Help..my koi seem lethargic after storm

[CreativeAddiction]

My pond at the new house is probably 500-600 gal. 30 small koi and one big one...we'll now 29 small koi. Denver area had major hail and lightning storms all afternoon yesterday and this morning my pond is over flowing a little, there's ice built up at the base of the waterfall and all the fish are gathered there as if they're trying to get more air? Did it just get too cold from all the hail? I threw my little airator into the pond near them to give them a little extra air. I'm afraid to feed them if the water is too cold and mimics winter. The hail got one fish...some of it was quarter size. Do I just let the fish do their thing? Do their bodies know what to do? I assume they've survived these crazy Denver temp changes before. Not sure what to do.

 

[dieselplower]

Wow 30 koi in 500 gallons will be a major problem for you unless you have a massive filtration system. This is probably why you are seeing problems now. Also, large storms can cause the PH of the water to drop which is stressful. A large rainstorm can also contribute to stratification, where there is massive oxygen depletion in the water. That would explain why they are at the surface. I would test your PH and Ammonia for starters, and whatever else you can, to see where you are at. Yes good idea to keep the aerator going and Im sure they will be fine if you skip feeding for a while. How often do you narmally feed them?

 

[CreativeAddiction]

The previous owners had one big fish and then got 32 little ones for free. Mi killed one while removing him to clean the pond last week. They had never cleaned the pond in 6 years! I wondered if that was too many fish. They are all 5 inches or so and the big one is maybe a foot. I rented a submersible pump to fix the overflow problem due to the rain. Remaining Fish seem to be doing good. Just hanging out by the air supply. I'll take your advice and not feed them today. The previous owner said they get 4 handfuls of food a day. I did that the first 2 days and most of it ended up in the filter not eaten. I Lowered it to 2.5 handfuls a day. They seem to do better with that amount and the filter net doesn't get all the food, the fish do now. Any other tips are major help! How many fish is a correct amount for a 600 gal pond? I figured as they grew I'd need to thin them out.

 

[Nepen]

I have about the same size pond as yours. Last year I had 6 and that give a lot of room for them growing and having babies. This year I'm hoping to have 8, but if my babies survive then I'll try to give away 2 of my adults to keep the load low.

I have goldfish.

Koi seems to produce much more waste and get a lot bigger.

 

[CreativeAddiction]

Do you sell them? If so how much do you sell them for? I don't want them to be too cramped and they're growing fast.

 

[Nepen]

I gave them away. But since yours are Koi, you could probably sell them.

 

[CreativeAddiction]

How do you tell the difference between koi and just a big gold fish?

 

[dieselplower]

Koi have a handlebar mustache. Otherwise known as barbells or whiskers by their mouth.

 

[JohnHuff]

First things first. I think first we should ask what are the dimensions of the pond, did the old owners say it was 5-600g? Next is what kind of filters it has.

 

[JohnHuff]

Wow 30 koi in 500 gallons will be a major problem for you unless you have a massive filtration system. This is probably why you are seeing problems now. Also, large storms can cause the PH of the water to drop which is stressful. A large rainstorm can also contribute to stratification, where there is massive oxygen depletion in the water. That would explain why they are at the surface. I would test your PH and Ammonia for starters, and whatever else you can, to see where you are at. Yes good idea to keep the aerator going and Im sure they will be fine if you skip feeding for a while. How often do you narmally feed them?

dp, here is another example of your prolific and misleading posts. Why on Earth would you ask her to check ammonia? Look at the post you are referring to. She already said that her pond was overflowing. That means too much water. You still think she will have too much ammonia? You are throwing too much at her in order to try and sound smart. Don't do that. Ask for the basics such as pond size and filtration before doing anything else.

And don't assume from the get go what her "major" problems are. Maybe she does have massive filtration. Ask first.

 

[dieselplower]

It is easily possible that an overflowing pond could still have high levels of ammonia. I don't know about you, huff and puff, but my pond is usually full so a small amount of rain will cause overflow.

 

[JohnHuff]

It is easily possible that an overflowing pond could still have high levels of ammonia. I don't know about you, huff and puff, but my pond is usually full so a small amount of rain will cause overflow.

Really? Read her first post again. Does it really seem likely that ammonia is her #1 problem? Wouldn't your first priority be to confirm the size and what the filtration is?

By the way, name calling doesn't make me look bad. It makes you look bad. Just a heads up there.

 

[dieselplower]

Really? Read her first post again. Does it really seem likely that ammonia is her #1 problem? Wouldn't your first priority be to confirm the size and what the filtration is?

By the way, name calling doesn't make me look bad. It makes you look bad. Just a heads up there.

OK Huff and Puff thanks for the heads up. And uh yeah in water cold enough for there to be ice build up I would imagine the benificial bacteria are doing little to nothing right now and with 30 fish in 600 gallons yeah id say ammonia could well be a problem. I did address the filter size in my original post. This is hilarious how you are just going around trolling all my posts lol. Now do you really think finding out the filter size will help the fish right now?

 

[Dave 54]

My pond at the new house is probably 500-600 gal. 30 small koi and one big one...we'll now 29 small koi. Denver area had major hail and lightning storms all afternoon yesterday and this morning my pond is over flowing a little, there's ice built up at the base of the waterfall and all the fish are gathered there as if they're trying to get more air? Did it just get too cold from all the hail? I threw my little airator into the pond near them to give them a little extra air. I'm afraid to feed them if the water is too cold and mimics winter. The hail got one fish...some of it was quarter size. Do I just let the fish do their thing? Do their bodies know what to do? I assume they've survived these crazy Denver temp changes before. Not sure what to do.

What the OMG you have to be joking right 30 koi your 600 gallon pond now that is a recipy for disaster our setup was built to take 100 6" koi because it was a former koi dealership QT pond its now retro fitted into our pond annd I wouldnt dream of putting 30 koi into it even though we have the mother of all filtration systems that came with the pond nd is designed to take the load.

Dave

 

[JohnHuff]

Now do you really think finding out the filter size will help the fish right now?

The basics come first.
We don't really know the size of her pond. If we know the dimensions, then we know a more. Next, if she doesn't have a filter, then 30 fish in 500g could be a big problem. But if the old owner left this super duper filter, then we will already know that the old owner probably had a good setup in place.

I don't know what your area of expertise is in real life. For example if you're into snow plows, a good overall picture of the "health" of the plow would explain a lot.