Dead fish

[dieselplower]

I took my water to a fish store and she said it was fine . I guess I won't use the flakes any longer, I use them because I do have gold fish in the pond as well has the koi . I tell you, this pond stuff has really drained my pocket book as well as my nerves. It's sure is a lot of work . I figured the longer I had it , it would become easier but after 5 years, it's getting harder and harder to take care of .

That could be true! The fish get bigger each year so they produce more pullution. Switch to small pellet food, and try to feed the fish 1% of their body weight a day. A good quality food will produce less waste. Also, did you know that goldfish and koi don't have stomachs? Now I'm sure someone will probably correct me that they do have something that resembles a stomach but the truth is, they don't have a holding tank lime we humans do. Sure, they will at all the food up, but whatever they don't need goes right through!

 

[Mmathis]

Welcome to our group, but sorry that your introduction started out with fish losses.

You might want to do more frequent water changes -- most do them once a week, or at least every 2 weeks. You mentioned that you go by when the water is clear -- but water clarity is not an indicator of water quality, though that is a common misconception.

And it's not easy keeping everything healthy when your pond is as small as yours is, so you've been doing something right all these years! It is discouraging, but don't give up!

Oh, and BTW, when you feed the pellet food, you can crunch some of it up into smaller particles if you think they are too big for your gold fish to eat. I don't have koi, but that's what I do when I have smaller gold fish and I want to be sure they get their fair share.

 

[Laurie]

That could be true! The fish get bigger each year so they produce more pullution. Switch to small pellet food, and try to feed the fish 1% of their body weight a day. A good quality food will produce less waste. Also, did you know that goldfish and koi don't have stomachs? Now I'm sure someone will probably correct me that they do have something that resembles a stomach but the truth is, they don't have a holding tank lime we humans do. Sure, they will at all the food up, but whatever they don't need goes right through!

I already have small pellet food that I've been feeding them but I'll take your advice and stop the flakes and limit the amt of food . Thanks for all the great tips.

 

[JohnHuff]

It does get easier with time but maintenance is always involved because those are living, breathing animals in a limited man made environment. Fish die, even in the best maintained of ponds. I think that decreasing the amount of food to a reasonable amount will increase the quality of the water a lot.

You don't need to stop using the flakes. They're OK for goldfish anywhere, just don't overfeed.

 

[dieselplower]

Please for goodness sake go to any reputable goldfish care site and they will emplore you to stop feeding flakes.

 

[Mmathis]

Please for goodness sake go to any reputable goldfish care site and they will emplore you to stop feeding flakes.

Just curious, but why? I feed a flake that does not sink, so it's still very easy to scoop out uneaten food -- is that the only reason, or is there more to it?

 

[Aaron S]

I'm not too well educated on why you should not use flakes. I use flakes on my indoor tank and have been doing so for 20 years and no explosions yet. I use pellets for my buddies in the pond. I just give them what they will eat in a couple of minutes. After a while you learn how much that is. I have plants that they graze on all day so sometimes I will go a while not feeding them. They usually get fed by the kids who get excited to watch them eat. Then again my goldfish are bottomless pits. There have been times where I feed the fish, then my son will come along and feed them, my daughter has to have her turn, then the wife and mother in law have to feed them. All the while no one has told any one else that they have fed the fish.

 

[JohnHuff]

I don't see anyone here asking her to stop using flakes.

 

[Dave 54]

That could be true! The fish get bigger each year so they produce more pullution. Switch to small pellet food, and try to feed the fish 1% of their body weight a day. A good quality food will produce less waste. Also, did you know that goldfish and koi don't have stomachs? Now I'm sure someone will probably correct me that they do have something that resembles a stomach but the truth is, they don't have a holding tank lime we humans do. Sure, they will at all the food up, but whatever they don't need goes right through!

Sorry to correct you there good buddy goldfish have and its koi that dont
Laurie loose the flake and feed only pellets as much as they will eat in 5 minutes and if your going to be trotting of to the fish shop to have them test your water why not by an API pond test kit so that you can test your own water

Dave

 

[Mmathis]

I don't see anyone here asking her to stop using flakes.

Dieselplower has......

 

[dieselplower]

I don't see anyone here asking her to stop using flakes.

I said a knowledgeable goldfish site...
Also Dave said skip the flakes. One of the most knowledgeable on the site.

 

[steve/gridnot]

I tend to agree to the overfeeding. Your pond probably hit critical and you have a large number of fish for your pond size. This is what led me to a larger pond for my second one. They are easier to take care of when you have more water.

 

[Lisaebetten]

I don't see anyone here asking her to stop using flakes.

It is the last reply on the 1st page by dieslepower, right under yours. But she already stated she was going to stop using flakes earlier so I'm not sure what that is there.

 

[steve/gridnot]

Flakes HMMMMMM. My mother in law uses flake food. I haven't given her any new fish in the last ten years. She persists in feeding them every day and buys it by the pound. Her Koi look more like subs than torpedoes and they haven't lived long. They also tend to get swim bladder problems. She also thinks my fish are too "SKINNEY"!!!!!!LOL

 

[JohnHuff]

OP has been pouring in 1/2 Dixie cup of flakes (plus 1/2 cup of pellets) every feeding for 5 years in a 220g pond. If her pond bacteria can handle that it can handle anything.