Hemianthus callitrichoides "Cuba"

**izzat** · 4th Sep 2005, 00:48

Hi Guys,

Does anyone know of any sites that give more/in depth information regarding the above plant?
I am just able to find just basic information like CO2, pH and location as to where it originates from.

Looking for info about this plant in terms of Hobbist experience, growth, difficulty, or basically anything that has to do with Hemianthus callitrichoides "Cuba"

If there is a site dedicated to this plant and you got the link, please share the link with me

*Probably I am bad with Google & Yahoo search engine*

**izzat** · 4th Sep 2005, 01:14

Alright, here are some of my search results

Tropica.com
PlantGeek.net

And here's a tank by Oliver Knott to show how gorgeous Hemianthus callitrichoides "Cuba" lawn can be

Aquabotanic.com

Anyone with more sites and advices/recommendations are welcome to post

**jakey** · 6th Sep 2005, 23:25

the only problem with HC is that it is hard to plant. only then when someone can come up with a easier way to plant, i think not alot of people will choose HC

**izzat** · 6th Sep 2005, 23:31

Yeah, I agree with you.
Planting them would really be back-breaking

**jakey** · 6th Sep 2005, 23:40

i planted HC in my 1 feet tank, my 2 feet cube. even for a 2 footer, i almost died of planting. but after it grown in, the effort is worth it. mine only around 3 weeks old. just saw all the new leaves

**izzat** · 6th Sep 2005, 23:46

Awww, how long did it take for your back to cure?

Care to share specifications of your setup?
Light, filtration, fertilisation, CO2?

**jakey** · 6th Sep 2005, 23:53

Care to share specifications of your setup? Light, filtration, fertilisation, CO2?

filtration is 1 ehiem 2026, lighting is 6x 24W t5. co2 is provided by a solonoid regulator at 1.5bps per sec(meaning 3bps per 2 sec) fertilisation haven't started yet. cauz tank still new( planning to use denerrle) yeah. i took 1 plus hour to plant the whole thing.

initally when i first planted the HC i got were almost dying. the leaves almost gone roots were brown. a state that i tot was going to die. jsut this few days i notice that there were new shoots growing out and also that the once empty stems where filled with leaves.

will try to take a picture when my DC is functioning again

**jakey** · 6th Sep 2005, 23:54

how about you? any tank you got planted with HC?

**izzat** · 7th Sep 2005, 00:04

Wow! 1 hour plus to plant the whole 2ft cube.
I will

when I plant in my 4ft tank.

Since it's a 2ft cube, you have 59.93Gal, which is about 2.43WPG.
With CO2 injected constantly and fertilisation, you will get a nice lawn soon

Will update you when I have planted HC in my tank

Anyway, when you bought your HC, were they in emersed form?
If so, did you bought from Teo?

**jakey** · 7th Sep 2005, 00:18

yeah. for 4 footer u'll take a long long time. unless u don't plant them closely together. for my 2 feet cube those i used is already immersed form. my 1 feet tank i use emmersed form. emmersed form easier to plant as compared to immersed form. but immersed form is nicer than immersed.

immersed form plant into a tank look a little different from the emmersed form in the tank. mayb the emmersed form one has not fully grown and converted into the immersed form.( sorry for the immersed and emmersed)

if u using t5 lighting getting 2.43WPG is too much. i am getting green water now. i'm not doing anything to the green water yet. just letting it as it is. using diffomas to take up the extra nutrients first.

wad lighting and filtration u plan to use for your 4 footer? using fans or chiller?

**izzat** · 7th Sep 2005, 00:31

I would probably take about 3 hours excluding break

Currently, I am using 4 x 36W PL light, giving me about 2.06WPG.
Will be upgrading to T5 when I have cash, probably 4 x 54W which will give me about 3.10WPG

CO2 and Fertilisation should not be issue as I am using Pressurised Cylinder to inject CO2 and using EI method for fertilisation.
Just incase I see some algae spots or clues that algae might be coming to invade my tank, I will run my 9W UV-steriliser

I use my own DIY filtration

I have a Hailea 1/4HP chiller for this 4ft tank.

**jakey** · 7th Sep 2005, 00:40

I would probably take about 3 hours excluding break
Currently, I am using 4 x 36W PL light, giving me about 2.06WPG.
Will be upgrading to T5 when I have cash, probably 4 x 54W which will give me about 3.10WPG

CO2 and Fertilisation should not be issue as I am using Pressurised Cylinder to inject CO2 and using EI method for fertilisation.
Just incase I see some algae spots or clues that algae might be coming to invade my tank, I will run my 9W UV-steriliser

I use my own DIY filtration
I have a Hailea 1/4HP chiller for this 4ft tank.

i'm using a 1/10 artica on my 2 feet cube. using t5 is better than PL i find. u getting all your HC from teo farm? i'm looking for ways that will enable myself to plant HC in a easier manner in the future.

**izzat** · 7th Sep 2005, 00:56

Woohoo, Artica chiller

Yes, after doing lots of research on T5 lighting, I do find that T5 are better than PL. The intensity given out by T5 is just outrages

As to how we can plant HC easier, it will need some

**jakey** · 7th Sep 2005, 01:12

the planting is hard. taking care is also hard. when HC is fully grown, i'll try to grow upwards, thats when alot of trimming and thinning comes to play.

any other bros out there that has experience with this plant?

**patrickttg** · 7th Sep 2005, 09:09

Hi PPl,

I have always love HC but just can't get it right.
1) How you actual goes about planting it ( few strand at a time ??)
2) What is a good substrate for it ( Lonestar or ADA Soil base type )
3) As mentioned in the recommended website Low to medium lighting ?? I am always told HC requires high light and cold temp.
4) For Emmerse planting do you try to put soil above the carpeted HC or do you break it up and plant few strands into the soil at a time. I normally just place the HC on top of soggly soil.
5) Can you maintain or grow HC on a pool of water i.e. floating on or just below the water surface ?

For most of the question I ask I have experiment with it but the result were dissappointing.

**jakey** · 7th Sep 2005, 11:12

1) How you actual goes about planting it ( few strand at a time ??)

i plant them in bunches. some plant in a few stands. best is that the HC is evenly planted out to ensure equal growth, this way u'll get a nice carpet.

2) What is a good substrate for it ( Lonestar or ADA Soil base type )

i'm using lapis mixed with ada amazion with base fert depoint mix and jbL aquabasis plus

3) As mentioned in the recommended website Low to medium lighting ?? I am always told HC requires high light and cold temp.

too low lighting will cause it to grow upwards. so high light is needed. i'm using chiller on my tank and the growth appear to be better compared to the one i'm using fan.

4) For Emmerse planting do you try to put soil above the carpeted HC or do you break it up and plant few strands into the soil at a time. I normally just place the HC on top of soggly soil.

i break them into strands and plant them into the gravel. even if the gravel covers the HC doesn't matter because new leaves will sprout out and they will be nicer

5) Can you maintain or grow HC on a pool of water i.e. floating on or just below the water surface ?

i tried putting them just inside water and they rot away. if u put them in those microwave tubs with little water, they will survive

**patrickttg** · 8th Sep 2005, 10:04

Hi Jakey,

Thanks for your reply and I will go down to work now.

Pat

**|squee|** · 8th Sep 2005, 18:40

Any tips on making it really grow like crazy submerged?

**Sweet Angel** · 9th Sep 2005, 00:14

I bought my hemianthus cuba in a cube form about 4 days ago, then I divide it into 4 pieces so it can spread faster (that's the guy in LFS told me). Here's the picture of cubas :

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...n/Imgp0363.jpg

Yesterday I move my golden algae eater to the other tank (non planted tank) because I found it messed up the cubas, till it has a big hole like this :

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...n/Imgp0365.jpg

I still have 4 loaches. In my observation, they like to nibble on the cubas. The holes in the picture above (photo taken today) also caused by them (it's larger & more spreading than yesterday's caused by algae eater).
So I removed the loaches today.
Here's their picture :

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...n/Imgp0366.jpg

Is there any possibility that the holes didn't cause by those fishes? Coz I noticed rotten HC around the holes. Maybe they're dead because the fishes nibble on their root & leaves, or maybe caused by another factor? Does anyone have any experience on this?

Sorry for the blur pictures, took it in a rush...

FYI, my tank is 60 cm, 19 gallon, 55W, PH 7.5, temp 30C.