fury fish

[xxshell]

hi can anybody help,
we have a 250lt pond with fliters uv air pump, i noticed one of my gold fish has fur growing on its body , i went and took a water sample down to my pet store and they tested the water , they said the ph levels are of the scale but everything else was fine , and to just do water changes every other day, and to remove the fury fish and keep him in another tank ..
ive now noticed today one dead fish another starting to become fury and another swimming oddly ,
im think a full water change is the best solition here as i have no idea why this is happening , ive have like 10 gold fish for almost 5 yrs without any probs in a smaller pond , changing to a larger pond and adding to it seems to have become worse then better.. any suggestions please thanks

 

[addy1]

sounds like fungus maybe, read this see if it helps

http://www.goldfishcare.org/fungusdisease.php

http://www.petgoldfish.net/fungus.html

 

[buckry]

Is it possible you have catfish?

 

[Dana A]

Do you use salt?

 

[CometKeith]

Hi xxshell, Welcome. It sounds like if you just recently changed to a larger pond then it hasn't had a chance to cycle properly. I wonder if your water really tested "fine" and if your ammonia levels are at zero. Try getting your own test kit and checking it, do frequent water changes of 10-15%, and stop feeding until ammonia is at zero again.

 

[fishrich]

A full water change sounds quite drastic, some say that a max of 50% should be changed at any one time, 25% normaly. You would also loose all your good bacteria which you will have been building up too if you changed the lot and then take years to get away from new pond syndrome which is getting that water to a harmony ballance. You can treat the fish for fungus which is the white fur on the scales. As said above-Check the ammonia level to see if the bio filter is working up to standard.

 

[fishrich]

Oh theres something i noticed, you say you have a 250 lt pond, now thats quite small for 10 fish i would say unless they are quite small that is. I would go on two large gold fish per 450lt , or say one 12" koi per 450lt /100uk gals. Now think of your fish size and see if you have too many fish??
They and be ok in a over stocked pond with a good filter, buts its living on the edge and then suddenly you have a dead fish for no reasion.

 

[fishin4cars]

I found this short but brief description of "Saprolegnia". This is a very common but very aggressive type of fungus. By far this short article has good points but you may want to research and find more information on it for a even better more accurate way to treat.
Dealing with "Cotton Wool" Fungus on Your Koi

By R. D. Bartlett and Patricia Bartlett
Cotton wool or cotton ball disease is a charming name for Saprolegnia — a nasty fungus that grows when bad water quality stresses your koi. Expect to find it when the water contains quantities of uneaten food and when the pond has too many koi for its size.
Fungus can attack any weakened portion of a koi, from the skin to the gills. It usually takes hold opportunistically, when the koi are stressed. Be sure that you always check for the presence of fungus when your fish suffer an unrelated trauma or illness.
When a koi has cotton wool fungus, the fish develops what looks like a fine-textured fur coat over its body that's actually mold growing on the skin. Sometimes the fungus looks like a pale-orange or ivory-colored layer. As the disease progresses, the fungus grows longer, cotton-like tufts.
Treat this disease by correcting the conditions that lead to the outbreak:

• Decrease the number of koi in the pond.

• Improve water quality via partial water changes; an upgraded filtration system; an ammonia remover like AmQuel Plus or Zeolite; and increased aeration.

You can also use medication against the fungus. Adding methylene blue (a dye commonly used as a fish medication and available at most pet stores) to the pond at a rate of 1 teaspoon per 700 gallons helps kill the fungus, but individually treating each affected koi in a quarantine tub stops the progression of the disease much faster.
Either sedate the koi or hold it so you can remove the patches of fungus with a cotton swab. Then dab the affected spots first with malachite green (a fungicide) and then with propolis (an antibiotic and topical treatment). Return the fish to the quarantine tub and watch closely to make certain no secondary fungal or bacterial infection sets in

 

[xxshell]

hi there thanks for the responces , not i havent got a cat fish in the pond, i notice i put 250 lts i was corrected by my husband that its 432lts lotus toughline moorhen pond , we lost my fury fish and 2 others . have done a full water change , should have read forum before we changed the water but pet shop told hubby it was the sand stone from the bricks we had around the pond , when it rained the water splashed of them in to the pond water, so we have moved it slightly aswell although i felt this was drastic also , we also brought ourselfs a test kit which i have tested today,
ph low range =7.6
ph high range =8.0
ammonia =0ppm
nitrite =0ppm
nitrate =5ppm

i got slightly confused with the high and low range so did both tests i beleive thats still high and should be 7.5 .


the fish do seem happier then before although now i have test kit i can keep a closer eye on things myself.

 

[addy1]

Ph of 8 is fine, it is more important that it is stable. Here is a read on ph

http://users.vcnet.com/rrenshaw/ph.html

 

[don't ask]

welcome and good luck
xxshell