Fish keep dying...

[marin27]

I have had 12 fish die over this summer. I have an 800 gallon pond. I do a 25% water change every two weeks. All nitrate, chlorine, ph, nitrite, phosphorus, ammonia, salinity levels good. Salinity at 4-5 parts per thousand.

Fish, all sizes (large, medium, and small) will fie randaomly. One per week, then none for 2 weeks, then another one the next week. No signs of any fatigue or lesions on fish. They look perfectly fine from the outside.

Today we did our own "necropsy" on the dead fish today and found a brownish goo with white/yellow beads in it. It was ALL over the fish and there was a lot of it. I have attached pictures.

Any ideas on what this could be???

 

[koikeepr]

oof!! I've never seen anything like that! It does look like eggs!

 

[kilty55]

looks like eggs? do you have a pond full of female fish and no males to help them eject the eggs? or possibly you live somewhere with a low temp and your fish have become egg bound?

 

[DrDave]

Those are definetly eggs. Males usually outnumber the females, it would be strange not to have one. As for the male participation, I have video of mine spawning and the males just paralleled the females without butting or ramming them.

 

[koikeepr]

egg bound!? That's the only thing I can think of that would potentially cause a death like that. Perhaps no male in the pond to help her rid herself of them...that's a shame.

 

[marin27]

Thanks for all the helpful insight.... I guess we will try to get some males in the pond to see if that helps!!

Thanks again, Marin

 

[koiguy1969]

i find it hard to beleive that unless you did it intentionally that you had a pond full of females. those chances would have to be real minute. then to have 12 fish all become egg bound.... and isnt now alittle late in the season for eggs?. do an autopsy on any others that die, if you have any left. the one fish may have been eggbound, but all...? seems more realistic to say something else is killing the fish and this one happened to be with egg.

 

[koikeepr]

i think koiguy makes sense. This one looks egg bound but were the others the same? DId they look big and swollen like this one?

 

[DrDave]

Florida may be warm enough for a fall spawn, but I agree that a whole pond would not likely be female or dying eggbound. Too much coincidence for me.