Dying Fish ???

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I am not sure if I added the link correctly or not but I am continuing to have trouble with the fish. These goldfish have been fine for 3 weeks now. Just yesterday I noticed some red in their fins and crystal looking appearance. The local pond place told me to give them a quick salt bath. I did so and put them back. They seemed fine until this afternoon. This one you can see just stays at the top and doesn't do anything else. One of the koi died sometime between 9 and 10 this morning and he seemed to be fine prior to that. I am getting frustrated. All tests are perfect. No other changes. I haven't been feeding because they weren't eating. HELP. any suggestions. I think the others are dying as well. The last remaining koi seems to keep flipping all around the pond and the other two goldfish are acting very strange. I don't want to watch them suffer. I realize they are only fish but I feel like I am killing them slowly since I don't know what is wrong.
 
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You may well have some parasite or other infection in your pond. Sounds as if you are describing flashing and thick slime coat. Your video also shows labored breathing. That, and dying fish.. well, all bad signs.

You say your water is good, but can you confirm you have test results for ammonia and nitrites? If you are sure your water is good then take one sick fish, alive or recently died, and have it examined by your dealer. Its usually impossible to say for sure what they have or how to cure it without taking a scrape and putting it under a microscope.

To preserve a dead fish so it can be examined, here is what Fishin4cars told me a few weeks ago:
Freezing a dead fish as soon as it dies will preserve most parasites and fungal infections. best way is to wrap in plastic wrap tightly with no water, then place it in a ziplock bag. It should be good for a week or longer but of course the sooner you can get it to someone that knows what to look for the better.
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/diagnosing-dead-fish-and-other-qs-t7973.html

BTW, the fish you gave a saltbath, is he one of those that died or is dying? If not, and if he is doing better, Id consider salting the entire pond to 0.3% as a stop gap measure. You will still need to get them checked and probably treated, but it can buy you some time.
 
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I think that waterfall ought to mix enough air, unless you added some chemical recently to remove algae or something? They can leave the water oxygen deprived and kill your fish.
 
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Well the labored breathing one has since died :( The other two are flashing all over the pond. I think they are dying as well. Yesterday I added Microbe PL.
I just tested everything again. Ammonia 0; PH 7.0; Nitrate .25. Is there any chance of saving the last 3 in there?
The pond has a green film along the tub but no string algae, would it help to hook up the UV light to the process?
I am so discouraged.
 

fishin4cars

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I went back and read all your posts, I want to get a few things straight in my mind before attempting to even try and help. Pond has been up and running aprox. 1 month? You stated in a post the the water goes thru a filter then the skimmer then to the water fall. If this is the case which it is hard for me to figure out how, How big and what kind of filter do you have? You also have stated that the pond is 300 gallons, then mentioned koi and goldfish, how big are these fish? lastly you also stated the water checks good, however I don't see nitrites on you check, have you checked it? Nitrates at .25 I'm expecting if the case is true that your ammonia is 0, which is hard to believe considering what the video shows, the time the pond has been set up and the fish load in the size pond I would expect to see at least a slight reading. Your nitrites may be extremely elevated. First off I would get as much aeration and surface water movement as possible, second, take a water sample to get tested to verify your test readings, Won't be the first time I have seen a false reading, some test solution do go bad over time and if has sat on a dealers shelf for a long time that could be the case. Third, do a 10-20% water change as soon as you can, this will give some relief if it is a water condition, last take the fish that has died to the dealer and get them to look at them and see if they see anything. I'm suspecting you pond is cycling but there are a lot of missing pieces of information to make a sure diagnosis
 
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Ok. The pond has been up for exactly 4 weeks. I stand corrected, it's 120 gallons. There is a pump on one side of the pond that pumps out to a filter that is much larger then this pond needs (but does the trick) then comes out of the filter and through a skimmer down a waterfall and back into the pond.
There were orinally 4 koi and three goldfish, all small. One koi died the next day. The others have been in and fine for 3 weeks, eating, playing and acting normal. I noticed some redness to the fins of the goldfish this weekend, drove down to the pond store and harassed them for some ideas. I gave the 3 golfish salt baths and released them back into the water. At that time I gave the pond a seperate dose of salt based on the instructions. This morning they all seemed fine and around 10 we found another koi, dead, floating upside down. This afternoon I noticed that the goldfish in the video was very lathargic and going with the flwo of the pond until he finally gave up. The next largest goldfish is basically coming straight up out of the water and darting all around the pond. The last goldfish seems ok but I am sure is not too far behind. The last remaining koi is just laying low but moving once in a while and flashing every once in awhile as well.
I feel terrible. I am wondering if I should just let them be and not stress them anymore with treatments and such.
checked amonia again, 0. Nitrate is reading a faint .25. I gave the pond another salt treatment.
 
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Amanda, nitrate and nitrite are two profoundly different things. Nitrate is plant fertilizer and pretty much harmless to fish. Nitrite, like ammonia, is a fish killer. If your test kit doesnt measure nitrite, then get one that does.

What you have is either nitrite poisoning. Which would be entirely plausible even with no ammonia reading if your filter is cycling. The symptoms match too. If thats the case, or if you dont know because you dont have a nitrite test, then do partial waterchange, aerate and add 0.3% salt asap.

If its not nitrite, then its most likely some parasite, and that can only be determined with a scope. Bring a fish to a vet. Not doing anything is not the right response here.
 
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Amanda, also, what is your kh? It looks like you have an oxygen problem and possibly and acid problem. If you have red in the fins, oxygen could be the factor. My fish have been flashing randomly for weeks and I ahave been outthere testing like a mad woman. Our kh was very low as was the ph originally. 7.0 is ok. are you checking am and pm and getting the same reading? Today our water temp went up 10 degrees from yesterday and I saw no flashing, but I also added a bit more baking soda two days ago, trying to neutalize the water. Are you using city or well water and if it city, have you treaated it with dechlor and if it is wellm have you tested the tap to see if it is the same as the pond readings?
 
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Update:
So after much aggrivation, I left work early last friday. I went home, emptied half the pond, refilled, added de-chlorinator. Of the two fish that seemed to be struggling, one died the next day and the other seems to be fine. He isn't super active but he stopped flashing. He has been eating and swimming. I am going to hook up the UV light this weekend and add a bubbler to add some additional oxygen. If all progresses this well, I hope to add a few more goldfish in 2 weeks.
Thanks for all the advice.
 

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