Help my koi are dying

[heartrnb]

I have a 2300 gallon pond with about 125 koi last fish added was 6 koi 3 weeks ago. He had them quarantined for 4 weeks before selling he is a dealer of Koi. Now I have koi losing scales and there fins look tore up and they are dying. There is no signs of ulcers or any reddness. I need help fast thanks

 

[Fishylove]

Honey I'm sorry that's happening BUT that is WAAAAAAAY too many koi for a pond that big
I have around 3000gal with the bog and I have to keep myself from buying more koi. And I have 6 koi, 4 goldfish, 2 subunkins, and several babies from this years spawning, I'm sure I'll have to rehome in the spring......

 

[heartrnb]

all water tests come back fine my PH is 7.4 nothing has changed except adding them 6 koi 3 weeks ago

 

[dieselplower]

I'm sorry for your situation but you will not get much help without test result numbers and pictures. Shoot I could Google search "fish dying losing scales torn fins" and throw an answer at you but you could do that yourself.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Am I reading this right? You have 125 koi in your pond? Can you estimate the sizes of these fish?

And please list your actual numbers as suggested. Ammonia, nitrite, ph, nitrate, GH, KH, and temperature of your pond water.

The more info you can share the better help you will get.

 

[Mmathis]

Welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately, there's nothing I can say that hasn't already been said. The number one "cure" for sick fish is good water quality. I don't think you are going to be able to do an immediate fix until you make some changes.

But I will ask some questions and throw out a few comments, some already stated...

1. How long have you had a 2300 gallon pond with 125 koi in it?
2. What size are these fish?
3. Even if you buy from a reputable dealer, you still need to quarantine your own fish once you acquire them. What the dealer does, doesn't count.
4. The damage has already been done, but do you have any way you can pull the obviously sick fish and put them in a quarantine/hospital tank, to separate them from the others?
5. Water tests: we need to know numbers, not "OK," or "normal"
6. What are the dimensions of your pond?
7. What kind of filtration do you have?
8. Do you have any pictures of the fish to show their problems?
9. Do you have any pictures of your pond?
10. We recommend using liquid "drop" tests kits (and not the test strips) -- what do you use, and can you give us these results?

Ammonia?
Nitrites?
Nitrates?
pH?
KH?
GH?
Water temperature?

 

[heartrnb]

I use API master kit ammomia 0, nitrities 0, Nittrates 40, PH 7.4, water temp 71 not sure about kh and gh. I started with a 1000 gallon pond in may, but was not deep enough I am new to this and have been doing really good until now. My 2300 gallon pond has been running since first of july. I have a matala box filter with bio balls and matala filtration material in it. and a waterfall box with the same material. I have matala aerator with 2 nine inch stones/ I also have a fountain hooked to a filter box. My pond is at biggest 19 feet by 13 feet by 4 feet. I have 20 fish about 7 inches long and the rest are around 3 inches long. they all have been in there except for 6 7 inch long fish which was added about 3 weeks ago. My pond is now drained and the fish are in a 300 gallon tank and I started using proform-c yesterday. I have treated the water twice following directions but this afternoon another fish died. Just want to make sure that I am doing the right thing.

 

[heartrnb]

I do not have pictures I took one fish to my pond guy and he is the one that started proform-c. I will take pictures tomorrow and post.

 

[Dave 54]

It sounds suspiciously like you have skin Columnaris to me so I suggest you get someone on the scene to second that by taking tests, i;e your dealership..... then the sooner you can act in saving them,.....
Your going to need an antibacterial and a good one to even make a dent in this I'm affraid and with that many koi it maty be way too late to save them all ........
We have never in 27 years of Val and I keeping koi, have heard of so many koi in one pond unless a specialist dealership Vat designed to hold them in QT.
Which ever way this pans out and It wont be pretty your going to have to loose many of any survivors to around the 16 mark
Over stocking a pond is one sure fire way to get this disease poor water quality another , good husbandry is our main weapon against outbreaks such as these.
One factor that will help cause an outbreak high water temperatures, so if you have any of the above.... then nines out of ten your going to get an outbreak of it .
May I suggest strongly you buy a few good koi heath manuels and read them also books on koi to give you a working knowledge as to how to keep koi propperly

Dave

 

[Mmathis]

@heartrnb, just to clarify something, in your 1st post you said you had 125 koi -- was that number a misprint?

And thank you for the additional information, as well as the pictures. It's good that you're already using the API test kit -- I think that's what most of us use. Your water parameters look OK, except the nitrates are a little high. You could do a partial water change to bring that down. Look for additional test kits by API for KH & GH and test for those, as well. Once you get some results, we can look at those and give you better advice regarding your pH and if you need to make changes there.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned has to do with upsetting a "balance" with a pond's biological system. Even in very well maintained ponds, the addition of a few extra fish can stress that balance and cause problems for the fish. Before we can advise how to treat your fish, we have to know what you are treating -- a disease vs a water quality issue, or both. If, indeed, you do have that many fish in your pond, I would advise lowering that number, as well as isolating any that look sick.

 

[heartrnb]

Dave no open sores gills are normal. they are just losing there scales I am treating them with proform-c in a different tank I emptied my pond. I have been testing my water every other day at 2pm and all my levels have been good all along my ph has been 7.4 for two months. I am at a lost as well as my pond guy. The fins looked good on most but some looked ragged.

 

[heartrnb]

Turtle Mommy yes I had 125 fish but not now I have lost alot of fish in just a few days. They all looked healthy, moving and eating. I only feed them once a day and only as much as they can eat in 3 minutes. Whatever is left I remove.

 

[JohnHuff]

Too many koi.

 

[heartrnb]

too many koi will cause scales to just fall off. These fish has been together for a long time except the last 6 I put in 3 weeks ago. I have not had any water problems I have a well and use that water i do change 25 to 50 percent of my water weekly. Filters I dip in the pond water that I take out once a month nothing big just to get rid of the big stuff. I use a pump to remove the water out of the bottom of my filters. I am at a lost, I think when I put them fish in they must have had something. out of them fish I have 3 left. Its strange because my little fish are dying but so are the big ones. I still have about 60 little ones that look great and some big ones too.

 

[heartrnb]

Sorry if I sound cold but I am going crazy here. My poor fish are dying and I don't know what to do. My water has always been clear you can see the fish, except for the deepest part, where it gets a little darker. I have an umbrella that I put up to keep the sun at bay. Next year I will be expanding to add a bog and I will be placing plants to help with shade. This year I do not some plants in the pond I have floaters and other's like lilys and others plants. in the waterfall filter I have water lettuce, I also have two floating skimmers next year I will be putting a big one in. As for the pond is there anything I should clean it with besides water.