Goldfish dying for over 4 days, all others fine

[ToneDude]

Hi everyone,

I have a small goldfish that has been in death throes for the past 4 days. I'm very much willing to let Nature takes its course, but he's putting up such a heroic fight that I thought I would do some research. All the other fish (~80) are fine. Every Spring there is at least one or two fish that turn up dead. The 3500 gal pond is waking up from the long winter sleep. I have the aerator going 24/7. Haven't put in the pump/filter yet. We take it apart and bring it inside for the Winter. The reason I'm posting is to see if there's anything I can do. He's really fighting for his life and I guess it has touched me. Wanted to see if I can do anything to help him out - one way or the other. No, I do not have an aquarium in the house that I could move him to.

 

[WaterGardener]

First thing is to test the water. You will need the liquid type tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and KH. Please don't use strips as they are not reliable.

Post the results here so we can have an idea of what might be going on.

If you want to move the fish inside, you can use a plastic storage tub, 20 gallon or so.

Sometimes a fish just doesn't make it through the winter. Too much stress I suppose, but it's always good to know the condition of your water, so testing can't hurt.

 

[j.w]

What are the fishes symptoms?

 

[ToneDude]

First thing is to test the water. You will need the liquid type tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and KH. Please don't use strips as they are not reliable.

Post the results here so we can have an idea of what might be going on.

If you want to move the fish inside, you can use a plastic storage tub, 20 gallon or so.

Sometimes a fish just doesn't make it through the winter. Too much stress I suppose, but it's always good to know the condition of your water, so testing can't hurt.

Ok tested with API liquid drop test kit.
Ph is very high
Ammonia is 0ppm
Nitrite is 0ppm
Phosphate is 0.5ppm
I have no test for Nitrate
And I don’t know what KH is

I’m losing one fish per day now.
Mostly the little ones - 2 inches or so.
Lost a big 7” one a few days ago, but might have been old age because he was very old.

Behavior observed by a few of them, but certainly not all, is that they hang near the surface vertically nose high, not tail high.
No other activity noted from those hanging.
I think the fish that exhibit this behavior are the ones that will end up dying.

I’ve looked up Swim Bladder Disease and I don’t believe this is the problem based on my reading about it.

I will lower the Alkaline nature of the water with API PH Down kit over the course of the next few days.

And I’m going to cut off the aerator for a couple of days because I’m forming one theory that the pond is too oxygenated.
I’m in the Chicago area so we are coming out of a mild winter.
Interested to know if anyone has ideas.
Thank you!

 

[WaterGardener]

Thanks for posting those test results.

What is the actual number for pH? Anything under 10 is fine. Please don't try to lower it. It will just go up again and your pH will jump up and down, adding more stress to the fish.

If the fish are at the surface, it usually means that the water is not oxygenated enough, not oxygenated too much. Water will hold only so much oxygen anyway, so it would be difficult to over-oxygenate the pond.

The other issue for that behavior would be if the fish aren't able to take up the oxygen, if they have gill damage for some reason. This could be from nitrite, chemicals in the water, or a disease affecting the gills. Maybe flukes, but that would likely have other symptoms, like flashing.

If you can get a look at the gills, let us know what they look like. They should be bright red with no notches in them.

Tests for nitrate and KH would be helpful. KH is carbonate hardness and at the correct level it keeps the pH steady.

Please don't use pH down and do keep the aeration going. The water in an open pond can only be oxygenated to 21%, atmospheric oxygen level, and that will not harm the fish.

 

[ToneDude]

OK thank you - not using PH Down.
PH reading was 9.0.
I have ordered Nitrate testing kit.
Pond was adequately oxygenated due to aerator running 24/7.
When they are floating vertically their mouths are not at the surface and their mouths are not moving.
I will try to get a look at their gills.

Thank you!

 

[WaterGardener]

If they are not at the surface gulping air, it may.not be an oxygen issue.

Can you check the pH just after sunrise and just before sunset? If there is a significant difference at those times, it could be a KH problem. So you need the KH test, too. I consider KH more important than pH.

 

[ToneDude]

What are the fishes symptoms?

See other reply I have going on this thread, but symptoms include quietly hovering vertically, nose up, tail down, just below the surface, not gulping air, for hours and hours, then they slip into the Great Fish Pond in the Hereafter.

 

[ToneDude]

If they are not at the surface gulping air, it may.not be an oxygen issue.

Can you check the pH just after sunrise and just before sunset? If there is a significant difference at those times, it could be a KH problem. So you need the KH test, too. I consider KH more important than pH.

Update:
This may be temperature related.
We’ve had cold days and colder nights lately in Chicago area. When this happens it is normal for the fish to go down to the bottom and disappear, which has happened. No hanging out at the top motionless, no suspended vertically behavior, and no deaths.
I understand they’re cold-blooded animals and that their activity will slow down with colder temperatures. But the strange behavior and the number of deaths I have never seen with this pond in the Spring, which prompted me to reach out to all of you.
I’m working to get the Nitrate and KH test kits.