Hi! I've had this bonsai for 2 months and have watered it according to instructions from seller (water when dry on top). I started having flies within 2nd week I got it, I researched and it says stop watering until gnats die. Stopped watering and gnats dead. Now that I'm watering it again, water just go straight out at the bottom. Leaves are also looking poorly. What did I do wrong? Any help is much appreciated. Thank you.

The soil has been dry for too long. You can't compensate with over watering.

www.bonsaiempire.com/basics/bonsai-care/watering

This is a protocularia Afra.

I have not come across a snigle healthy good specimen on this forum. I would recommend going to a forum on growing succulent plants where there will be people who can help you.

If it were mine, I would quickly check the roots. Lift from the pot and smell. If is has a "fresh" earthy smell to it, it could be fine. More likely it has a rotten drainpipe smell to it, as roots are rotting away. You will probably find the roots to be hollow. At that point chopping it off, letting the chopped area dry for a week, and potting in a near-dry substrate as a cutting is the way to go.

These are easy to go, as long as you kow what not to do. And giving too much water initially is its achilles heel