Please help save my bass!! I think he's sick!!

I have a two year old largemouth bass as a pet since he was less than an inch long; the bass eats mostly goldfish, guppies, and (once in a while) crayfish. The bass was really aggressive all summer long until around the first of November when his eating slowed way down. The tank water temp has never dropped below 78 Deg and all summer long has not gone above 82 deg, I have checked the water for ammonia and Nitrates. The Nitrates was a little on the high side though. It's been around a month since the last time I seen him eat and it looks like he's getting really skinny. Could anyone give me a clue on what’s going on with this fish? BTW I have a good Bio water filter, I believe has good aeration and the water has had a 10% change every two weeks. Thanks in advance. BTW here are some pic's of this Bass.The last pic shows how skinny he is now.

I have a two year old largemouth bass as a pet since he was less than an inch long; the bass eats mostly goldfish, guppies, and (once in a while) crayfish. The bass was really aggressive all summer long until around the first of November when his eating slowed way down. The tank water temp has never dropped below 78 Deg and all summer long has not gone above 82 deg, I have checked the water for ammonia and Nitrates. The Nitrates was a little on the high side though. It's been around a month since the last time I seen him eat and it looks like he's getting really skinny. Could anyone give me a clue on what’s going on with this fish? BTW I have a good Bio water filter, I believe has good aeration and the water has had a 10% change every two weeks. Thanks in advance. BTW here are some pic's of this Bass.The last pic shows how skinny he is now.

One can't rule out disease, but I would start with environment. A 10% water change is not a lot. I would start doing LARGE water changes, immediately. Best if you can get creek water, but if not then aged water. Do NOT use fresh tap water, even if you have dechlorinated it. Do a 50% change on day 1, then on day two siphon out the water until the bass' back is dry. Do this daily for about a week.

This COULD precipitate his demise, but if you do nothing then he is surely lost. Using good creek water will likely perk him right up.

I tend to agree with Irate here. I suspect water conditions are the most likely cause of the fishes state.

As Irate said large water changes might very well accelerate the demise of the fish so a judgment call must be made here. Is the fish very close to starving right now (how old are the photos you posted)? If so, large water changes as Irate suggested only make sense since the fish may have little chance of survival in any case. On the other hand fish are amazing when it comes to starvation. They can survive very long time periods without foods although unpleasant. I might continue water changes at the 10% level at first but much more often (lets say every other day for a 10 days). At this time I would monitor your water conditions. If all is well then I would start changing the water in increased levels (25% weekly for a month) then go to %50 weekly until you feel comfortable with the water conditions. If after 10 days of 10% water changes the water conditions are still out of control I would bump up to %25 water changes every other day until the water is in order.


I'm a big fan of large frequent water changes and even a bigger fan when it comes to large predators that eat live foods. The amount of waste these fish produce require special attention to water conditions.

I disagree with Irate's advice on useing creek water. If you have had the fish in your tap water for two years I'm sure he is adjusted to it by now, changing it on him could do more damage than good. Stick with what you got. In addition to that, I am normally against the use of "wild water" simply due to the fact that you don't know what toxins it has been exposed to, toxins that would be less diluted in a home aquaria. My advice, don't mess with what water you're using and don't mess with its properties. I do suggest more tank cleanings though, 10% bi-weekly is not much, I do 50-70% weekly on all my tanks. Some tanks get two water changes a week. You said you tested your water...what were the exact readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Also...do you QT your feeders? If you don't than start doing it or stop using them, especially those from the LFS, it's a great way to make a fish sick. I am also curious, since you did not say, what size is the tank?

what was your nitrate reading?

and what type of test kit are you useing?

also how big of a tank do you have?

post all the info about your set up that you can think of, if something is wrong then someone will notice it

Thanks for the peplys guy's What are the chances he's hibernating? But in 78 Deg water though?

what were the exact readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Also...do you QT your feeders? If you don't than start doing it or stop using them, especially those from the LFS, it's a great way to make a fish sick. I am also curious, since you did not say, what size is the tank?

When I get back home tonight I will find out the exact readings on Amonia and nitrates. The tank size is a 60 Gal tank(I know it's kinda small but It's all he's ever known since he was a half an inch long)as far as if I QT I am not shure what that means (Quaratine Tank?)yet since I'm new to the forum and I'll find out when I have more time(Not At Work) I do keep the Feeders in their own tank usually but just thew all of them in to try and insitgate his feeding.as far as LFS (Local feed strore I think?) I get the feeders from the Local Pet store. BTW the picures of the bass were taken last night.

Thanks for the peplys guy's What are the chances he's hibernating? But in 78 Deg water though?When I get back home tonight I will find out the exact readings on Amonia and nitrates. The tank size is a 60 Gal tank(I know it's kinda small but It's all he's ever known since he was a half an inch long)as far as if I QT I am not shure what that means (Quaratine Tank?)yet since I'm new to the forum and I'll find out when I have more time(Not At Work) I do keep the Feeders in their own tank usually but just thew all of them in to try and insitgate his feeding.as far as LFS (Local feed strore I think?) I get the feeders from the Local Pet store. BTW the picures of the bass were taken last night.

LMB don't hybrinate and 78 degress won't slow them down any.
QT...quaranteen tank. This is very important. If you cannot provide with properly quaranteened fish than I would switch to a more frozen food or invert based diet.
LFS...Local Fish Store.
You say it's a 60g tank, for the long run that won't work but how large is the bass at the moment?
Make sure in addition to ammonia and nitrates you get a reading for nitrItes.

I almost forgot. Have you seen the bass take a crap recently? If so what did it look like? If it was whitish or clear that may e an indication of a parasite.

BTW the picures of the bass were taken last night.

Good. The bass looks hungry but not near death. I would increase the water change frequency and volume and all should be fine.

I disagree with Irate's advice on useing creek water. If you have had the fish in your tap water for two years I'm sure he is adjusted to it by now, changing it on him could do more damage than good.

My reasoning is that for water changes of the magnitude I suggest, he will need tap water that is aged well (a week), and time is of the essence. As for toxins in natural water - honestly, unless the fauna indicate that the stream is really degraded, then I wouldn't entertain that concern.

My reasoning is that for water changes of the magnitude I suggest, he will need tap water that is aged well (a week), and time is of the essence. As for toxins in natural water - honestly, unless the fauna indicate that the stream is really degraded, then I wouldn't entertain that concern.

Why will he need aged water? As long as he declorinates it than it should be fine, it's what the bass has been living in for two years.
As regards to the toxins. You may know how to tell if it's alright but that dosen't mean he does. For all we know his local body of water is like the Hudson river in the 1970's..

Why will he need aged water? As long as he declorinates it than it should be fine, it's what the bass has been living in for two years.
As regards to the toxins. You may know how to tell if it's alright but that dosen't mean he does. For all we know his local body of water is like the Hudson river in the 1970's..

I have had bad experiences with dechlorinated tap water. I don't trust it for large water changes. Call me old school

I think dechlor tap water is fine. I don't really agree with that size of WC though. You have to think about temp. shock, PH shock, and the fact that this fish is not used to large WC. I would just do like 25% a day until you get the readings in check. Also a bigger tank/pond wouldn't hurt. I know that this isn't always possible but this fish still has some growing to do and he isn't going to fit in that tank for much longer. And what is your filtration like?

Chad

I have had bad experiences with dechlorinated tap water. I don't trust it for large water changes. Call me old school

You would gasp at what I do Irate. I started by aging water for 24+ hours and using dechlor. I then went to mixing the dechlor in 5 gallon buckets and letting it sit for a few minutes. I now use the "python" gravel vac/water change thingy and just dump the dechlor right in the tank. I also don't hesitate to perform up to 80% water changes regularly.

I make sure I have a healthy biological filter and always make sure the tap water is very similar in temp to the tank. It took me a while to get the guts to do this but I simply don't have enough 5 gallon buckets anymore. Never had a problem with this size water change and dechlor. I can change all of my tank water in less than 1/4 of the time and still change more than 1/2 of the water in all of my tanks.

I once used terta brand water conditioner (Aqua safe) but switched to novaqua water conditioner. Never had a problem with either Tetra or novaqua but the novaqua has a slightly lower price and readily available. What brand do you use old school? Maybe the dechlorinator you use is the problem?

OK, I Bought a new test kit to test to check more variables: Ammonia was OK,I found that the water was a little acidic (a PH of ~6.2), The total alkalinity was 40 PPM, the total hardness was 300 PPM, the Nitrite measured 0 PPM's, and the Nitrate was ~200 ppm.I checked the water in my feeder tank was better all around so I gently put the bass on the feeder tank last night. I then performed a 75% water change on the main tank last night. I then put in stress enzyme water treatment; I put in the recommended amount of dechlorinator, and then put in PH stabilizer, and new filters. Inlet the tank stabilize all last night and this morning the water PH checked a PH of 6.8, The total alkalinity was 120 (Ideal), total hardness was still 300ppm's( very hard) the nitrites were still reading 0 ppm's and the Nitrate went down to 80ppm's. This morning I put the bass back in the tank and went to work. I'll see how it goes. I'm going to also get a Nitrate filter today to bring down the nitrates even more. Sorry this post is so long and thanks for the help guys. BTW has anyone ever force feed a bass before? I don’t want to shock this fish though. I do know if an object like food or bait get's near the back of their throat they tend to have a reflex that makes then want to swallow their food. Kind of scary way to feed my weak bass though.

Above all else the nitrates are what you need to worry about. 80ppm you say? After an 80% water change? I find that difficult to fathom. Nitrate tests are tricky, if your kit is old get a new one and make sure you do exactly what the instructions say. Also, what kind of kit do you have? The test stripes are crap, I only use liquid test kits. As for the pH and such, I wouldn't bother with it at all. Stability is very important and between you adding more chemicals into the water and moving the bass around you're only going to stress him more. Like I said before, if the water is the same water that you have had for the last two years than it's not the problem (unless something has changed with your water supplier). I believe it's most likely water quality, as in not enough changes and high nitrates. I try to keep all my tanks nitrate level below 20ppm. Now I don't know about LMB nitrate tolerance but I do know that with oscars nitrate levels above 20-40ppm can cause HITH (Hole in the Head) disease.

I now use the "python" gravel vac/water change thingy and just dump the dechlor right in the tank. I also don't hesitate to perform up to 80% water changes regularly.

Same

are you reading your test correctly?

my test kit (Aquarium Pharm) only goes up to 160

Above all else the nitrates are what you need to worry about. 80ppm you say? After an 80% water change? I find that difficult to fathom. Nitrate tests are tricky, if your kit is old get a new one and make sure you do exactly what the instructions say. Also, what kind of kit do you have? The test stripes are crap, I only use liquid test kits. As for the pH and such, I wouldn't bother with it at all. Stability is very important and between you adding more chemicals into the water and moving the bass around you're only going to stress him more. Like I said before, if the water is the same water that you have had for the last two years than it's not the problem (unless something has changed with your water supplier). I believe it's most likely water quality, as in not enough changes and high nitrates. I try to keep all my tanks nitrate level below 20ppm. Now I don't know about LMB nitrate tolerance but I do know that with oscars nitrate levels above 20-40ppm can cause HITH (Hole in the Head) disease.
Same

I'm using the Jungle Laboratories 5-n-one test stips for testing. Iwas told It was a good kit. The reading on the kit goes up to 200 ppm's.

You would gasp at what I do Irate. I started by aging water for 24+ hours and using dechlor. I then went to mixing the dechlor in 5 gallon buckets and letting it sit for a few minutes. I now use the "python" gravel vac/water change thingy and just dump the dechlor right in the tank. I also don't hesitate to perform up to 80% water changes regularly.

I make sure I have a healthy biological filter and always make sure the tap water is very similar in temp to the tank. It took me a while to get the guts to do this but I simply don't have enough 5 gallon buckets anymore. Never had a problem with this size water change and dechlor. I can change all of my tank water in less than 1/4 of the time and still change more than 1/2 of the water in all of my tanks.

I once used terta brand water conditioner (Aqua safe) but switched to novaqua water conditioner. Never had a problem with either Tetra or novaqua but the novaqua has a slightly lower price and readily available. What brand do you use old school? Maybe the dechlorinator you use is the problem?

I do the same, but use cheap dechlor, and use straight cold tapwater. Never any problems. If I do a 50% waterchange on a tank, I add the amount of dechlor for the whole amount of water in the tank. Not the 50% that I am adding. I am not saying that this is the best way, but it works and is efficient. BTW I use straight sodium thiosulfate. But my water supply has only chlorine, no chloramine.

I do the same, but use cheap dechlor, and use straight cold tapwater. Never any problems. If I do a 50% waterchange on a tank, I add the amount of dechlor for the whole amount of water in the tank. Not the 50% that I am adding. I am not saying that this is the best way, but it works and is efficient. BTW I use straight sodium thiosulfate. But my water supply has only chlorine, no chloramine.

I still do this for small (20%) water changes, but even then it is a chancy thing. I had a long talk with my water guy which helped explain at least part of the reason why my tap water can become deadly from time to time.

dont trust those strips

get your self a liquid test kit