Cleaned Pond and Fish are not Doing Well

[Acedink]

I got my fish (2 koi, 2 goldfish) last spring, and they thrived, and I winterized the pond, they survived, and had been thriving so far this year. There was a lot of algae on the sides and debris on the bottom, always clogging the filter/pump. I removed the fish on Saturday, power washed all the algae off, drained it, and refilled. We have well water, so no chlorine, but the water temp was definitely colder than it had been. I also put some algae chemicals in, and put the fish back in. Two started looking pretty bad, and 1 died this morning. I believe another will be dead by the time I get home. None are eating, but the 2 biggest are doing ok. The other is on his side a lot.

Any ideas what I did wrong? Is it the water temp, putting in the algae chemical and reducing the oxygen level? The first day or so many were near the top with mouths open at the top of the water.

 

[Jhn]

Cleaning the pond like you did is like basically starting over with a new pond. By power washing the liner, You wiped out the layer of periphyton/good bacteria that formed on the liner. The algae on the liner is a good thing as it is the base of establishing a balanced pond and so now the pond is going to to go through a cycle again. As the wiped out bacteria population needs to expand again to consume the waste being produced by the fish. Them gasping at the top is due to a high ammonia level in the pond which inhibits the gills from pulling oxygen from the water.

My advice is to get a bottle of prime so it can lock up the ammonia in the pond, until the bacteria population can reestablish itself. Also one of the few times small water changes could be in order to try and keep the ammonia levels down. Also, adding plants as they use ammonia to grow.

 

[Acedink]

Cleaning the pond like you did is like basically starting over with a new pond. By power washing the liner, You wiped out the layer of periphyton/good bacteria that formed on the liner. The algae on the liner is a good thing as it is the base of establishing a balanced pond and so now the pond is going to to go through a cycle again. As the wiped out bacteria population needs to expand again to consume the waste being produced by the fish. Them gasping at the top is due to a high ammonia level in the pond which inhibits the gills from pulling oxygen from the water.

My advice is to get a bottle of prime so it can lock up the ammonia in the pond, until the bacteria population can reestablish itself. Also one of the few times small water changes could be in order to try and keep the ammonia levels down. Also, adding plants as they use ammonia to grow.

Thank you very much. I will get a bottle of prime ASAP and I was already planning to get some plants today. Really upset with myself over this.

And I'm in Maryland too Jhn, so probably same conditions.

 

[j.w]

Sorry for your pond issues. Your fish have been through a big shock but glad you came here to get help so when you restart the pond all up you will learn some good info on what not to do and what to do.

 

[CometKeith]

I got my fish (2 koi, 2 goldfish) last spring, and they thrived, and I winterized the pond, they survived, and had been thriving so far this year. There was a lot of algae on the sides and debris on the bottom, always clogging the filter/pump. I removed the fish on Saturday, power washed all the algae off, drained it, and refilled. We have well water, so no chlorine, but the water temp was definitely colder than it had been. I also put some algae chemicals in, and put the fish back in. Two started looking pretty bad, and 1 died this morning. I believe another will be dead by the time I get home. None are eating, but the 2 biggest are doing ok. The other is on his side a lot.

Any ideas what I did wrong? Is it the water temp, putting in the algae chemical and reducing the oxygen level? The first day or so many were near the top with mouths open at the top of the water.

Hi. I'm so sorry for your fish loss. Try not to be too discouraged. A lot of us lost fish when we first started. I would try to learn abut the nitrogen cycle. Once you understand it then it will be very clear where you went wrong. You are actually setting up a natural ecosystem when you have an outdoor pond and by power washing it you destroyed it. Good luck!

 

[addy1]

Have you checked the ph of your well water? Mine is very acidic, I kill fish if I do a large water refill. And also you did remove the good bacteria like said above.

Welcome to our forum, sorry you had the loss.

 

[Lisak1]

We were at a pond store over the weekend and they had a big sign in front of their display of algaecides: THESE PRODUCTS WILL KILL FISH. The manager of the aquatic area explained to us that they carry them because customers want them, but they don't like to see people use them. By posting the sign, they have a chance to explain what the options are and why you may not want to kill the algae... or your fish.

@Acedink - I'm sorry about your fish, and I'm not saying the algaecide was the cause. Probably in your case a combination of things like you mentioned. Your story just reminded me of that conversation we had regarding algaecides. We are all here learning together and have all lost fish for various reasons. Stick with us - this is a fun group of people who just love ponds.

 

[mgmine]

I don't think it had anything to do with your water change or water temp. I think it was the snake oil that you put in to kill the algae. I also think you are falling into the trap of adding more "stuff" to fix a problem you don't have but think you do because the internet says so. If you have algae (green water not string algae) that doesn't go away on its own put in a UV light and it will be gone in days not weeks. Don't add anything to the water and resist the temptation to test it, you're looking for trouble. It sounds like the fish did just fine with whatever you initially did with them.

 

[EricV]

@Lisak1 that sounds like a pond shop I'd want to go to! Which one is it? Every year I am at the Aquascape "tent sale" and the variety of treatments they have there is just amazing. I once scored a super deal on annual fertilizer, so I keep looking for those little tubs. But instead all I find is sludge this and algae that.

 

[Lisak1]

But instead all I find is sludge this and algae that.

I know.... we've been to that sale a number of times and gotten some great buys on things over the years. I understand why they sell all the "products" and they do emphasize a more natural approach to pond care, but I think too many pond owners are still in the "sell me a product" mindset. We were at a another pond store this weekend and literally everyone else there was buying an algae killer - along with their fish and plants.

I think it was Lurvey's in Des Plaines that had the sign posted - we made the rounds over the weekend and probably hit five different places looking for shubunkins!

 

[poconojoe]

You made a couple common mistakes. Probably from what you saw on the internet. It's not your fault, your learning from your mistakes and you're here getting advice, so that's a good thing. You'll find this is a very friendly and knowledgeable site and there's always someone here that can answer any questions you have.
You now know that powerwashing and adding chemicals to get rid of algae was a bad thing.
You now know that some of that algae is a good thing.
Plus, everything was great up until you powerwashed, so your doing something right. Before you do anything drastic in the future, check with the members here.
I realized a while ago that it almost seems the less you do, the better off you are. Once your natural cycle is established, it all runs itself.
Clean your filter pads, net out any floating debris or stuff that settled on the bottom. If your filter has some sort of bio balls under the pads, leave that alone. Never rinse those out. Beneficial bacteria lives on that material.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

If I read correctly the fish were pretty much having issues in less than 24 hours of cleaning and adding algaecide? If so there wasn't enough time for ammonia to build up to the point of killing your fish. My bet is on the algaecide or as addy mentioned you may have had a big change in ph which can be dangerous for the fish (especially if the new water was lower ph than what they were in)

 

[Blueeyes]

I just noticed your post I'm sorry about your fish I had this problem when I rebuilt my pond with new pond syndrome struggled for weeks with prime trying to keep the ammonia locked up and nitrite under control. What ended up solving my problem was purchasing micro lift
Nite Out ll. It is the live bacteria that converts ammonia 2 nitrite and the bacteria that converts nitrite 2 nitrate. I dumped half a bottle in to 800 gallons tested my Pond 15 minutes later 0 ammonia 0 nitrite I keep this on hand in my refrigerator always as soon as I even see there's a problem with ammonia for whatever reason Pond gets heavily dosed with it problem solved.