18 dead

[Meyer Jordan]

I have a lot of aeration going on right now. Will do test on Friday. What do you think at this point?

Unless there are still dead fish in the pond, I fully expect the Oxygen levels to be close to, if not, normal by Friday. Basically all of the BOD has been eliminated.
For certain, you have gained some valuable knowledge albeit in a very costly and painful manner.

 

[MitchM]

similar all dead Modern Koi Blog #729 - Fast alle Koi tot! - YouTube

I saw this video when it first came out -
A German couple were going away for a trip and they were concerned about their koi pond because there was some cold weather coming.
They covered the pond in those plastic balls and foam sheets in an effort to keep the pond warm.
What they really did was smother the pond by preventing any meaningful gas exchange. Someone looking after the house saw some dead koi floating, called the owners who called a local pond care company. The pond care company employees are seen removing the dead fish.

 

[mrsclem]

Is there any way you can run a net across the bottom of the pond? There may be more dead fish that could cause serious water problems. I thought I had 3 dead a few years ago and there were over 20 that were on the bottom. Hopefully you have things under control. Good luck!

 

[Faebinder]

I saw this video when it first came out -
A German couple were going away for a trip and they were concerned about their koi pond because there was some cold weather coming.
They covered the pond in those plastic balls and foam sheets in an effort to keep the pond warm.
What they really did was smother the pond by preventing any meaningful gas exchange. Someone looking after the house saw some dead koi floating, called the owners who called a local pond care company. The pond care company employees are seen removing the dead fish.

I wonder if he had too many koi for that size of a pond... those are a lot of big sized koi.

 

[Usman]

I saw this video when it first came out -
A German couple were going away for a trip and they were concerned about their koi pond because there was some cold weather coming.
They covered the pond in those plastic balls and foam sheets in an effort to keep the pond warm.
What they really did was smother the pond by preventing any meaningful gas exchange. Someone looking after the house saw some dead koi floating, called the owners who called a local pond care company. The pond care company employees are seen removing the dead fish.

yes they did have aerator too as far as i understand but was not calculated correctly , same happens under ice

 

[Marshall]

1 bass 12". 1 channel cat 15" died. 16 koi between 10-15" all died. 1 small channel cat 4" died. 3 three inch painted turtles. Maybe another 10 six inch or less comets. 15 snails.

Those fish are outside my area of expertise but the turtles I do know and can assure you they may be causing a large amount of your waste load and can wreak havoc on a filter designed for regular ponds and fish only. My general rule is that for every one aquatic turtle over 4 inches in size you can expect a waste load of approx 5 Koi worth so basically 1 Turtle creates about the same amount of waste as 5 fish and also they create some unique types waste that fish don't and so generally with that many fish already in your pond you should relocate the turtles if you can.

 

[Usman]

Those fish are outside my area of expertise but the turtles I do know and can assure you they may be causing a large amount of your waste load and can wreak havoc on a filter designed for regular ponds and fish only. My general rule is that for every one aquatic turtle over 4 inches in size you can expect a waste load of approx 5 Koi worth so basically 1 Turtle creates about the same amount of waste as 5 fish and also they create some unique types waste that fish don't and so generally with that many fish already in your pond you should relocate the turtles if you can.

i see some turtles in shop one is greenish and other seems like killer whale black and white , dont they eat fishes if we have them in pond and do they come out and live on island or borders of pond too ? also can the birds eat them ? i had these questions in mind or i would have bought it , its interactive more or a duck , just duck will eat all my plants in garden

 

[Marshall]

PS: I do feel for you though as I lost a whole gang of Koi not too long ago due to a flood that washed out the dam and flooded my ponds. It is a traumatic thing to lose these guys as for me they were my permanent pets and not to be adopted and some of them I had from the time they were tiny little fellas so just add it as experience so that you won't have to deal with it again. It is a high price to pay for knowledge but I payed the same and am a better Koi keeper because of it so I wish you the best and hop-e that your future is much brighter

 

[Marshall]

i see some turtles in shop one is greenish and other seems like killer whale black and white , dont they eat fishes if we have them in pond and do they come out and live on island or borders of pond too ? also can the birds eat them ? i had these questions in mind or i would have bought it , its interactive more or a duck , just duck will eat all my plants in garden

It depends on the size of the fish really and most aquatics will come out to a island or the edge for sun basking. As a matter of fact they absolutely have to have a place to bask and as far as the birds eating them the answer is yes if you have eagles or hawks but most other birds will ignore them. Generally I would say No if the fish in question are under 6 inches and if they are over that you will want to make sure you provide the turtles with a proper diet and also make sure the turtles and fish have some areas of refuge in the pond in-case they get spooked by each other which is very stressful on both of them and is bad for their health (especially the Koi)
PS: If your pond or the immediate property around it is not fenced in then your turtles will probably stick around long enough to realize they can leave at which time they will go exploring and probably not return.

 

[deepwaters]

I took another oxygen test today and the results were at 10 parts per million. I hope this was my problem

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I took another oxygen test today and the results were at 10 parts per million. I hope this was my problem

Does seem highly likely.

 

[barryian]

I have approximately a 4000 gallon pond four feet deep. I live in southeast Pa. Have a powerhead that circulates water to keep about a 2 feet surface area from freezing. In five years I have lost maybe 1 Koi. Last week I lost 16 large koi ranging 12 inches or larger and 1 catfish that was 15 inches and another catfish that was about four inches.My ph is normal and so is my ammonia. I also have goldfish/comets turtles and small Koi in the pond and none of them died, although the fish are by the surface. There was a 2 inch layer of ice on surface at the time of this disaster, but like I said I do have a vent hole at all times. I have not fed them since October. I have not done anything else to this pond differently than other years.

Sorry to hear that! Quite the bummer! Every year the fish get larger in which case, possibly, only possibly, the overpopulation with lack of surface area suffocated them due to lack of oxygen? Just a guess but an educated one if there was no chemical runoff from any rain .... Once again, so sorry!

 

[barryian]

Dissolved Oxygen levels are no harder to test for than any other biochemical water quality parameter. Salifert offers a test kit at a very reasonable price.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...d=PLA_G_6194&gclid=COO-pq3_x9ECFdm2wAodX9IGhw

With the main pump being off-line and your pond experiencing Ice-over, the water is not being oxygenated as uniformly or completely as during warmer months. Pockets of very low (anoxic) oxygen especially at the deeper levels would be expected. As Tula mentioned, your fish have grown and with this growth has come higher Oxygen demand.

Precisely!!!

 

[deepwaters]

Yes, thank you. I will regroup this spring. I want my pond to thrive as before w all sourts of fish and turtles. I'm hoping this is the problem and I will continue to test and provide more O2. I'm just surprised that local pond suppliers were so against this O2 deffiency that they reached a point of not even wanting to offer help any longer due to my so called ridiculous findings that I have found from all of you. Thank you again. My fish had many years of growth behind them and I will miss having a mature pond and the fish that are no longer with me.