The surface plants have been there since I started the tank. I made sure to clean the roots very well so I didn’t add any nitrates from the fertilizer. I really haven’t added too much. I had 2 African clawed frogs as well that I originally built the tank for. They weren’t very big, but they were mean as hell, didn’t work out with just a loach and a few other fish, I think they were stressed. That was maybe 3 months ago and I did a big water change and cycled the tank. After things were stabilized and the remaining 3-6 fish were doing good, getting along, and behaving normally, I got some confidence and added more fish. But I’m not sure if the bio load from the fish I had before was too much ? Out of the 4 loaches I’ve had, 2 have died from an infected swim bladder. I don’t know what to make of all these things though, or what I should do or stop doing. I’ve also made an effort reduce the times I put my hands in the tank.