Help!!

[Kserious]

I have a 90 gallon tank with a red fin catfish and 2 bass . I had them about 2.5 yrs in this tank. And now my bigger bass is starting to turn dark. All three fish look like their gasping for air. I put a bubbler in there. And took the water to pets mart. It has high nitrate they suggested a 50% water change I did that and it had ammonia they suggested use ammo lock for a week every other day . But things aren’t getting better . Help I changed the filters put new ones in. They try to eat but its not staying in their mouth pops right out. The catfish is the only one that’s eating. Help!!!u see the third pic is them dark. What do I do?

 

[Deadeye]

Welcome to the forum!
Check your params.
Each of these fish far exceeds the limits of a 90 gallon tank, what you are seeing is likely ammonia poisoning due to the overcrowded tank.

 

[Kserious]

Welcome to the forum!
Check your params.
Each of these fish far exceeds the limits of a 90 gallon tank, what you are seeing is likely ammonia poisoning due to the overcrowded tank.

What do I do with them then? These are my sons fish that stopped taking care of them. So I feel bad and try to take care of them. They were fine until like a week ago started looking like their gasping for air .

 

[Deadeye]

How often do you do water changes?
Adding extra aeration and doing multiple large water changes can help now, but in the long run the only two options for the fish is to rehome them (either taking them to the lfs or selling them) or to upgrade to a much larger tank (in the 300-500 gallon range minimum).

 

[Kserious]

Well a water change wasn’t done for a while I think that’s what started this all. It’s hard for me to do it’s a big tank my son is so lazy with them and says their fine but I see them everyday I feed them and no their not fine. So a water change I’m going to try it myself .. do I add anything to the new water I’m putting back in the tank?

 

[Deadeye]

Dosing prime or ammolock can help at the moment, but it is only a band aid. As of now, routine large water changes are the only option. Start looking for new homes for the fish.
The ragged fins can be due to ammonia as well as aggression, and those white marks on the head are due to Hole in the Head disease, which is the result of poor water quality.

 

[Rocksor]

I'm guessing you are using buckets to change the water. I'm going to give you an economical solution to get these fish healthy until you decide what to do. Use a garden hose to suck the water out. Have one of the end of the hose in the tank, about a few inches from the bottom, use a clamp to keep the hose in the tank. Then you have to start the siphon so suck on the other end of the hose really hard and only for a few seconds. Water should start to come out the other end. You can drain out to your garden. Once 50% of the water is gone, add the water directly back into the tank using the hose and dose enough water conditioner to treat 90 gallons. Feed the fish every 7 days, with a small amount of food, enough so that everyone gets something, feed enough so that the food quantity is about the size of one of the peacock bass's eyes and then multiply that by 3. Those fish are large and do not need to eat every day. This will slow down ammonia production. They can survive easily 1 month without eating.

Now the fish store should have told you not to remove the old filters. This has all the beneficial bacteria to process the ammonia and nitrite. You stuck with doing with a fish in cycle for the next 6 weeks or so. Between now and then you can decide what to do with the tank and fish. If you decide to keep the fish, we can let you know how to do a fish in cycle.

 

[Kserious]

I'm guessing you are using buckets to change the water. I'm going to give you an economical solution to get these fish healthy until you decide what to do. Use a garden hose to suck the water out. Have one of the end of the hose in the tank, about a few inches from the bottom, use a clamp to keep the hose in the tank. Then you have to start the siphon so suck on the other end of the hose really hard and only for a few seconds. Water should start to come out the other end. You can drain out to your garden. Once 50% of the water is gone, add the water directly back into the tank using the hose and dose enough water conditioner to treat 90 gallons. Feed the fish every 7 days, with a small amount of food, enough so that everyone gets something, feed enough so that the food quantity is about the size of one of the peacock bass's eyes and then multiply that by 3. Those fish are large and do not need to eat every day. This will slow down ammonia production. They can survive easily 1 month without eating.

Now the fish store should have told you not to remove the old filters. This has all the beneficial bacteria to process the ammonia and nitrite. You stuck with doing with a fish in cycle for the next 6 weeks or so. Between now and then you can decide what to do with the tank and fish. If you decide to keep the fish, we can let you know how to do a fish in cycle.

Well a water change wasn’t done for a while I think that’s what started this all. It’s hard for me to do it’s a big tank my son is so lazy with them and says their fine but I see them everyday I feed them and no their not fine. So a water change I’m going to try it myself .. do I add anything to the new water I’m putting back in the tank?

Well a water change wasn’t done for a while I think that’s what started this all. It’s hard for me to do it’s a big tank my son is so lazy with them and says their fine but I see them everyday I feed them and no their not fine. So a water change I’m going to try it myself .. do I add anything to the new water I’m putting back in the tank?

What temp water do I put back in?

 

[Kserious]

I'm guessing you are using buckets to change the water. I'm going to give you an economical solution to get these fish healthy until you decide what to do. Use a garden hose to suck the water out. Have one of the end of the hose in the tank, about a few inches from the bottom, use a clamp to keep the hose in the tank. Then you have to start the siphon so suck on the other end of the hose really hard and only for a few seconds. Water should start to come out the other end. You can drain out to your garden. Once 50% of the water is gone, add the water directly back into the tank using the hose and dose enough water conditioner to treat 90 gallons. Feed the fish every 7 days, with a small amount of food, enough so that everyone gets something, feed enough so that the food quantity is about the size of one of the peacock bass's eyes and then multiply that by 3. Those fish are large and do not need to eat every day. This will slow down ammonia production. They can survive easily 1 month without eating.

Now the fish store should have told you not to remove the old filters. This has all the beneficial bacteria to process the ammonia and nitrite. You stuck with doing with a fish in cycle for the next 6 weeks or so. Between now and then you can decide what to do with the tank and fish. If you decide to keep the fish, we can let you know how to do a fish in cycle.

What water temp do I add with the new water?

 

[Kserious]

What water temp do I add with the new water?

And the filters were so dirty packed with dirt. So I wasn’t supposed to clean that?