I did add a pinch of finish compost to it at the recommendation of Chris Trump. I think it could my ratio fish/sugar that is wrong as I didn't go by weight but by (eyeballed) volume instead.

I will make several smaller batches with different methods to see what works for me.

For the LaB have you tried doing it with milk kefir? You could let the kefir over-ferment and use the whey and it takes only 48hrs to make