Wierd behavior

[David Schlegel]

All seven of my Koi (and the shubunkin goldfish) survived winter
in my pond..... They are slowly becoming active. Today has been an active
morning. The are swimming around at all levels and not sticking together on
the bottom anymore. Some have even eaten some of the food I've thrown
in.... BUT, one is scaring me. The fantail - Ginger!!! Last night I
was skimming junk off the surface with my net (which I have been doing every
day). She went NUTS, swimming erratically and jumping out and up a couple
of times. Then she surfaced floating on her side. I took the net and
gently pushed her back and forth. She then went down to the bottom nose
down. I took the net again and started pushing her. She got "stuck" in a
rock. I thought she was a gonner.... When I touched her tail I thought I
saw some movement, but I didn't want to hurt her with the net. ....(I had
to go to a meeting that I had now become late for). She was right by the
aerator so I turned !
it on and left.....hoping. I got home a couple hours later and she was
swimming as if nothing was wrong. Then, this morning, I spend about an
hour or more just sitting on the deck edge watching (and letting them get
used to me again). I went inside.. came out and she was floating on her
side!! I again did the net pushing thing. She responded quickly and
started swimming. Now she stuck to the surface and slowing swam around.
She almost seemed to swim into the sides... Now she is down on the bottom.
All the others seem fine... I checked water conditions with a chemical
strip and all seemed find. Had another near incident this aft. Ginger
just seemed lethargic, barely swimming along the edge at the top. I turned
on the aerator and nudged her in that direction. She took off. What seems
interesting is that the other Koi seem to be worried about her also. They
seem to nudge her along and try to keep her moving. Hummmm,

 

[sissy]

You should get a liquid test kit as they are a little more accurate .Has there been any changes you have made .Have you been feeding them wheat germ yet .Fish spawn and start acting weird this time of the year .Mine have been chasing and in general going fish nuts .Do you have a filter .You say the other fish seem normal .Can you isolate her to a tank or tub and take a pic of her .Could she be egg bound ,are there any injuries that you can see .

 

[baeya]

If you have fed them already, make sure it is the Spring or Fall mix. If it is, how long have you had it.....maybe it has gone bad. I was thinking about maybe they are spawning, as well. They get pretty exhausted after that... not sure if your water temp is warm enough yet for that, though.
Keep the air going for sure...
Good Luck and keep us posted!

 

[David Schlegel]

Thank you very much for your replies. I'm sorry to say that "Ginger" disappeared from the pond sometime Wednesday night!!! She's nowhere to be found!!! A couple other people I contacted thought that she may have been suffering from a collapsed swim bladder. We have a VERY sudden temperature shift here in Wisconsin last week. Went from 40's to 80's in less than a week. Is it possible that the water warmed to quickly for her to adjust. "She" was a butterfly (fantail) Koi and one person said that they ahve two swim bladders and it's common for one to fail. Sometimes the condition heals itself, other times not. .....

At first I also thought they just might be spawning ..... I hadn't gotten to feed them yet, waiting for the water temp to get higher.....I bought new cold water food a couple weeks ago in anticipation..... I DID do a liquid water test.

I failed

Thanks again for your thoughts and advice.

 

[baeya]

Oh no.....I'm so sorry for your loss of Ginger. It's strange that you can't find her body, though. Are all your other fish doing okay?

 

[sissy]

sorry to hear about the loss of ginger but you really want to check your pond for her as leaving her in there could cause water problems .I usually start my fish out with organic garlic in there food to help them feed and to fight off any health problems and so far the only fish I have lost was one that jumped out and he did it over night so did not find him until the next day

 

[David Schlegel]

All the other fish are doing just fine. The were eating a bit yesterday. Water temp is barely hitting 60 so I didn't feed them much at all. Couldn't resist. Thanks for the organic garlic suggestion. I did feed them cold water food. Someone else suggested thawed out packaged peas... Temps are going down the next few days here in Green Bay so there won't be any feeding from me. They will have to live off the algae on the rocks.

It is VERY strange that I didn't find a body (or at least body parts). I drained about 1/3 of the pond so that I could see some areas of the pond better (looking for the body)..... No go. I have to believe that she was floating and a bird, cat, raccoon came to the right place at the right time..... I've had hawks in my backyard....I've had rabbit bits and pieces and morning dove parts in the yard before......

Needless to say, I'm keeping my eye on the other six...

Thanks again

 

[sissy]

peas yes excuse the expression makes them fart LOL .Hawks I'm not sure of but rabbits and doves will not harm fish .Seems strange are there any hiding spots on the bottom or around potted plants you may have in the pond

 

[j.w]

Sorry you lost Ginger and hope it was just a one fish illness and all the other ones stay well.

 

[David Schlegel]

Sissy, what I meant by the rabbits/morning doves is that they have been eaten in my back yard. I've had remains of THEM. I assume my hawk found them and enjoyed. So I know I have had predators of some type in my backyard..... I know that the rabbits only destroy my flowers and the morning doves won't harm anything..... Just wish I could find some sign of "Ginger". Someone did suggest I look UP into the trees for parts instead of just on the ground (HUG)!

Thanks j.w. for your concern. All others are doing well.

 

[koiguy1969]

green peas are a nice treat, but have medicinal use as well ...they can quickly relieve some swim blader problems. but frozen peas shouldnt be just thawed, they should be steamed, and all peas should be skinned. you pinch the meat from the pea and feed the meat only. the skins are very hard to digest.. the peas can work as a laxative. never heard of anything giving fish the farts. peas are very easily digested.they're very unlikely to give gas. for the first feedings of the season, a good wheatgerm based food is best. good bioaccessable proteins, and the most digestable food. even if the water temp is 65*. wheatgerm is your best choice. after their long winter "hibernation" or torpor state. their digestion and metabolism are still slow, and should be eased into their regular diet