Walstad Type tank

[Gaudior]

Hi everyone,

has anyone ever kept Corydoras in a Walstad tank? I am in the process of planning my first and was wondering wether corys would mess up the bottom?

Regards, Lisa

[bekateen]

Hi Lisa,

I don't know if it's been discussed here with corys, but there have been conversations here about Walstad tanks. I hope this helps: search.php?keywords=Walstad&terms=all&a ... mit=Search

From that list, this thread talks about corys: Corydoras and decaying matter.

and this post: viewtopic.php?p=24946&hilit=Walstad+Corydoras#p24946

Cheers, Eric

[Gaudior]

Thank you Eric, looks linke I might have to try this for myself

[dw1305]

Hi all,

.......has anyone ever kept Corydoras in a Walstad tank? I am in the process of planning my first and was wondering wether corys would mess up the bottom? ......

It depends a little bit on how you define a Walstad style tank.

Personally I don't think any

Corydoras

sp. are suitable for a tank without any water circulation or water changes, which was Diana's original premise, but she did, later on, revise her position to allow for both water changes and some water circulation.

So with water circulation and some water changes Walstad style planted tanks are ideal for

Corydoras(ln4) pygmaeus

&

Corydoras(ln4) hastatus

and I've kept both successfully in this type of tank.

You might be interested in this interview with Mark Allison a UK Corydoras keeper and breeder. He says:

.....You have far more live plants in your tanks than I see in most cory breeders’ tanks. What’s the reason for that?

Initially I used a lot of Vallisneria torta for its long flowing leaves. It made my C. aeneus species easy to spawn as the plant flowed well in the turbulent water and they would lay eggs freely on it.

This sort of evolved into a belief that although we see videos and pictures of typical Corydoras habitats that are sandy or leaf littered, the Corydoras must be laying on plants or some form of plant matter or roots and there must be plants somewhere upstream in the river whether it be overhanging trees or plants within the rivers and streams.

This set me off on a planted fish room whether it be moss, Guppy grass (Najas), Cryptocoryne or Java fern, and I found more species of Corydoras laid on plants rather than on the glass or spawning mops when provided. Eggs are also easier to remove from plants due to plant cells having a coating on.

The growing plants were also removing nitrites, nitrates and carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. In effect they were conditioning the water, making the quality last longer.......

cheers Darrel

[fishguy1978]

I have run dirted/walstadt ish tanks. I cap the dirt with sand separated with a fiberglass window screen. I don’t know that I ever read any of her literature so my tanks have always been filtered and had water changes.
My cory tanks now are planted but only use a sand substrate about 2in deep. Plants include multiple varieties of crypts, dwarf sag, val’s, guppy grass, Anubis and Java moss and fern.

[OregonOutdoorsChris]

If you haven't already, I would highly recommend checking out Diana Walstad's book, "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise for the Home Aquarist"

Unfortunately she doesn't address the suitability of corys, but the book is pure gold with regards to the rest of the information it provides and is a truly invaluable toolkit.

[Shane]

A general rule I have picked up in over 30 years of fishkeeping... The minute any author or product claims "no more water changes" drop the article or product in the nearest trash bin. Better yet, return the item and buy some extra buckets and water conditioner.
-Shane

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Diana Walstad's book, "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise for the Home Aquarist". Unfortunately she doesn't address the suitability of corys, but the book is pure gold with regards to the rest of the information it provides and is a truly invaluable toolkit.

I'm not attempting to rubbish Diana, or her book, I would also highly recommend it. If I only owned one book on aquariums it would be hers.

A general rule I have picked up in over 30 years of fishkeeping... The minute any author or product claims "no more water changes" drop the article or product in the nearest trash bin. Better yet, return the item and buy some extra buckets and water conditioner.

Same for me.

cheers Darrel

[OregonOutdoorsChris]

Diana Walstad's book, "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise for the Home Aquarist". Unfortunately she doesn't address the suitability of corys, but the book is pure gold with regards to the rest of the information it provides and is a truly invaluable toolkit.

I'm not attempting to rubbish Diana, or her book, I would also highly recommend it. If I only owned one book on aquariums it would be hers.

A general rule I have picked up in over 30 years of fishkeeping... The minute any author or product claims "no more water changes" drop the article or product in the nearest trash bin. Better yet, return the item and buy some extra buckets and water conditioner.

Same for me.

Indeed! And like you said earlier, "It depends a little bit on how you define a Walstad style tank" which is why I push the book so hard. To me it's more of a toolkit of knowledge than a prescribed recipe to follow, which is in stark contrast to how the internet-at-large usually handles the topic .

[Gaudior]

Hi everyone,

I would like to thank everybody who contributed to this interesting thread!
I have read Diana Walstad's book and wanted to try out the type of tank setup she described. Since my primary focus is on fish keeping and breeding I never even considered the idea of no or minimal water changes or minimal filtration. I used a pool filter sand cap on dirt from my garden. If the tank runs fine once its cycled maybe I'll add some Otocinclus haroldoi. I suppose time will tell whether it works my way or not.

Cheers, Lisa

[OregonOutdoorsChris]

Hi everyone,

I would like to thank everybody who contributed to this interesting thread!
I have read Diana Walstad's book and wanted to try out the type of tank setup she described. Since my primary focus is on fish keeping and breeding I never even considered the idea of no or minimal water changes or minimal filtration. I used a pool filter sand cap on dirt from my garden. If the tank runs fine once its cycled maybe I'll add some Otocinclus haroldoi. I suppose time will tell whether it works my way or not.

Cheers, Lisa

In terms of will using dirt as a nutrient rich substrate, capped with pool filter sand, and planted heavily, work with corys? The answer is a resounding yes!

Here's mine using HTH pool filter sand capping some back yard dirt from a few years back. Sadly I had to tear that tank down when I moved, and it's not been in the rotation yet to be fixed up.

Sorry for not giving that answer earlier, but as was being discussed above what constitutes a Walstad tank can vary widely from person to person, so I didn't want to give what could have been bad advice.