Very Sick Koi

[Mmathis]

Don't worry about making the vultures sick - nature has provided them with an iron gut to support their diet of dead and decaying things.

So true! And I feed any dead fish to my box turtles. That’s exactly how they would feed in the wild. Their adaptive abilities are phenominal! Just an FYI, wild box turtles are not fit for human consumption — because they can eat many substances (such as poisonous mushrooms) that are toxic to humans!

 

[GBBUDD]

It did not occur to me at the time that it might make a vulture sick.

NOT LIKELY, they eat what we would never contemplate even being in the same room with.

although there's no scale in the photo, so it's hard to be certain

you are correct it's a large gold fish the nail head on the board says it was probably full grown and around 5 to 6 inches long

 

[Learning to Care for Koi]

Goldfish?! That was one of six fish that was said to be a Butterfly Koi at Walmart! It grew to double its original size this summer. It probably was five or 6 inches by now.

Unplugged the ionizer.

Prowling around the pond just now with my Amish next door neighbors, we found a third sick fish. It was lying on its side and appeared unresponsive. Shortly after we lay it on the rock and took a picture we noticed the mouth moving so put it back in. It uprightrd itself and with effort swam towards the bottom of the pond.

This was one of seven fish said to be koi, purchased at Walmart in 2015 . This remains the smallest of the seven original fish and the only one almost uniformly orange in color. I confess I have wondered if it really is a koi fish. But, when I read that the males were significantly smaller than the females I thought that perhaps it was a male. The fish is around 11 or 12 inches. It’s sometimes hard to know how fish really look seeing them in the water but I have the impression that this fish may have become bloated. Seeing it from above, the body appeared more elongated.

I have ordered a microbe lift product from Webb’s Water Gardens recommended for winterizing the pond.

The water in the pond comes directly from a drilled well over 60 feet deep. On circulation it goes through two UV lights, one leading up to the waterfall and the other inside of the filter. We have been very conscientious about keeping them changed.

The only water filter that we have is free standing beside the waterfall. We churn the water out daily when it is in use. And, my Amish next-door neighbor frequently opens it up and rinses out the filtration sponges.

Do you think it might help to empty some of the water and refill the pond? The water coming up from the well is very cold but our temperatures here now are ranging from the 30s up to the 40s.

I am assuming that almost certainly there must be something wrong with the water, unless something contagious could be getting to the fish?

THANK YOU!

 

[Lisak1]

the nail head on the board says it was probably full grown and around 5 to 6 inches long

Ah! Good catch! I was looking for something to compare it to!

 

[Learning to Care for Koi]

PS. @MitchM Sorry, I don’t know what is KH and GH.

 

[Gemma]

Sorry about your fish!

 

[addy1]

Goldfish?! That was one of six fish that was said to be a Butterfly Koi at Walmart!

That is not a koi or a butterfly koi. It is a Goldfish, sorry you are losing your fish.

 

[j.w]

Koi have barbells or whiskers:

 

[Mmathis]

That is not a koi or a butterfly koi. It is a Goldfish, sorry you are losing your fish.

I was thinking the same thing. @Learning to Care for Koi, are you sure you have koi and not goldfish?

 

[Learning to Care for Koi]

I want to say thank you to everyone who responded with your knowledge, advice and sympathy in relation to my suffering fish. We began with 10 and lost four of them. One who died was a koi, I believe, and the other three were goldfish.
I believe that what triggered the die off was probably an excess of copper from our ionizer. I did not think that such a large pond would be affected, but now know better. When I was alerted to this very real danger, we immediately turned it off and changed about half of the water, and it seemed to make a critical difference.
Of our original seven, purchased in 2015, sadley only one remains. I do really think that that one is a koi. He or she is elongated in shape and comes up and acts curious and I cannot help but wonder whether it is feeling the loss of its longtime companions. Don’t know if I am projecting, but I cannot help but wonder.
What I have learned from this is:
1. test the water frequently, INCLUDING copper,
2. limit the use of the ionizer to brief periods, and
3. don’t try to buy koi at Walmart.
A photo of the 4 lost fish, R.I.P., is attached, just in case it should reveal something new. The brown spots are specks of dirt.
Again, THANKS.

 

[Lisak1]

Oh that's so sad. I am not a fan of the ionizers for the reason you stated. We had one and could never get it to work because of the salinity of our water or something like that, so we sold it.

Those dead fish all appear to be goldfish - I don't see any barbels on the big one.

 

[Mmathis]

So sorry!

 

[j.w]

Very sad for you

 

[Learning to Care for Koi]

Thought I should sign off with a happier picture from earlier in the summer. Actually, I took this one because I was so excited the water had finally cleared up enough to see the fish!
As an aside, we are having our first real snow up here. Happy to report that the pond is properly cleaned up and has a lovely hole in the ice, thanks to our aerator.
Sending wishes for a happy winter to pond owners and fish alike, and, once again, thanks .

 

[Mmathis]

Thanks for the update and hope all continues on a positive note. Keep us posted.