I am so behind on posting. I haven’t been in the mood to blog but I really need to.
I am now completely in love with my little chubby children, the goldfish, and there have been some developments. First, I figured out the vacuum hose I bought was actually hot garbage and it wasn’t doing a damn thing to clean my tank. I removed the siphon and now just use the tube. I read about people using various syringe-like implements to spot clean for goldfish specifically and I’m currently using a turkey baster until I find something better.
One of my children developed gill flukes, because I am a horrible parent, but I dosed the tank with PraziPro and I am amazed with how quickly it works. Of course it helps that I am now fastidious about the tank, having figured out better ways to clean it. I got a khuli loach to help with debris cleanup, which in retrospect was ridiculous because the goldfish have become so savvy and competitive about getting food I’m amazed there’s any leftover and I usually drop a few pellets for the loach specifically into their little cave. But I did learn belatedly the loaches are social and prefer a group, so my plan is to buy 2 or 3 more when the medication cycle runs its course.
I’ve harvested a number of plants from the lake. Some are tough to identify (I just now identified moneywort, go me) but the two that are doing best are smartweed and crowsfoot. Pretty soon the waterweed should start growing, and I intend to harvest a ton of that.
I’m seeing algae and hopefully that will sort out as I add more plants.
Also, my parents gave me some pothos clippings and I added those to the filter.
So, I’m happy with the tank, Minnow seems to like it and feeds the fish daily.