Miracle in Milton, MA ???? Zone 6

[pond new1]

Well having received over a 11 feet of snow, not seeing my pond heater light for several weeks, and having the coldest month of February on record I was resigned to dealing with dead Koi. There were days that stretched to weeks when everything was totally covered with several feet of snow! Not even the glow form the heater.

There has been some melting going on for a week or so. My tot box home made heater and aerator became visible about a week ago with ice still on the pond. Yesterday for the first time a section of water without ice around the heater and aerator became visible. I just went out there to see if there would be any movement ...I did see one KOI , my largest, but it looked liked it was frozen solid as it wasn't moving at all. I thought ...don't dead fish float belly up when dead? Maybe there is a chance...walked around the pond to get a different angle and ...they moved. ALIVE! one. ..so far at least. Can't believe it!

 

[pond new1]

Just as a supplement here is the pond now and earlier in March. Already Springtime and still have all this snow. Oh it is in full sun all day long, too

 

[sissy]

WOW glad you made it .Fish will look like what you are describing it is like when a bear hibernates .I would not worry yet ,but hopefully all are fine

 

[Lisak1]

You guys really got slammed this year. Fingers crossed that the outcome will be good for all you fish!

 

[Tula]

You have a really hard winter...here's hoping for a quick spring thaw and your fish swimming about!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Nice! Hope they're all alive!
I lost a couple goldfish this winter, indoors. So next year they're all staying outside and nature will decide their fate.

 

[j.w]

Too much cold and snow! Hoping all your fish are fine.

 

[RobAmy]

Nice to see you are getting closer to full melting. I live in RI so not to far from you. I managed to get mine already open only because I kept the pond shoveled off. Yesterday I managed to get all the pumps running. I still have 8" of snow on the entire ground. All my fish survived. Tough winter for sure. Hoping good things for all your fish. Keep us updated.

 

[pond new1]

Lost one. After placing one of my pumps to the added filter system yesterday I noticed one of my two Koi died ,after surviving a brutal winter I think he was just too big for the pond. Too bad. It got real cold again last night. Think in the mid 30's. There were no marks or anything on the fish. 23" long and 9" wide.
I did spray a little silicone on the pump impeller but ran a lot of water over it before placing in the pond. Cannot imagine that caused a problem because the other Koi and small gold fish seem fine. Could this fish just have been too big for my 2,000 gal pond about 15' long and 6' wide?

Will not be adding any fish and when they all are gone will keep it fish free. A lot less work. Just concentrate on plants and the landscaping aspect of the pond.

 

[tbendl]

I am fishless for that reason. I would be devastated if I lost a pet. I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Sorry about your fish....

I'm not sure that it's the size of your pond that caused the death. Are you running any type of aeration or filters? (besides the one you just turned on)

 

[sissy]

sorry about your fish because he looks healthy and seems to have great color and no injuries .As long as you have a good filter and no wastes on the bottom to reduce oxygen levels he should have been OK .Not sure how many total fish you have .

 

[pond new1]

Yes I had an aerator running all winter. As soon as the ice melted I put in the filter and will get the main filter hooked up in a day or so when it gets warm.
The only thing I saw looked like a little blood by on one gill but it may have been the gill itself. The water is clear and I have been using the Micro lift for winter. Too bad I couldn't have changed the water and hook up the filter sooner. Maybe would have made a difference.

 

[sissy]

The you never know .sad to say

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Yes I had an aerator running all winter. As soon as the ice melted I put in the filter and will get the main filter hooked up in a day or so when it gets warm.
The only thing I saw looked like a little blood by on one gill but it may have been the gill itself. The water is clear and I have been using the Micro lift for winter. Too bad I couldn't have changed the water and hook up the filter sooner. Maybe would have made a difference.

Yea, Like sissy said you never know....It can be so frustrating especially when it's a favorite or a big fish.