overstocked 55 gallon??

she has live plants in the tank,the reason i put up that water changes are not done was to see if she could put a gourami in after some of the fish died in a few years.she has a good filter also,i was going to get a gourami for her so i was checking to see if the tank was os before i got the gourami for her,but the tank has to empty a little first.i didnt mean to make the wrong impression.
 
the problem i see is not that the tank is overstocked. it probably is, but that is currently the least of your worries.

the main problem is the lack of water changes. the fish in the tank already have slowly become acclimated to this "thick" water stuffed fuill of the byproducts of their own waste. they have also lost their ability to adapt to clean water. a new fish coming from clean water would not be able to adapt quickly enough to handle this filthy water, and would go into osmotic shock and die.

likewise, if you were to do a large water change in your tank, your fish are so used to dirty water, and have lost their ability to adapt, they would also go into osmotic shock and die.

the only solution would be to start doing very, very small water changes. maybe 3-5 gallons at a time every day to start cleaning up the water very slowly. after a few weeks, the water should be clean enough that you can start doing larger changes.

bettagurl, if your friends tank is already overstocked, why are you buying her more fish?
 
what just one minute.....who in the world said i was convinced nothing was wrong???? betta, if you wanted me to start doing water changes then you could of just ASKED!!!!!!!!! Half of the time i'm either at her house or at logans. When i'm at her house she never tries to get me to change the water in my tank...she never brings it up!! and since the opening to the top of my tank is only like 3 1/2 inches wide, it would be nice to have some help....so if it makes everone happy tommorow,if bettagurl can leave, i'll get her to help me change the water in my tank!!!!!
 
Thanks for trying folks. Sorry it didn't work out and for you to keep it from being personal.
 
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