2 of my goldfish died last night

[MK3]

I actually was worried about the filter a few days ago because the fountains stopped running. But all I did was clean off the filter and everything seemed fine, I think it was just clogged

My desire to reach into a fish carcass filled pond is very low. But I'll try

 

[MK3]

I found. The frog. And that's Wednesday beside her gulping for air

 

[MitchM]

The pond plants look healthy, no excess algae growth, there a few lasting bubbles on the surface which would indicate elevated dissolved organic carbon but not excessive.

At this point I'm leaning toward either surface runoff problems or fish that were in a weakened state being that they were indeed feeder fish.

I'm not really clear on what you have for water circulation, filtration and aeration, but my best recommendation for now is to increase water circulation as much as possible.

.

 

[MK3]

Here's the best pic I got of the filter

 

[MK3]

The pond plants look healthy, no excess algae growth, there a few lasting bubbles on the surface which would indicate elevated dissolved organic carbon but not excessive.

At this point I'm leaning toward either surface runoff problems or fish that were in a weakened state being that they were indeed feeder fish.

I'm not really clear on what you have for water circulation, filtration and aeration, but my best recommendation for now is to increase water circulation as much as possible.

.

Okay . Thank you so much for the help

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Can you find the filter you have on the internet and post a photo or link to it?

Cant really see it in the above photos

 

[MK3]

The pump /filter

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Beckett-400-GPH-Submersible-Pond-Pump-FR400HD/202563430

 

[MitchM]

If your filter is a sponge filter on a pump, then it's possible that the filter became clogged and circulation was reduced to the point of reducing O2 levels, but like Meyer said earlier, goldfish are pretty tolerant of low O2 levels.

 

[Tula]

I understand that goldfish are intolerant of low O2, but I think the pond looks too "still" and the fact the fish were gulping for air could also point to low O2. I would follow @MitchM 's recommendation and increase water circulation and I'd add more aeration.

 

[Mmathis]

@MK3 Is that the only filtration you have, and how often do you take the sponge filter off and clean it? If you can remember, can you describe what the dead fish look like? Are there sores, red spots, missing scales, torn fins? Lift up the gill cover and see what color the gills are?

Personally, I think it's one of those "chicken or the egg" problems where there's not a good answer because there are several things at play. I don't think you were over-stocked for a cycled pond, but I think you were over-stocked for a new pond. It sounds like you don't have an effective bio-filtration system -- those sponges are more for mechanical rather than bio (even though they claim to be), and if you wash the sponge out, you'd have to wash it in a bucket of pond water or treated water in order not to destroy the good bacteria [which you may have done -- but it's still not IMHO very good for bio]. Your pump looks like it's moving a good bit of water which is good for keeping the water aerated. Did you say where you live? And do you know what your water temps have been? Many of us are just coming off some really hot summer temps that have caused lots of problems with our ponds. And smaller ponds don't handle such changes as well as larger ponds do.

Did you say if you'd done a water change (sorry, but I tried going through and there was too much to remember everything I read)? If not, that would be my next suggestion.

______________________________
Not saying this is the issue, but I do agree, looking at the pictures that the top level of the pond looks even with ground level. Even if there wasn't "run-off" from the yard/patio, water and/or debris could easily come together and mix at some point. As an example, most of us build a berm around the pond that acts as a physical barrier between what's in the pond and what's outside the pond. And again, this may not have a thing to do with your problems, but it could be one in the future. So once we get this all sorted out, you might want to consider a future project to give a raised edge (berm) to your pond. The pond is really lovely, BTW.

 

[Tula]

I understand that goldfish are intolerant of low O2, but I think the pond looks too "still" and the fact the fish were gulping for air could also point to low O2. I would follow @MitchM 's recommendation and increase water circulation and I'd add more aeration.

Ooooops! Meant to say TOLERANT, not intolerant, in my post.

 

[MK3]

These are the dead fish. The white and full orange one died yesterday. Hope this helps

 

[MK3]

We don't have a bio filter

We changed the water maybe 3 weeks ago

 

[Meyer Jordan]

We don't have a bio filter

We changed the water maybe 3 weeks ago

Did you do a complete (100%) water change? If so, this may be the source of your problems. Water changes can abruptly alter the pond's chemical parameters. The larger the change, the greater the change in parameters especially if there is a great difference between parameters of the source water and the pond water, This can impart a great amount of stress to fish weakening their immune system.
In addition, if your source water is municipal, did you add dechlorinator when you changed the water? If you did not, this would account for the fish piping. The Chlorine in the water will have burned their gills.

 

[Mmathis]

These are the dead fish. The white and full orange one died yesterday. Hope this helps

Thank you! I know that was hard for you to take pictures of them to post.

But (for future reference) what is more helpful is close-up shots that give an over-all view of the fish [easier for koi people to do since their fish are bigger -- goldies, not always as easy as it sounds]. These are some pics I took of a fish I'm watching now. My fish-photography skills aren't great, but you can sorta see here. I need to get a picture of the gills, but almost need a 2nd person to help with that. P.S. The one of the whole fish, I edited the eye area to show bulging areas -- in case you're wondering about the funny contours.