of P and N?


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## RachPreach (Jan 16, 2006)

so i bought a pot of hc and just shoved the pot down into the gravel for now. Could I just let it stay in the pot and spread over the ground or plant each stem individually?


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## trfjason (Aug 10, 2006)

RachPreach said:


> so i bought a pot of hc and just shoved the pot down into the gravel for now. Could I just let it stay in the pot and spread over the ground or plant each stem individually?


Split the pot of HC into 6 pieces and then plant it. That should be big enough that they will not float to the surface.


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## trfjason (Aug 10, 2006)

fishscale said:


> Hmmm...40W/31G is kind of low. However, I think it can be done. Did you have good levels of P and N?


I didn't check P and N at that time, but I believe they were in the ideal level which allowed the HC to grow for a while. Right now, with the 130W PC light, I think the water is lacking P because I am getting GSA all the time. I only dose Fe and K, so I think I don't have enough P right now.


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## RachPreach (Jan 16, 2006)

trfjason said:


> Split the pot of HC into 6 pieces and then plant it. That should be big enough that they will not float to the surface.


ok, ill try that. I just didnt want to plant each individual stem. This is a pretty lush pot of hc too...


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## FacePlanted (Jul 27, 2007)

Maybe pull apart each stem out of just ONE of the clumps that you make. Plant each strand individually, pushing it straight down into the substrate 1/2-3/4 of the way. This way you could see which ones do better and you wouldn't have to do all that work of pulling apart the entire batch of HC. If you find that the strands do better, just separate into strands one clump at a time, over the course of a few days/weeks/etc.

Just from my experience, I broke 2 pots into maybe 4 or 5 clumps per pot and planted them. I left small pieces of rockwool on the roots so that they would stay in the substrate easier. The roots didnt really spread past the rockwool and into the nutrient rich substrate, and they slowly started to wither away. But one clump at a time, I split them into individual strands and planted them. I actually got way better coverage in my foreground. It was almost full from the start, which it didnt really look like when they were just in clumps. The strands put out roots fast. They spread fast. And with excel, they really filled out fast. 

I'm sure many people have had success planting HC in many different ways, this is just the way it worked for me. Really, the best way is what works for you. 

This is just what I experienced, and if the clumps start to wither away, dont really grow well.....maybe try planting the strands individually from one of the clumps.

Good luck! :thumbsup:


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## RachPreach (Jan 16, 2006)

i think i will do the individual strands. I have heard more people than not have success with it that way. Which sucks...lol because i really dont to plant each...individual...strand....but if it will make my foreground rock then thats what Ill do.


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## RachPreach (Jan 16, 2006)

ok i know hc loves excel, but how should i dose it? Should I squirt it directly on the hc with a syringe? Or dose the whole tank?


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## WaveSurfer (Oct 3, 2007)

*My Experiences*

Hi folks,

This is my first post here in The Planted Tank forum, and I would like to share my experiences with HC, acquired for my newly revamped tank on 17th Sept 07 (my birthday ).

I bought the HC in emersed form, planted on a rockwool around 8 X 5 inches.

Upon reaching home, I soaked them in the Snail Kill solution for 2 hours to get rid of any unwanted stuff (my previous setup was flooded with snails). After that, I carefully cut/tear the rockwool into six pieces, trying my best not to destroy the roots or the plants themselves (some still got damaged though).










After that I planted them into the substrate of my tank, with the rockwool still attached with the plants. I did not wish to remove them as many of the plants already had deep roots in it.










I'm running pressurized CO2 cylinder at 2 bubbles/second, and 4 x T5 lights (not sure the wattage). Dozed the Plant Gro micro liquid fertilizer (with Iron).

So far the HC appears fairly okay, though some of the leaves still experience yellowish (could be weakened due to transition from emersed to submerged). I can however see the plants growing and propagating sideways.

Everyday there would some stray HC floating up, and I will re-plant those with roots, near to the six patches (but not directly beside them) so that they can form their own carpets too. Currently still monitoring their progress.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

It's best to plant the plantlets individually if you have the stamina and back strength to do so. This way, growth will be maximized and you'll be able to fill in the space as quickly as possible. Torn roots regenerate pretty quickly IMO.


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

My floating HC is sending off new buds. Is that a good sign?


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## WaveSurfer (Oct 3, 2007)

epicfish said:


> It's best to plant the plantlets individually if you have the stamina and back strength to do so. This way, growth will be maximized and you'll be able to fill in the space as quickly as possible. Torn roots regenerate pretty quickly IMO.


True, but with hundreds of stalks, I really doubt I have the patience. 

Now backup plan is to pick up those stray floating plantlets and re-planting them.



fishscale said:


> My floating HC is sending off new buds. Is that a good sign?


Sounds good to me. Are you intending to plant them back into the substrate then?


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## RachPreach (Jan 16, 2006)

RachPreach said:


> ok i know hc loves excel, but how should i dose it? Should I squirt it directly on the hc with a syringe? Or dose the whole tank?


dont forget about me...:icon_cry:


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## Robert H (Apr 3, 2003)

Here is another method by an accomplished hobbyist:

Jeff Senke, co-owner of ADG, the Amano distributor in Texas, sets up Amano like aquascapes for his clients. He gets his HC potted. As most of you probably know, potted plants are grown in rockwool. Jeff removes the entire HC/rockwool from the pot and divides it into 6 to ten small bundles with the rockwool still attached. He then plants each bundle with the rockwool still attached in the ADA substrate. Within I think 4 weeks he has a thick, lush, HC lawn. The little bits of rockwool, ( he says) helps keep the HC rooted until it spreads. Now I am pretty sure he is useing pressurized C02 in all his set ups. 

Now when I get my HC pots wholesale, often they are just covering the tops of the pots. I put the pots in sterilite plastic trays, (the ones used to store blankets) Its about six inches tall. I fill it with three inches of gravel. I insert the pots and fill the water just above the HC. Six inches above the trays are two 48" shoplights, (4) 40 watt bulbs. Within two weeks the HC is grown two or three inches larger around than the pot. This is why the potted HC I sell is quite large, but it also shows how fast it can grow under the right conditions.


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

Yes, I will be planting it into substrate using the emersed growth method described by Tom Barr. 

I think you probably don't want to squirt the excel directly on the plants. It'd probably be best if you mixed it with water.


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## WaveSurfer (Oct 3, 2007)

epicfish said:


> It's best to plant the plantlets individually if you have the stamina and back strength to do so. This way, growth will be maximized and you'll be able to fill in the space as quickly as possible. Torn roots regenerate pretty quickly IMO.


I might have to try doing that pretty soon, seeing that my HC ain't doing well (leaves turning yellow/brown). :icon_sad:


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## RachPreach (Jan 16, 2006)

ok ive had my hc planted for about 1.5 to 2 weeks and it doesnt look like it has grown any I have some planted in small bunches and some planted stem by stem. Neither is doing better than the other. I squirt flourish excel on it about every other day. I have maybe seen a little bit of growth but nothing drastic at all. I really want a pretty foreground but this is ridulously slow! help.


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## Madfish (Sep 9, 2007)

I think my HC would do alot better if my cory's didnt like to play with it and uproot it. I have tryed single plants, clumps, and pots. It just dont want to grow much. I do have wonderful pearling coming from them and I dose excel everyday. I have close to 4wpg with eco sub. I did order a rock covered in HC from aqua botanc and got it in today. I just dropped it in the tank to hold down some other HC that I have planted. That rock looks great I have to say. I just think my problems are with my fish playing with it. So it really dont get much of a chance to take hold and go. But I keep on trying with it one day it will go I keep on telling myself that.


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## trfjason (Aug 10, 2006)

It does take time for HC to start growing. I removed the cory cats from my 31G, thinking that they were uprooting my HC. Hoever, I found out that the Rams sometimes play with the HC! 

I have more than 4wpg and I still haven't notce that the HC grow. It has been planted for 3 weeks already.


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## Yoshi (Apr 5, 2007)

After the 2-3 week "wait time" for HC to adjust, I've found HC to grow very very well with excel dosage and good CO2 supplements. If you aren't running CO2 and/or dosing excel, you may not get as good a rate of growth as you would if you were adding those two things... IME when I stopped one or the other, growth was noticeably reduced.


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## Madfish (Sep 9, 2007)

Thats Im doing both excel and pressure CO2. There has been a couple of times that I have sat down and watch the corys pull it up. And me with nothing better to do replanting it. I think its a game to them. And I dont have another tank to put them in all I have is my shrimp tank that is full of shrimps.


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## RachPreach (Jan 16, 2006)

i am dosing co2 and excel. Ive been squirting the excel directly on the hc.


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## RachPreach (Jan 16, 2006)

ok this is really getting annoying. My HC is still not making much progress. I see these other tanks with beautiful mats of hc and Ive got nothing. Im dosing and I have 3wpg and co2. what is the deal??


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## gumby (Apr 3, 2008)

bump from the past. i love the way a good carpet of hc looks. would it be possible for hc to survive without any co2? i currently have a 28 watt t5 light in a 10 gallon tank with ada soil. would hc be able to survive with the equipment i have? i dont mind if it takes the hc a long time to carpet. 
thanks in advanced!


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## Kayakbabe (Sep 4, 2005)

When my CO2 tank ran out.. and I didn't catch it for a week (yes me lazy)
the HC peeled up just like a carpet being removed during remodeling a house. 
Don't know if that would happen to you, but my HC obviously liked the CO2 and didn't like being without it.


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## gumby (Apr 3, 2008)

I've read everywhere that HC loves co2. My problem is I know I will forget or end up too lazy to replace the co2 when it's depleted. Do you know of another plant which would carpet really nicely without co2?


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