Hi everyone! First time posting here, long time Aquarium Co-op follower.
I recently made a rookie mistake while upgrading my 3 small fancy gold fish from their 100 litre tall tank (I am from Australia) to their new 300 litre long tank. I have set the scape as a kind of freshwater river scape with 1/3 of the substrate covered in large river stones, split by some wood then the other 2/3 is small river stones from their original tank. (Stupid mistake I know) as tonight I noticed my largest goldfish (perhaps 2 inches) had a stone stuck inside her mouth. As it is 10pm I couldn't exactly call a vet for advise so I jumped online and was able to remove the stone with a pair of tweezers and gently holding the fish just below the water line...
Obviously I never want this to happen again, but without completely removing the substrate and replacing with large river stones I am not sure of any other option.
Does anyone have any ideas to perhaps cover the smaller substrate to not add much more weight to the tank, or should I bite the bullet and tear it all out?
I am still semi new to the hobby so I would appreciate genuine help and if I am not doing something right I am open to learning the right way 🙂