Are they sick?

[newbieincalifornia]

So I was doing my daily thing with the pond, and watering my plants when I noticed one of my fish seemed to be acting a bit odd. He was swimming around the top as I moved over the pond. I think he is having problems. Fast quite movements do not scare him, if I tap the rim of the pond he will dart away though. His gills and face seem swolen compared to his body. And the bottom of his tail fin seems a bit ragged when I caught him and took a closer look. I thought for a moment he has a patch of fzzy white but on closer inspection I found it was most likely just a patch of white scales. What is wrong with him and should I treat the whole community to be safe? I have 9 gold fish in there and was really proud of myself for keeping them alive for 2 weeks... Id like them to live a bit longer lol.

 

[bunnymp]

Sorry to have to get you to repeat yourself, but can you tell me a little something about your pond and inhabitants? You've only had it for 2 weeks?

Did you perform any water testing yet? pH, Amm, etc?

It sounds to me that the fish has tail rot and an ulcer. That is bad and can effect the others rather quickly.

You can take this one out and put him/her in a quar tank and start medications.

Do you use salt in the pond? If not I recommend doing it now. Salt kills a lot of parasites and stuff and it is the quickest and easiest way to battle back whatever is in there. There is lots of info on this site about how to use salt in emergency situations and for regular maintenance. If you can't find it, we'll walk you through it.

The other thing I recommend you do right now is start water changes. Do several small water changes every day this week to get the nasties out. And add an aerator.

 

[newbieincalifornia]

It is a 60 gallon pond, I have 3 lily's one small umbrella plant and a canna that has not sprouted yet, one bio filter and 2 pumps that turns the pond over about 4 times an hour. I netted him and the spot looked like just a patch of white on his side. I even (i know I'm not supposed to) touched it and it was smooth and felt like just the rest of him does. The fin is only a bit ragged on a very small edge of the bottom of the tail fin. Should I catch all the fish and check them all now? I am afraid his face is swollen and causing him to have trouble seeing. It's all I can think of as to why he is so chill when we come to the pond. I doubt that over 3 weeks he would all ready me calm with us. And I do test every day or every couple of days with those test strips things. Oh I also do water changes. about 25 % every 2-3 days

 

[bunnymp]

60 gallons? Check them all out every day, if they do not get it now they may.

 

[newbieincalifornia]

So salt is the only preventative measure for now? In my tanks (a lo0ng time ago) I was told if I suspect ick or any sickness to treat first ask questions later. Now I have a 30 gallon tank for my medical and was thinking how to set it up? Should I just use pond water? should I put some pond plants in there (permanently) to make it feel safer? Should I leave the medical tank outside or set it up inside? Is there any treatments I should purchase today in case of emergency? Just to have on hand.

 

[bunnymp]

Salt is one of the preventive tools. Water changes, clean filters, testing are others.
You hould know what you are treating, but most times you don't have the time to do nothing and ask questions later. Most treatments will work on a variety of problems. If you susupect ick, get some meds and quar that fish. Use fresh water, you do not want to bring the nasties with the fish to the QT.
Don't need plants in there and you don't want add'l issues. Adda an aerator, a filter and a heater. You can float a piece of foam on top or use a bucket to give the fish a hiding place. Keep the tank inside if you have predators outside.
Look on koirx (I am pretty sure that is the site) for Koi meds. They have good stuff with good prices and explanations. Personally, I only use salt, green clear, dechlor and benefical bacteria.

 

[newbieincalifornia]

I have been trying to do things without using any chemicals. I only use declorinator and benificial bacteria. I want as naural a pond as possible. Thanks for the help. I think I will take a drive today to the pond store

 

[bunnymp]

That is what is great about salt - it is not a chemical.
If you decide to use it, you'll have to keep adding it with every water change. get a meter too.

 

[DrDave]

I have a link on my web site to the Univertsity of Florida that has done studies on the proper use of salt. If you want to learn how to use it, go there first and get an educated, tried and proven method.

 

[bunnymp]

Also, I forgot to mention yesterday. If your pond is only 60 gals - you are overstocked.

 

[pondlady]

Nobody mentioned that the salt will kill your plant if it is to high a concentrate. Plants can only stand so much salt. In closed system like our pond it is hard to expect nature to fix all the problems that arise. Identify the problem then treat. Three things keep a pond healthy airation, filtration and circulation.

 

[newbieincalifornia]

Well It looks like tail rot. ... and it worked fast too. I went out saturday morning and had one dead fish and the previously mentioned fish has no tail fin... -sigh- I only planned on keepi9ng all the fish in there to season the pond and then give away most of the tiny ones (less than an inch long) only keep my one larger gold fish (about 2 inches) and get myself an additional koi. We only wanted 2 fish any ways. So I set up a make shift med tank with what I had available. And I am keeping a very close eye on both my pond and my med tank. Should I take out all my fish and treat them? I know I need a new set up for my med tank but for now this will have to do till pay day when I can get a real TANK. lol I was hoping I could upload pics to this thread but I guess I will have to start a new one.

 

[bunnymp]

The best way to treat a bacteria infection is to remove the infected fish from the pond to a holding area big enough to accommodate it.
Make sure you have a salt solution in the new holding area of 0.30%. Add 1½ pounds of salt per 100 gallons of water in your holding tub and make sure the salt is dissolved before you add your fish otherwise it could burn it's gills.
Provide aeration, with a small air pump and air stone that can be purchased at a local aquarium store.
Add the recommended dose of Melafix medication to the water. Repeat daily until symptoms go away for a couple days to make sure the cure is effective. It may take 10-30 days to cure the fish.

Check your ammonia level in the main pond, I think the cause may be due to the overstocked pond.

 

[pondlady]

Thank you bunny I love how quick melafix works but I have been chewed out other places for even suggesting using it. Use as directed and it does the job.

 

[bunnymp]

I only used it once and it didn't help me, but I think my fish was too far gone at that point. I have heard by others how it worked for them, so I recommended it newbie. Hopefully, no one chews me out for trying to help.