Mystery of dying goldfish and other questions

[Dave 54]

Ah those bloody feeder fish again they have alot to answer for if it was them why do you have these fish you dont see them in the UK we are much more respectful of our fish .......
Yes HTH but they were all reported to be in good health when bought so they couldn't have been feeders could they ?

rgrds

Dave

 

[Nepen]

Dave, thanks for your reply and some nice tips I may as well give away some of the goldfish. Sounds like a good ideas. They always hungry anyway and today I put 30 some tadpole in and they ate all in 2 seconds!

I did the water test five minutes ago and all seems good, the Alkaline might be a bit on the high side though, what will that do and how to fix it? (Ill also search for answer on the web too). The ammonia level seems to be ok, the color is not exactly the same as the 'safe' level but not at the 'caution' level either. I'll have a better Ph test tomorrow but right now my stick test said its about 5-6. Is it too low?

One of the dead fish definitely show sign of stress with the blood spots and some red streak on its back, it scales were missing some too. But the one that died today didn't have any sign at all.

I live in the south so I'm not so concern about the winter that much, we had a cold winter last year but only the water in a bucket will freeze, I don't expect my pond to freeze over too but still need to learn all about winter feeding and all that since the water will definitely be cold, too cold to feed the fish (that's new to me, thank you)

When you said to give away some fish, do you mean just goldfish or my guppies count too? I thought guppies don't make much mess?

HTH, I'm not sure, I bought it from Petsmart and they were labeled as comet goldfish. The price was right at 10 cent each so I bought too much . They were the first in the pond though.

 

[Nepen]

Dave, it could be, I don't know. When I bought them and put them in the pond I didn't do water test yet (didn't have the kit then) I had one goldfish died on me from that batch then, but that was it, it could've died from stress as the body was bent.

 

[Dave 54]

If your pond is between 5-6 Ph wise that is way too low no wonder they are dropping like flies, if you dont rectifiy thi they are all going to succumb, however di you have any bicarbonate of soda in the kitchen, if so add 5ml per 50 gallons to the pond until you've reached the 650 gallons that will stablize it at neutral .
Its a quick fix that gives you the breathing space to get things right , Oystershell does the same thing as does calcified seaweed but they are a full time fix .
You really need to get a grip of this pond I've given you the answersnow you have to put that into practice and I really want you to buy the fish health book I mentioned and read it ok as it'll explain all can you promise you will rapidly one of my pet hates is explaining to a person what to do, then they go off and do it at their own pace .
Do that and more fish will die so speed is of the essence here my friend .
Best of Luck keep me posted by email if necessary

rgrds

Dave


rgrds

Dave

 

[Nepen]

Dave, did you mean baking soda?

After a google search, it is a baking soda I do have some, I'll do it as soon as my husband gets home to be with our son, should be very soon

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Dave 54]

Yes I did indeed say baking soda at 5ml per 50 gallons US not our UK imperial messure , you should see a change within a few hours but remember this is a quick fix operation to stablize the pond giving you time to act and sort everything out.
At risk of aving a discussion about PH pills again you could use Plaster of Paris .
Get one of those microwavable pudding bowls add plaster of Paris to the bowls and add just enough water to start them off leave them for 48 hours to set solid then gently drop them in the pond where they will slowly disolve and use up the PH


rgrds



Dave

 

[Nepen]

Would it hurt the fish if put too much baking soda? Just want to make sure I don't kill my fish again.

 

[sissy]

Just put in half the amount then and test your ph after a day and see if it raises up .You can take it slow with raising the ph .The ammonia from fish waste is the bad one .I use pdz horse stall refresher as it is zeolite to my filters also .I have to worry more about sun and heat also .I made a shade sail for over my pond but did put up temporary shade for now since I am still working on the pond

 

[Dave 54]

shouldnt do


rgrds

Dave

 

[HTH]

I see there is a pH problem.

If they were selling comets for 10 cents each there is a very good chance they were feeders, or treated as badly so they may as well have been. A non feeder 10 cent goldfish from a pet shop is like a 250mpg carb. Not such animal.

These poor guys are shipped with more fish then water. They all get stressed to the max all are ripe to catch and die from most anything.

 

[Nepen]

HTH, you are probably right about the comet I have as a feeding fish. They seem now healthy though, hoping that after I get the Ph right they will live a happier life

 

[Nepen]

I just did it. Put in 45ml of baking soda in the pond (out there with flash light and all). After 10 minutes I tried the strip test and the Ph seems pretty high, I guest the baking soda is not yet mixed in quite good yet. Tomorrow with the new and better Ph test kit I'm hoping to get a better reading on it.

 

[dieselplower]

Nothing wrong with having "feeder fish". I have a couple dozen of them and they grow big and strong and are also good looking. They are also healthier, in general, than fancy goldfish. It is sad but true that they are shipped to and kept at pet stores in less than ideal conditions but the ones that survive the first few weeks will generally thrive.

 

[Mmathis]

I bought it from Petsmart and they were labeled as comet goldfish. The price was right at 10 cent each so I bought too much . They were the first in the pond though.

FYI, these are the fish that we call "feeder fish." They are called that because they're usually sold to be fed to other critters. Problem with them is that they are mostly kept in very crowded tanks in the store (notice the high numbers of "floaters" in those tanks). Overcrowding leads to stress, stress will make the fish more susceptible to illness/disease, and this can cause BIG problems in your established pond. There's no reason to not buy feeders, but they should be quarantined before you add them. In your case, you started with them, so they probably aren't the cause of your trouble, but poor water conditions can and will weaken your fish (even the healthy ones), and any diseases that are lurking will probably show up.

And BTW, most of my comets are "feeders." Back then (a whole year ago) I didn't know about all this and didn't know about quarantine. I've been very lucky, and so have my fish -- and I still suffer from "newbie-itis"....... Hang in there!

 

[Nepen]

Everyone is so kind thank you. I'll let you know the result of my Ph tomorrow.