murky

So my window tank has a bacteria bloom. It's a bit clearer this morning, but still obviously hazy. Bad smell, too. Either it is simply because I messed with the filter and I need to wait it out. Or it's because I realized another mistake- the fine sponge I put in there was also the one I tested the filter with- so it had pulled all that sinky water from the outside pond container thru it. Odor is suspiciously the same. I wonder if I removed that fine sponge and instead put in some of that sintered media from the other tank's canister, would it be better.

Other possibility is that I've been overfeeding in my anxiety to see the cories gain weight- several of them still look a bit thin. New crop of tiny infant limpets (gah) suggests this, and I do see the trumpet snails coming out in droves. Fabio bites flake and spits it out. I'm not sure if the cories are eating the flake he rejects or not- they move around the tank excitedly when I put the food in but mostly ignore the flake. Sometimes I see them eat it and spit it out, or eat it and push straight out through the gills! Is this normal cory behavior? Are they waiting for it to be broken down enough, or they just don't like it? They do seem to eat the Hikari wafers I put in, and the shrimp pellets, and they definitely snarf down the live mosquito wigglers. I'd quit giving flake altogether but it seems to be the only thing Fabio will eat now (at least, until today).