Big Guy not eating

[cuesport]

4 days ago I bought a 12" Koi. I haven't seen him eat yet and he seems to not have any interest in eating. My smaller koi (6") go into a feeding frenzie every time but the big one just hangs down around the bottom. Is this something that I should worry about? For the first 2 days, he seemed very active. The last 2 days, he seems pretty lethargic. The other Koi are very active. I don't see him nibbling at the plants either.
Originally, I was worried that he would eat most of the food and the smaller ones wouldn't get enough.

 

[DrCase]

He might be shy
I would bet he starts eating soon..

 

[koikeepr]

where did you buy him? was it a breeder or a shop. You might want to give them the heads up as to what's happening...just in case something happens.

But usually, they eventually get hungry enough and eat up.

 

[DrDave]

Your Koi is likely in shock from the move. It can go a long time without food, I think it will come around given enough time.

 

[cuesport]

where did you buy him? was it a breeder or a shop. You might want to give them the heads up as to what's happening...just in case something happens.

But usually, they eventually get hungry enough and eat up.

I bought him from Petco. I think I'm pretty much done with them. The last 8 fish I have bought from them have died. They guarantee the fish for 15 days. They seem to die shortly after that.
What concerns me, is that for the first couple of days he seemed fine (even though he wasn't eating). He seemed to get along great with the other fish. All of a sudden he is just hanging around. It has gotten much warmer in the last couple of days, could that be a factor?

 

[DrCase]

How much water movement do you have ?

 

[koikeepr]

Ok, well that's why I asked the question. Luckily, you can return your fish (even dead) and get your money back at Petco. However, that really isn't a great place to get a fish.

First off, it's not normal for 8 fish to die no matter where you buy them from, so I think you really need to check your water quality. Something has to be off with water. I still have my first koi that I bought at petsmart (hey, I didn't know any better at the time!). And now, so many years I'm sentimental about it and still have him around--even tho he's a total mutt.

But on the other side of things, you need to improve your water quality. Do you have test strips? Please do tell us your numbers. Koi are pretty resilient fish and can live in some oddball water conditions, so clearly something is not right with your water situation.

Once you regulate you water situation, you need to find a more proper place to buy your next fish. AND JUST BUY ONE or TWO untl you can be assured they will live. You should buy from a place that will quarantine their fish at least for a month or two. The thing with fish from places like Petco is that they get shipped to petco's central shipping facility, then they get shipped to the individual stores, then you schlep 'em to your pond. It's jus want too much movement for a koi fish--which is highly susceptible to stressful situations.

Let's start off by trying to figure out what your water parametrs are. Tell us your figures on nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, etc.

 

[DrDave]

Before I would blame Petco, I would look at your water quality, filtration, circulation and areation.

Our Petco is guilty of having dead fish in their tanks and even when I told them, nothing was done while I was there. That said; If your Koi looked healthy and friskey when you bought them, chances are you killed them. It is very unusual for all of them to die, unless everythinhg at Petco died as well.

With only 2 months experience, I suggest you do some reading here before getting more fish.

 

[cuesport]

I was using the test strips, but was getting an ambiguous reading on the Ph. I bought a chemical test kit which shows a Ph of 7.6. Nitrite (NO2) 0 ppm. Nitrite (NO3) 0 ppm. Amonia - 0 ppm. I treated it about a week ago witth the recommended dose of pond salt. I have never added water without also adding chlorine neutralizer. The water is very clear. I am way under capacity with regard to the number of fish. The other fish in the pond all appear to be healthy and happy with the exception of my second largest (7"). for the last couple of weeks, he has seemed to hang around by himself and very seldom eats.
The pond is 15 ft. long (approx. 1000 gals.) I have a 1200 gph pump at one end and a 3 tiered waterfall at the other. I have a skippy filter just before the waterfall. I seem to have very good aeration (lots of air bubbles going down about 2 ft.). The only thing I see that is out of whack, is that the test strips show that the water is hard. I don't know what to do to soften it up. The chlorine neutralizer I use says that it will help with that but doesn't seem to.

 

[koikeepr]

clear water has no bearing on water chemistry much of the time. That Ph figure is important, and if yours is 7.6, it is in line with normal.

Has there been any runoff from your lawn that could have pesticides or something?What is the temp of your water--too hot possibly?

 

[stroppy]

might not be any help ...but perhaps an airstone the other end to the waterfull ... i know my own fish have been much happier since i put a couple in

 

[cuesport]

No, we haven't used ferterlizer or pesticides in that area in years. We get very little rain runoff. The temp has gone as high as 85 F. Today it was at 80F. No sign of stress (reddish tint on fins).
I wouldn't mind the hanging around if I knew he was eating something. I have tried several types of food and he isn't interested in any of them.