So I cleaned out a lot of the white fuzzy mould. Vacuumed the bottom, rinsed the ferns under the rap, cleaned the gauze filter condom with a toothbrush and dumped most of my duckweed which was covered in the stuff.
Then I reduced feeding frequency to 48 hourly. Cut the worms into chunks of 3 so they don’t barf them back up. They still make a bit of a mess but not so much. The mould doesn’t immediately grow so I think it’s just a question of letting the filter bacteria catch up with the increased bioload.
I’m not saying I have a pair but there’s definitely 2 that hang out together in the middle of the tank. They lean on each other and always come to investigate together when I approach the tank. I can’t tell if they are a male and female yet though.
Then there is a small male with the best finnage out of the lot who likes to display in front of them and always get chased off. He likes to start the fights but always loses. His fins were a bit frayed when I introduced them all to the tank. I guess he was a scrapper in the store. In fact he was the only one who wasnt pale in colour when he went in so I knew he had a strong personality and wasn’t easily stressed. I’m kinda sad that it’s looking like he won’t be the successful male given that he’s already getting his ass kicked and he’s small.
The other 3 hang together and stay low profile under plants. They don’t seem to bicker and haven’t suffered any fin damage yet.
All 6 are very sociable and like to come poke my hands or the siphon hose when I clean out the muck. They’re all very eager and good feeders.