# HC HELP calling all aquascapers!!!



## doubleott05 (Jul 20, 2005)

i had this question posted in another section but it did not get much attention now im asking the aquascaping people for help thanks

i have noticed that some HC has very fine pinnate leaves and the nodes are very close together making for an extremely compact thick carpet 

i have also noticed that some HC has bigger leaves with nodes that are spaced out a bit more and the leaves are more the size of its brother HM (baby tears)

i have the bigger version of the HC and was wondering how do i get the leaves to be smaller and more compact. i do know for sure its not HM (baby tears stem plant)


the HC that i bought from my plant supplier was marked as HC. is it possible that there are two species of HC that i am not aware of??

i have 150w 8000k over a 60P ada 
ferts are step one 
brighty k
green brighy special lights 
eca
green bacter
green gain
and amazonia soil
pressurized co2 
lights 10hrs a day

i figured lighting might have an affect on how the plant grows out but i didnt think it possible to be this drastic. 

anybody that has input on this subject i would greatly appreciate it.


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## wicca27 (Oct 13, 2008)

Could b that light is varried just a little from one part of the hc to the othere causing the diff in size


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## theblondskeleton (Nov 22, 2008)

In my tank, my HC grows both ways. It depends on where it is. If it's in the open, it grows flat, but near rocks and under foliage, it grows taller. It doesn't get anywhere near the size of my HM though. The biggest leaves I get on the HC are about 2-3 mm across. Also, the leaf shape is different. The HM is longer more blade-like, while the HC is still ovate.


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## doubleott05 (Jul 20, 2005)

right i understand that about the lighting but what im say is that in somepeoples tanks the HC is extremely small and fine and compact and pinnate and dark green


but in my tank even in the full blast of the light it is noticibaly bigger and more spaced out but the growth is just as dense and lays down fine but its pretty big leaves and all

more will need to be researched about this subject


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## Pejc (Jul 3, 2009)

Itr's probably HM. It would be nice to see picture of that plant you have  Is it looks like this?


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## fishfry (Apr 15, 2004)

It definitely is HC, I got some a few weeks ago. I'll let you know how it grows for me.


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## doubleott05 (Jul 20, 2005)

its not HM i can tell you that with great confidence.

here is a link to my thread and you can see what i mean by big HC

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquascaping/65813-ada-60p-essance-amber.html

thanks for your help


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## Button (Nov 3, 2009)

doubleott05 said:


> its not HM i can tell you that with great confidence.
> 
> here is a link to my thread and you can see what i mean by big HC
> 
> ...


Hi,

Your HC just suffering from incufficient lights
here is HC in my tank
first picture shows HC then it growing in a shadow from the stem plants (HC grows up)









And here is the same HC under the lights


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## doubleott05 (Jul 20, 2005)

so your telling me 150watt 8000k mh is not enough light for a 20 gal tank???? im sorry to say but i think your mistaken. but i have been known to be wrong from time to time


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## ashappard (Jun 3, 2006)

Regarding light, what you have should be more than adequate. Either way, there are other Hemianthus in the hobby now beyond HM and HC. A closer look focused on a lone stem would help. Got a pic? leaf detail, leaves per node, etc.

another way to get to the bottom of it (and something I do often) is to get the suspect plant from another collector and compare with side-by-side growth. So get a bit of HC from a friend or a WTB / WTT thread and you may sort it out that way.


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## Button (Nov 3, 2009)

doubleott05 said:


> so your telling me 150watt 8000k mh is not enough light for a 20 gal tank???? im sorry to say but i think your mistaken. but i have been known to be wrong from time to time


Look here is my tank it is 16 gal before any trimming and condition of the pants is different from yours and I am still thinking it is not enough lights. It is not a matter of the equipment it is a matter of the plant conditions









But here is the set up picture with HC, do you really have the same plant, may I ask?


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