2 out of my 6 fish have died, please help

[Debra4]

Background... We've had a 300 litre freestanding pond with 6 fish (5 goldfish, 1 tench) happily for around 3 years now. We do a 25% water change around every 3 weeks, more often in summer and use prime to treat the water beforehand. About a month ago we noticed one of the fish was mainly lying down on the bottom of the pond. He stopped eating and never swam to the top, he would occasionally swim around quite erratically.
We have since done a 50% water change and as one of the other goldfish started acting similar, we added a interpret general medication to the water.
The following day (Sunday) we woke to find that the 2 sick fish were even worse. We removed them from the pond and unfortunately they passed away a few hours later.
We now have 2 other fish acting the same - lying on their sides, not eating, hardly swimming, some gasping can be seen.

We're at a loss, I've ordered a decent water testing kit, as upto now out local aquatic centre has been testing it when needed. Any advice or help would be much appreciated

 

[Debra4]

I have added some photos

 

[JamieB]

The test kit will help if it’s a case of fish growing and outpacing the ability of the beneficial bacteria to break down waste. Other factors to consider, have you added any new fish, plants, or decorations? Could a chemical have got in the water? Are the fish showing any wounds or unusual colors? How are their gills? What kind of filter do you have going? Airstones? If no filter get one quick, That could be a big part of the problem.

 

[Debra4]

Hi, we have a filter with sponge that we clean regularly. Nothing new added at all. We've never had any plants. We looked at the dead fish, no signs of anything unusual really. The one that's sick now has a black mark on his head, that's all I can see. Test kit will arrive tomorrow.

 

[mrsclem]

Hello Debra- sorry you are having problems. This is something we hear so much, have a pond, nothing has changed in years. But it has, your fish have grown! your pond is about 80 US gallons and looks like its not completely full so less than that, small for 6 full grown goldfish. Is the sponge your only filter media? Are you cleaning it with tap water? Test your water as soon as your kit comes in and post results- especially ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph and kh if possible.

 

[Debra4]

Hello Debra- sorry you are having problems. This is something we hear so much, have a pond, nothing has changed in years. But it has, your fish have grown! your pond is about 80 US gallons and looks like its not completely full so less than that, small for 6 full grown goldfish. Is the sponge your only filter media? Are you cleaning it with tap water? Test your water as soon as your kit comes in and post results- especially ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph and kh if possible.

I'm so upset that our local aquatic centre happily sold us these fish knowing that our pond wasn't big enough!!
I will definitely be checking the water tomorrow and I'll post on here to share, I have no idea what to do about it if the levels aren't right, so I'll need help!
Thank you for your help

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

You might want to look at fan tails, they stay small, breed slowly. Come in colors like shubunkins or just orange white etc.
I have only fantails in my 300 gallon old hot tub pond.

You could also make a mini bog, a planter with pea gravel and plants, feed the water up through the pea gravel. Set it on one of the edges of your pond. I have a mini bog on my hot tub pond and also a whole bunch of plants in the water.

 

[Debra4]

Welcome to our forum!

You might want to look at fan tails, they stay small, breed slowly. Come in colors like shubunkins or just orange white etc.
I have only fantails in my 300 gallon old hot tub pond.

You could also make a mini bog, a planter with pea gravel and plants, feed the water up through the pea gravel. Set it on one of the edges of your pond. I have a mini bog on my hot tub pond and also a whole bunch of plants in the water.

View attachment 134312

We were thinking of getting some plants. We did have 2 shubunkins, but one died yesterday and the other looks like he will die too

 

[addy1]

So sorry.

I had shubbies in a 55 gallon tank over winter, waiting to put them in my pond. What a pita to keep the water decent for them. They were outside asap, the tank I gave away.

Plants really help keep your pond water in good shape, they are great filters. I over load my ponds with plants. And filter with only a huge bog full of more plants.

 

[Debra4]

So sorry.

I had shubbies in a 55 gallon tank over winter, waiting to put them in my pond. What a pita to keep the water decent for them. They were outside asap, the tank I gave away.

Plants really help keep your pond water in good shape, they are great filters. I over load my ponds with plants. And filter with only a huge bog full of more plants.

I really wouldn't know where to start with plants to be honest!! Do the fish eat them? Don't they make the water dirty?

 

[TheFishGuy]

I really wouldn't know where to start with plants to be honest!! Do the fish eat them? Don't they make the water dirty?

golfish dont tend to eat them, they nibble, but not very much. they dont make the water dirty at all! yes there may be a small amount of escaped substrated, but in the long run they really help to filter the water

 

[JamieB]

Pond plants are either left free floating, potted in a media designed to not dirty up water, or just tucked in amongst rocks. You can even pot things like water lillies in plain clay cat litter, which does make a small cloud of dust initially, but that settles quick. Another option for potting plants is pea gravel, well rinsed. But for best plant growth, use a substrate designed for submersion, such as aquarium planted tank substrate.
As late in the year as it is, if you are in the Northern hemisphere, try looking at local plant shops and pond nursery, you might find some on sale. Or you can order online.
Pet stores don’t care that you are going to end up overstocked in your pond, they consider it money in their pocket, if they even know anything about the fish they sell. They also expect folks to either loose fish, or get a bigger tank, both of which is money in their pocket.
With no new additions to the pond, the leading suspect is water quality. What was your local center testing for, and what kind of results did they give you? Results such as “ water looks good” should raise a red flag, they may just be using an aquarium dip strip test, which should still have flagged for things like nitrate, ammonia, etc. Things we stress here is water quality, filtration, and tied back into that, stocking. Water quality is only good if it has sufficent filtration, which can only be maintained by not overstocking the pond. Now that you know, you have three options: increase pond size, increases filtration, or reduce fish. Mother Nature has decided to reduce your fish, so you can only hope to solve the problem before it kills the others. This is sad, but something we see a lot here. Go get a small pump, set up additional filters, stop feeding the fish and don’t add anything except ammonia locking products and water conditioner as needed, and cross your fingers the sick ones can recover. If it is indeed a water issue, this might help until you can test and update us.

 

[j.w]

@Debra4

 

[Debra4]

I am trying to upload a video of the two sick fish but it won't let me

 

[addy1]

I am trying to upload a video of the two sick fish but it won't let me

up load it to you tube then post the link here