Mystery catfish death

[dbrhino]

I put four albino channel cats in my pond last summer. My location is central Pennsylvania and my pond is 10' x 15'. Three of them wintered over just fine. One died a month after I put it in. This morning I found my biggest catfish
(10") dead on the bottom with no visible signs of disease or parasites.. The water temp is about 48 degrees and I stopped feeding them when it hit 50. They really hide and I won't know till next spring if the other two survived. All of my other fish seem fine. I'm stumped as to what might have killed him. Any ideas?

 

[DrDave]

Welcome to the Forum!
It's possible you have too many for the pond size. How many gallons and what else is in there?

 

[dbrhino]

It's about 1500 gallons and I have around 35 fish total. 7 kio, 2 golden orf, a few fancy tails and the rest are just misc goldfish. I'm guessing that sometimes fish just die. But why is it the really cool ones?

 

[DrDave]

I'm guessing you meant Koi, not kio... It doesn't sound like an overpopulation problem. Channel cats might require a lot of moving water to remain healthy. They typically come from rivers I believe. How is your circulation?

 

[dbrhino]

Yes, koi, I didn't realize I was dyslexic til now. Thanks Doc :icon_smile:
I have really good water movement. It comes from a waterfall directly through the deepest part of the pond. It then travels to the skimmer.

 

[DrDave]

I do it all the tmie. :icon_mrgreen:

I would just keep an eye on the rest and do a water sample/test to make sure the nitrates and nitrite are not sneaking up on you. You might want to test, then do a water change of about 25% then test a day later again. Don't forget to dechlor if you do this.

 

[dbrhino]

Doc, You might have given me an idea. When I submersed my plants, I put the lotus in the deepest part. Maybe that slowed the flow enough to be a problem. I am going to move it to another part of the pond later today. Maybe that will fix the problem. Thanks.

 

[koiguy1969]

I bought 3 silver cats at a area reputable dealer early on in the season they seemed to be prospering, had significant growth and would even come to feed at the surface occasionally. but most of the time they were hiding behind planters under them. they also died with no visable wounds or ailments, and my water parameters were ideal. only god knows why.

 

[DrDave]

Do you have any well wishers throwing pennies into your pond?

 

[koiguy1969]

you know that would be my luck. but no, i redug and put in a new liner and i dont recall seeing any change on the bottom at all. CHUCKLE CHUCKLE.

 

[DrDave]

Has anyone sprayed malathion on plants nearby?

 

[koiguy1969]

if it was a pesticide or something of that nature wouldnt it of effected others besides the cats? i dont know what malathion is so i would be speculating.

 

[DrDave]

If a Koi ingests malathion, they become partially paralysed and it affects their ability to swim upright. Similar to swim bladder, but with a bent spine. This can be fatal.