GoldFish are laying on the bottom of my pond !!

[JamieB]

Let the pond sit dry a while, then fill it and ignore it till spring. Run the filter, etc, but no fish. Let nature have the pond half the year to build the bacteria, daphnia, let algae do its thing, and then come spring, you’ll have a good pond for a few small fish. Add in plants for shade and to use up the nutrients the fish produce, though the plants could be added any time after it’s filled. I’d say start with 4-5 smaller goldfish, you can get fry from anyone who has a goldfish pond! If you start off with fry, take about a dozen, raise them in an aquarium for a month or two till they’re over an inch long, then add the survivors. Fry are mass produced due to high mortality rates, bad fin formation, bent spines, and who knows what internal issues, which is why goldfish from breeders are culled several times prior to sale. They weed out ones that nature would kill off otherwise. If you buy fish that are over an inch, stick to 4-5, and that would let you pick some that you get an idea of what color they’ll maybe turn out to be. Just remember, once they are old enough, they’ll breed if conditions are right. You’ll want to start small to have a hope of not ending up over populated.

 

[LuapYllier]

https://puregoldfish.com/resources/#kanaplex

I found this page one day while searching for stuff...has a lot of information that might help one figure out what might be needed. However, always do more research on any particular item you might choose on the list to get more than one source for information.

The Epsom Salt one says..."The use of Epsom salt is primarily to help draw fluids out of the body when the fish is afflicted with swelling (popeye or dropsy). It is also wonderful for making an internal parasite cleansing food.