Fish dying.

[ZackThePondMaster]

this is one of the most depressing weekends i've had in my life. First my friday was ruined, and now my like 3 year old koi is dying. I knew I shouldn't have cleaned out my pond today. :/

 

[sissy]

Is there enough oxygen in the pond and have you tested the water .Sorry to see it happen to an older fish .something has to be wrong with the water quality

 

[j.w]

Was he ok before you started cleaning it out? If so then maybe he is just in shock from the water change and will come around after awhile. Hope so and sorry if you lose him.

 

[ZackThePondMaster]

yes, he was fine. and I think it was because it was fresh water from our hose, it has whatever it has in it to keep the water clean... he's now dead. :/ and I have since decicded to either give up on ponds all and all (probably not) or run the pond 24/7 and never drain the water... and it was probably the shock.... and yes the water had enough oxygen, since before I was running my waterfall I had a pump running that was keeping the water oxygeninated, so :/ he was a lone survivor, he survived 4 years and a pump shorting out and killing all my other fish, he was a trooper. time to start out with 5 dollar koi's from the pet store again...

 

[sissy]

is your water well water as it may have been to cold and shock set in .I never put water straight in the pond I always run it through a filter tub i have slowly just in case .I have well water and I know this time of year it can be kinda cold yet .The change in temp or maybe run off from the rain .With people fertilizing there yards and spraying bug killer when it is windy can cause the problem .It could have been something toxic like certain types of leaves .On windy days there can be anything in the wind that could be carried for a long distance .SO SAD

 

[ZackThePondMaster]

:/ yeah it is sad. and I did the old trick, after i put him in the bowl that i had him in (using water from the pond to hold him in) I let the bowl float around in the water until they were the same temperatures, and no, the water we get is from the city.

 

[mogsie]

sorry for your loss pal, you must be gutted, i wouldnt let it put you off keeping fish, just learn from mistakes,

 

[ZackThePondMaster]

thanks, it was a huge blow, me being 14, i've had that fish since I was 10. :/

 

[addy1]

Did you add de-chlorinator to the water as you added it? The chlorine could have hurt the fish.

so sorry zack, don't give up on ponds, you went through the learning curve we all do. I lost a whole passel of fish the first year of this pond, they were just feeders, but they still died. That is when I found out our well is very acidic. I even let the water in the pond sit for over two months, and it still killed them. You need to just fix the problem and try again.

 

[ZackThePondMaster]

I did it, but it was just an hour before that he started doing this; i don't think it would have mattered, it was a huge fish (the size of like a size 9 in mens shoe) with the amount in the water, it shouldn't have harmed him even though I added some to the water. I think it was the transfer from extremely murky water into a clear, fresh water pond...

 

[j.w]

Sounds like you took the fish out of the pond first and then emptied the pond and cleaned the pond and started all over w/ new water. If this is the case then yep he was shocked by the all too different water setup then what he was used to. If you get fish again leave the fish in the pond and only do a partial water change now and then and when doing a clean up just use a net to scoop out the debris that has gathered in the pond. Leave all the nice short algae on the sides of the pond cuz it's the good stuff and fish like to nibble on it too. Just learn from the mistakes and go on to become a better fish caretaker for next time. Now do you have a test kit for checking your water ph, ammonia, nitrates, nitrites etc. cuz you will have to start all over by letting your pond cycle so it does not kill any fish you put in there. I would start out by just putting a couple small goldfish in there so they can poo and such and cycle the water for you.

 

[ZackThePondMaster]

oh, scooping leaves out isn't an option. and yes, that is it. I leave my pond idle all winter, and it is under tree cover, so.. taking out the leaves is not an option. I have to drain the pond, take a pitchfork and shovel the leaves out, then use a shopvac to suck up all the dirt. I wish I could do that. My pond just isn't big enough. and there was lots of algae on the side, i don't remove it. also, I might as well have my parents take me to the fish store when the temps idle out around here.

 

[whiskey]

I agree with addy1 do a water test, ...NOW ......make sure its safe to put new fish in.

Always treat fresh new water changes and put up netting over pond as some leaves can release tonins,

IF IT WAS ME ....TOTAL CLEAN OUT--- RE POT PLANTS AND START AFRESH

RUN WATER THROUGH FILTER FOR THREE DAYS, WATER TEST AGAIN, BEFORE PUTTING NEW FISH IN, WHEN YOU KNOW ALL IS CORRECT, THEN AND ONLY THEN PUT FISH IN.

GOOD LUCK SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS

PS DID YOU CHASE FISH AROUND IN MUDDY WATER WITH NET, MAY HAVE GOT MUCK IN GILLS.

 

[ZackThePondMaster]

nope, it was sitting there, and I took my bucket, and scooped it right out, it didn't struggle. and it will be a few weeks before i get new fish. i need some time to get over this, and thanks.

 

[natbla]

nope, it was sitting there, and I took my bucket, and scooped it right out, it didn't struggle. and it will be a few weeks before i get new fish. i need some time to get over this, and thanks.

It sounds like the fish may have had heath issues already if you didn't have to chase it even a little. Defintely clean out the much and leaves, and then cycle before adding new fish.