Help..my koi seem lethargic after storm

[dieselplower]

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.

John, sorry I took some cheap shots at you in a couple threads. Im done with this nonsense. Have a good one.

 

[JohnHuff]

John, sorry I took some cheap shots at you in a couple threads. Im done with this nonsense. Have a good one.

No offense taken, have a good day, Cheers, Huff and Puff

 

[Mmathis]

@CreativeAddiction

OK, while the boys are all duking it out.....

I think the biggest issue is of water quality, no matter what the cause. Yes, that is WAY too many fish for that size pond, despite water overflowing, or rain, or just whatever.....

As one mentioned, are you certain of the size of the pond?

Your fish are producing more waste than your filter can handle. (See link below for a fish load calculator -- it might give you some insight). This stresses the fish. Remember that they breathe through their gills, so what's in the water (ammonia, nitrites, any other toxins) is what they are breathing. That's why they are gasping at the surface for air. It would be the equivalent if you were to walk around in an inclosed room full of toxic air, say a burning building -- assuming the heat didn't get you first, you would quickly be overcome by the smoke & fumes.

YOU can walk out of that burning building, but your fish CANNOT get out of THIER toxic water. It's up to us to keep their water environment as clean & livable as possible. So put out the fire, open the doors & windows, and turn on the fans -- get the smoke & fumes outta there QUICKLY!

Your best options are to add more filtration, more air, more surface agitation, very frequent water changes, and reduce your fish load!

http://www.your-garden-ponds-center.com/fish-load-calculator.html. Here's a fish load calculator that might help.

Get a water test kit (liquid, drops kind) and check your water -- keep a log. Learn what to watch for and watch for those changes.

 

[JohnHuff]

Just as an aside, during one season I had almost as many fish in an 800g pond. But that season I had 4 filters running so the water was always clean, but it was a dangerous situation to be sure.

 

[CreativeAddiction]

I took the water to be tested. They said ammonia level and ph are good. They said it's probably the sudden change in water temp due to how much hail we got yesterday. They probably got at least a 5 gal bucket worth if ice hail dumped on them yesterday. I've lost 7 total today. I clean the filters 2x a day to be sure the water stays clean. So sad to watch them struggle.

 

[CreativeAddiction]

And there's just one big fish (12") and now 23 under 6".

 

[CreativeAddiction]

What do I do if I can't find all the dead ones and they're still in the pond? Are they going to contaminate the water? I have some unaccounted for. Called a local pong guy and he said with how cold it got here last night out of the blue and the amount of quarter size hail added to the pond he's positive that's what killed them...sudden drop in temp. I've lost 16 that I was able to net. 3 more I'm sure won't make it through the night and 4 that look like they'll make it. So there's 7 or 8 unaccounted for that I assume are dead on the bottom and I can't see them. The water is clearing up slowly. But can't see the bottom still.

 

[dieselplower]

Why don't you put some warm water in?

 

[CreativeAddiction]

I've been adding 2 gallons of hot water very slowly at a time all day. Prob 10 gallons worth. I'm afraid of changing the temp back too fast too. This pond stuff is stressful!

 

[Fishylove]

Yes.. It can be very stressful for a novice. Hell it can be stressful for an experienced ponder. Please remember, to always think or ask questions ( which you are doing! yeah!!) before you do something, or add something to your pond.
First off Welcome to our forum!
I am very sorry for your loss, sometimes you just feel helpless.
But you have come to the right place, and we will try to help you save as many as we can. Mother Nature unfortunately can do a real number on a pond was this a freak cold spell? Or has the weather there been cool?
Also, if you could give us approximate measurements of your pond with the depth too, it would help us. Also please what type if filtration do you have?

 

[Priscilla]

So sorry to hear of your pond problems. That's a lot of dead fish. I don't have any other advice, seems like its all covered above. Good luck to you. Hope it rights itself pretty soon.

 

[Fishylove]

With that, now that the testosterone spat has ended we can get down to business
Do you have a thermometer in the pond? And what is the temp of the water? At this point the warm water you are adding, IMHO is not going make that much difference especially if there is still ice in there. Temps are important to oxygen levels and also wether or not your fish should be eating.

 

[Fishylove]

Oh and be sure to use a water treatment when adding large amounts of water at a time.

 

[JohnHuff]

With that, now that the testosterone spat has ended we can get down to business
Do you have a thermometer in the pond? And what is the temp of the water? At this point the warm water you are adding, IMHO is not going make that much difference especially if there is still ice in there. Temps are important to oxygen levels and also wether or not your fish should be eating.

You can't add enough warm water to warm up a pond that way. A better method might be using a water heater.

 

[Carolkoi]

Ammonia becomes ammonium in cold water, guys, and cold water has the most oxygen.