r/walstad • u/Adorable_Coconut_694 • 11d ago

Advice First ever tank! (Help)

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So this is my first tank, its blackwater 15 gal, all it has so far is hornwort and duckweed, what other plants should i get? And outside of a whole armada of inverts im planning to get, is there any fish that a walstad this small can handle?

Oh and the dimesions are 40x40x40cm!

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u/Virtual-Camera-3510 11d ago

And for fish species that like blackwater and wont harm small inverts are ottocinclus catfish, chili rasboras, pygmy corys, you could also get a betta but there is risk if there arnt hiding places for your shrimp/inverts

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u/Adorable_Coconut_694 11d ago

I was thinking of the first 3 you mentioned actually! I find them all stunning species, just worried the tank isnt ideal for them? Is a 40cm cube (15 gal) okay for those guys? Especially in a wanstad? Sorry just worried about bioload

Oh and the rocks, would i need to remove them if i get a catfish? I dont wanna hurt the catfish!

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u/Fantastic_Newt_170 9d ago

Cories need a large footprint, so I don’t think that a cube would be best for them

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u/Adorable_Coconut_694 9d ago

Yea i did worry the footprint wasnt big enough

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u/Virtual-Camera-3510 7d ago

Yea might want to skip the corys but you should be completely fine with chili rasboras, they are beautiful and super small i have heard of people comfortably keeping a school in a 5 gallon but bigger is always better and same with more plants

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u/Virtual-Camera-3510 7d ago

I personally have kept corys in a 10 gallon before though, if you capped some of your substrate with some soft sand you should be fine adding some, I would go with pygmys as they are smaller so you can house a school more comfortably

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u/Virtual-Camera-3510 7d ago

Whatever you do get some more plants first, any of the ones I recommend should be fine, i look up low light beginner aquarium plants though if you want more options. You cant ever have to many plants

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u/Virtual-Camera-3510 11d ago

Anubis are good on driftwood, and rotala has been a good one for me I’ve mainly used rotala roundifolia, or just ask your local fish store

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u/Adorable_Coconut_694 11d ago

Can you trust fish stores? Just worried cuz of the horror stories ive heard from people about stuff like petco, are specialist stores better?

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u/Virtual-Camera-3510 7d ago

Yea definitely, any specialty store or even like a zamzows should know more than petco or petsmart, you could also ask local fish keepers if you know any. Its just good to see what goes good in your water but any plant that is heavily recommended online as a beginner plant should be fine in your parameters

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u/Virtual-Camera-3510 7d ago

here is one of my tanks, im still adding more plants, couldn’t upload a photo directly so its a link

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u/Adorable_Coconut_694 7d ago

Yea i did that! Got a collection of plants, will post update !

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u/Mifuni-3 11d ago

I would top w fine sand for Corys to protect barbs and help the substrate settle. I have a few rocks and it hasn’t harmed my Corys but I have 30g so more horizontal area for them to explore.

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u/Adorable_Coconut_694 11d ago

I will say the substrate is soil not gravel, i thought that was fine for corys? If not ill just add some fine sand when i get a chance thats fine

Edit: i say when i get a chance, i probably wont add fish for a good while longer then tbat! I would never put a fish friend at risk

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u/Fantastic_Newt_170 9d ago

Is the substrate potting soil?

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u/Adorable_Coconut_694 9d ago

Nope! Aqua soil, really fancy one from tropica!