Losing fish here and there

[huwge23]

Hello

New to the forum obviously. I wouldn't say i'm losing alot of fish but one here and there dies. I have to admit i don't know the exact type of gold fish or koi that are in my pond. I have had it just about one year and it was here when I bought this house.I would estimate the size of the pond to be 1,000 gallons but it has three different levels so this really is a guess.

I have two small koi and I would say maybe 15-20 small to 5-6" gold fish. Most of my fish survived the winter but so far I have lost two koi this year and 3 of the larger gold fish. I only feed them 2-3 times per week and feed them a koi/gold fish pellet food. Sometimes soft cat treats....not sure if this is bad for them but they seem to LOVE it.

I really try to keep up on it and have tried to learn as I go. Honestly I never really thought about testing the water quality but had an old pool testing kit. Alkalinty seems to be ok and in the range of 6.8-7.2. Water temp should not be an issue but I can always check as it is shaded most of the day. I have a bog filter that is about half the surface of the pond itself and it appears to work great as I never get bloom algae. I do get string but only have to clear that every 2-3 weeks. Water is extremely clear so no foreign mater that I know of.

I have two pumps going, one for the water fall and one for the bog. Not sure off hand at the flow rate but they seem to be adequate. My bog contains a fair amount of (excuse my limited plant knowledge) plants that range from water lillies, water lettuce, water iris, marginals and other ground cover plants. And sorry the floating plants are in the pond not the bog. I really only have about 1/3 of the pond cover with floating plants.

My fish don't seem to act weird they tool around in all areas of the pond. When I am standing there they tend to stay at the bottom but if I view from a distance they are all over the place.

I am sorry I will likely get a water testing kit but I suspect that maybe my oxygen levels get a little low? I really don't have to add much water but when I do add water I use the additive to get rid of the chlorine. I did use a treatment to assist with getting rid of the string algae but that was about a week ago and I just found one fish dead.

Really all I can think is low oxygen or some other levels are off. And guesses before I can test it?

 

[sissy]

welcome and what is the temperature of your pond water and do you have a water test kit or an aerator and how much do you feed them and pics would help

 

[huwge23]

welcome and what is the temperature of your pond water and do you have a water test kit or an aerator and how much do you feed them and pics would help

The temp is 72. Fed 2-3 times per week and I do not. I stated above I don't have a kit but have an old pool test kit and the alk is 6.8-7.2. No aerator.

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome! Testing the water will tell you a lot, but in the meantime are you finding fish dead in the morning? That's generally a clue to low oxygen levels.

 

[Lisak1]

Very pretty pond by the way!

 

[huwge23]

Very pretty pond by the way!

Thank you I put a ton of work into it.

I am really not sure when they are dying as I work early. I really only seem to lose 1 every couple weeks so not many at all.

Just reading the forum so far I have learned alot and plan to make a couple changes. On the list is test kit and aerator.

 

[Tula]

I agree the test kit will give you more information. Your pond is very pretty. Additional aeration is never a bad thing .

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I would think that you can discount problems with Oxygen levels. Most, if not all, of the fish would being exhibiting symptoms of Oxygen deprivation. I would advise doing nothing until you can get accurate test results on all of the pond's major parameters.

 

[Dave 54]

Yes I concur however if it eases your mind add exta airstones

Dave

 

[huwge23]

Thank you everyone. I agree it is probably not oxygen levels that makes sense.