couple of questions NEED ANSWERS

**aquarium kid** · 10-09-2012, 09:09 PM

I have two groups of questions that are completely unrelated to each other.

1. Two sundays ago I picked up a opaline gourami and got him settled in my qt tank. He has been eating fine though he seems to have a hard time finding the food and looks healthy. I have noticed that on the end of one of his feller fins the first centimeter of so seems skinnier and white versus a more metallic white on the rest of it. Should I be worried? Number two he uses his feelers all the time and as I said above seems to have a hard time finding his food. should I be worried? Just last ninght I was looking at the tank and noticed a buch of really, really tiny worm looking thigns on the glass. If I look realy close I cans see them moving. What are they? should i be worried?

2. The triops tank I maintain at school is currently being cycled with fish food and seeded media. My questions is about a week ago a snot like slime started covering the substrate where it landed. Now it appears to have greenish black patches. What is it?

**madagascariensis** · 10-09-2012, 09:55 PM

I don't understand your first question, by the first centimeter, do you mean the first centimeter from his body or the first 1 cm from the end of his feelers? gouramis don't use their feelers to find food, by the ways. they are slow timid eaters so that might explain why it seems like he has trouble finding food.

the dark greenish black algae probably is blue-green algae, caused by high levels of organic matter in the tank.

**dizzydezzy** · 10-09-2012, 11:00 PM

I have noticed that on the end of one of his feller fins the first centimeter of so seems skinnier and white versus a more metallic white on the rest of it. Should I be worried?

He probably had his feeler damaged in the past and the white thinner area is regrowth - the "feelers" are just modified fins, so they will regrow if another fish bites the ends off or after fin rot.

Number two he uses his feelers all the time and as I said above seems to have a hard time finding his food. should I be worried?

My gourami took ages to figure out where in the tank I feed, and seemed more comfortable eating while I was away from the tank. Sinking wafers (new life spectrum H2O stable wafers) were a big hit with her to begin with... Now she eats everything that hits the water.

Just last ninght I was looking at the tank and noticed a buch of really, really tiny worm looking thigns on the glass. If I look realy close I cans see them moving. What are they? should i be worried?

Sounds like planaria - usually present in tanks where too much food goes uneaten (like when you have a gourami that doesn't find the food straight away!). These are harmless, and your gourami might have a snack of them on occasion, but since they indicate overfeeding, you should keep a close eye on the water parameters, and maybe up the gravel vacuuming in the tank.