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I am fairly new to the pond world, we built our pond last spring it's approx 3000 gal, we had moved our fish from the small pond we had on the deck into the pond. We even had babies fish soon after they were put into the pond, everything seemed to be ok until fall about mid Oct we started to lose fish. Eventually we lost all within a few weeks. We waited until spring drained the pond and clean it, we restock the pond with 10 kio and once again everything was going great until yesterday I found 2 fish dead in the skimmer. Does anyone have any suggestions on what's going with change of the season and losing fish?
 

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@jackieroberts
First of all, tell us every thing, I mean every little detail on how you went about setting up your pond. Like any chemicals you use, where you get your water (city or well?). Do you test your water? Where you live? Where you got the fish? Just everything you can think of and we will ask you more questions as we go about figuring this out. We want to help you and stop this from happening. I know it is a very sad thing to come out and find dead fish and have no way of knowing what went wrong. It has happened to many of us. Oh and pictures too of the pond and even of any dead fish and the area the pond is in etc.
 

YShahar

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I am fairly new to the pond world, we built our pond last spring it's approx 3000 gal, we had moved our fish from the small pond we had on the deck into the pond. We even had babies fish soon after they were put into the pond, everything seemed to be ok until fall about mid Oct we started to lose fish. Eventually we lost all within a few weeks. We waited until spring drained the pond and clean it, we restock the pond with 10 kio and once again everything was going great until yesterday I found 2 fish dead in the skimmer. Does anyone have any suggestions on what's going with change of the season and losing fish?

Hello @jackieroberts, and welcome!
I'm sure some of the more experienced ponders will be able to give you some recommendations. But it would help to have more information about your pond, your filtration, etc. For example, where are you located and what sort of temperatures have you had? How deep is your pond? What kind of plants? Water source? And most importantly, what kind of filtration do you use? It can also help to post water test results, as some of the folks on the forum may be able to diagnose the problem based on test results.
 
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Update info on pond....aquascape 400 skimmer, aquascape bio falls 6000, aquascape 45010 pump, dosing system and a iogen system. The pond is 3000 gal, deepest area approx 3 feet. We have 4 lilies and a couple of water plants. The fish we have in the pond now where bought from the local pet smart, we didn't want invest into more expensive fish until we survived a year without losing any. Total # of fish 12 biggest one approx 4"
 

YShahar

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Hi @jackieroberts ,

It certainly sounds like you've got more than enough filtration for the number and size of fish. Others who have more experience at fish keeping (and know your climate better) may have more ideas, but the first thing that came to mind is that perhaps chemicals reached your pond via runoff. Have you had a lot of rain recently that might cause fertilizers or pesticides to leach from surrounding lawns? Has anyone been spraying for bugs in the area upwind of you? I've also heard of fish being killed when the municipality suddenly changed the way it treats water (adding chloramine as well as chlorine, for example).

In any case, it would be a good idea to get a water test kit (API fresh water kits can be ordered on Amazon) and see what your water parameters look like. You may also want to add Prime or some other water conditioner, just in case the issue is chloramine.

Hopefully some of the veteran fish keepers will chime in as well (though they'll all want to see the water test parameters).
 

cas

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Is there anything different that happens in the Fall?

Have you shut down your pump for winter? Have leaves accumulated in the pond? Does wildlife visit the pond? Do you live close to a farm that would be spraying chemicals? Has it rained a lot lately? Have you added any ornamentation to the pond? Any treated lumber over the pond? Have you added any chemicals to the pond? Does your pond get runoff from the yard?

Testing your water would be helpful. It could tell you if there could be a pH crash or if there is too much ammonia.
 

addy1

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Welcome to the forum!

Sorry for your fish loss. Down the road 10 koi would be too many for your pond size.
 
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I am fairly new to the pond world, we built our pond last spring it's approx 3000 gal, we had moved our fish from the small pond we had on the deck into the pond. We even had babies fish soon after they were put into the pond, everything seemed to be ok until fall about mid Oct we started to lose fish. Eventually we lost all within a few weeks. We waited until spring drained the pond and clean it, we restock the pond with 10 kio and once again everything was going great until yesterday I found 2 fish dead in the skimmer. Does anyone have any suggestions on what's going with change of the season and losing fish?
So sorry to hear about losing your fish. I agree with others as to it could be caused by several factors. All I can share is what works for me. Firstly, I maintain the number of fish according to my pond size, I do water checks especially ammonia due to fallen leaves and other debris, I treat with Prazipro twice a year, Spring opening and Fall winterizing for prevention and I try and scoop the bottom at least once a week. This also allows me to observe my fish, check my pumps and overall condition of my pond. I use a bog filter so there's little to no maintainence for filtration. I would consider a possible contamination of pesticides if I lost that many fish. As for the change of seasons being a factor, in my experience I would have to say no. Don't beat yourself up about it because I remember all the things I did wrong being a new pond owner. There's not a one size fits all answer because what may work for one pond owner may not work for another. Experience is the greatest teacher.

Good Luck!!
 
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I would first test my water parameters to rule out pH, ammonia or nitrite issues. Of course the parameters may have changed since the problem occurred but it will give you an idea. Can you post photos please?
 
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iogen system.
Update info on pond....aquascape 400 skimmer, aquascape bio falls 6000, aquascape 45010 pump, dosing system and a iogen system. The pond is 3000 gal, deepest area approx 3 feet. We have 4 lilies and a couple of water plants. The fish we have in the pond now where bought from the local pet smart, we didn't want invest into more expensive fish until we survived a year without losing any. Total # of fish 12 biggest one approx 4"
Pet smart isn't exactly known in my area anyways to have overly healthy specimens. but the problem could be as simple as you cleaned your filter with chlorinated water which is designed to kill bacteria . and we strive for bacteria in our ponds. or the refill was drastically a different temperature. lack of oxygen etc etc
 

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Good catch on @GBBUDD on the iongen system. You are adding copper constantly to your water with this. Copper is acutely toxic to all invertebrate life and chronic exposure for fish can lead to their death as well, either directly or by suppressing their immune system making them more prone to disease.

I would start by ditching the iongen from your filter system and testing your water.
 
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I agree with the Iongen suggestion - not a big fan. It's main purpose is to reduce string algae in the pond, but like all algae it's just a symptom. Remove the cause and you'll get rid of the problem.

Is that what's causing your fish to die after a number of months? Hard to say. Could be they were already in poor Petsmart health and the changing temps were too much for them to handle. But I would think real hard about what else might be happening in or around the pond - any chance of contamination from surrounding areas?
 

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