ADVICE NEEDED. Goldfish dying off.

addy1

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I’m assuming this is only a short term suggestion until nitrate levels balance? Can’t stop feeding them per se, right?
I don't feed mine during the summer except every now and then, but my pond is big and full of plants/food for them.
They won't starve there is a lot of food in a pond.
 
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They might be coming to the surface gasping for air. A small aerator with an air stone might be needed. You'll have to protect it from the weather though. Any type of cover would be good. I built a little wooden "house" for mine. Or, your ammonia might be high.
We're just guessing at this point until we get your test results. Report back after testing.
 
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This is a highly contentious subject, but in my own, personal experience, 30 gallons (113ish liters) per goldfish

We rarely contend over goldfish - the issue comes into play when people apply the "inch of fish per gallon" to koi in a pond. 30 inches of goldfish is a whole different animal than 30 inches of koi. I would also mention that "a goldfish" can be an inch long or 8 inches long - big difference.

Here's a link to some information regarding the amount of waste that fish produce at different sizes that I find very helpful (because ultimately that's what we have to assess - "too many fish" means "too much waste produced') :


Also, not to stray too far from @LondonPond 's question - this pond is 30 gallons total with 10 fish. Again, 10 tiny fish may be fine. Give them a year to grow and it's a whole other story.
 
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Can you do this through oxygenating plants rather than more machinery?

No - you're looking for aeration. Getting the water moving can be very helpful.

And "oxygenating plants" is kind of a misnomer. ALL plants release oxygen during the day and consume CO2, but at night the process reverses and they consume oxygen. Same with underwater plants - they add oxygen during the day, but take it up at night.

These small ponds can be very difficult to keep balanced. You can do water testing and what not, but honestly your best solution is to reduce the fish load. Otherwise nature takes care of that for you. Small water changes can be helpful in the meantime, but ultimately any pond will max out on bioload.

Also, as someone mentioned earlier - get any big rocks out as they are only displacing water.
 
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... and will do the daily partial water change.

Brief update before test results...
I did a 25% water change (siphoned from the bottom of the pond) and after Thanks for all you input so far!20mins the change in the fish’s energy is remarkable. Swimming around like day one, no surface gasping etc.
Pity I couldn’t before/after the levels as that would have been interesting but we’ll have a reading shortly after Amazon deliver the kit!
 
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We rarely contend over goldfish - the issue comes into play when people apply the "inch of fish per gallon" to koi in a pond. 30 inches of goldfish is a whole different animal than 30 inches of koi. I would also mention that "a goldfish" can be an inch long or 8 inches long - big difference.

Here's a link to some information regarding the amount of waste that fish produce at different sizes that I find very helpful (because ultimately that's what we have to assess - "too many fish" means "too much waste produced') :


Also, not to stray too far from @LondonPond 's question - this pond is 30 gallons total with 10 fish. Again, 10 tiny fish may be fine. Give them a year to grow and it's a whole other story.

I say it's a contentious subject because I used to frequent goldfish forums. It's actually been really interesting for me to see the cultural difference between how goldfish were treated in those forums vs. how they're treated here. In those forums, the bare minimum was that a goldfish tank had to be at least 20 gallons, plus 10 gallons for every additional fish. However, many of the experienced fish keepers noted that this didn't seem adequate, and recommended 20-25 gallons of space for fish. Some goldfish keepers even differentiate between single-tail and fancy goldfish, saying that single tails need even more space (for the purpose of swimming, not for water quality).

So it was really only an observation that opinions on what is correct vary based upon cultural views. I wasn't sure what people would say here. As you pointed out, people don't talk about it a whole lot here! I just wanted to cover my bases to avoid offending anyone. :3


Brief update before test results...
I did a 25% water change (siphoned from the bottom of the pond) and after Thanks for all you input so far!20mins the change in the fish’s energy is remarkable. Swimming around like day one, no surface gasping etc.
Pity I couldn’t before/after the levels as that would have been interesting but we’ll have a reading shortly after Amazon deliver the kit!

That's excellent! That is definitely a sign that the water change was very helpful. I am happy to hear that your fish perked up so quickly--that means there is a smaller chance of any permanent/serious damage.

Keep in mind that ammonia builds up fast! I recommend continuing with the small water changes daily until your test kit arrives.
 
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I recommend continuing with the small water changes daily until your test kit arrives.

Yh, I will for sure. I feel much better about my care of the remaining little fellas.
RIP the ones whose lives paid for my education.
At least the fox cubs next door benefit from the circle of life.
 
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I just wanted to cover my bases to avoid offending anyone

Got it! And you'll find we aren't an easily offended group... pretty much a "hey, if it works for you that's great" mentality. We do get a little touchy about big koi in small ponds, but it's never personal. I get more annoyed with the stores that sell koi to people who don't have enough space for them than I do the folks who innocently buy them assuming it's OK because they're "small". I waited for a manager at a Petsmart one day to post a sign on a tank full of koi that said "these are NOT aquarium fish". I'm sure he took it off as soon as I left, but I was so aggravated to see those fish right next to tanks of mollies and guppies and fancy goldfish. NOT THE SAME THING!
 

addy1

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I'm sure he took it off as soon as I left, but I was so aggravated to see those fish right next to tanks of mollies and guppies and fancy goldfish. NOT THE SAME THING!
A lot of them just want to sale them before the die in the tank and or to make the funds, they don't care. I have seen so many floating fish in stores.
 
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Test your pond for ammonia, nitrates, pH, nitrates, and KH. Get back to us with those results.

So here are the results as promised...

Date: 26.06.2020
Balance (pH): 7.5
Ammonia (ppm): 0
Nitrite (ppm): 0
Phosphate (ppm): 0

Seems bang on! I think that 25% water change must have done the trick.
 

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IPA

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Just curious, when the fish died did it recently rain? Maybe some of the copper paint got in the water, not enough to kill all the fish but make the ones with underlying issue sick and the water change lowered the level? If you are really curious they make a copper ppm test kit but they may be expensive and hard to read.
Other thoughts with the shape maybe it got too hot or is it possible it was a predator, not catching them but stressing and chasing them and why they lost scales?
 

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