HELP - new pond with koi now floating on sides or head up when not swimming

[Steve-H]

Hi All

Newbie poster and newbie pond owner.

My new Koi are struggling to float and keep going sideways or head up, not all but quite a few are doing this. I have 20 Koi between 5 and 8 inches.

New pond was filled 3 weeks ago slowly from the tap through a dechlorinating filter. Then ran for 2 days with filter, then added Evolution Aqua Pure + bacteria gel to filter foams and ran for 2 days with no UV light. Then added an Aqua pond bomb and left for another 4 days. Tested using Tetra 6 in 1 test strip and all levels where within range as per the Tetra guide on the pot.

20 Koi added ranging from 5 to 8 inches and all seemed happy for a few days but now starting to float on side or head up until they swim/move. Some are lying on the bottom until they move.

I am feeding twice a day with a mix of pellets and sticks which are labelled as premium and for Koi but not sure on brand as wife bought food for me as a gift. I make sure all the food is gone before adding anymore as not sure how much they need, I add a small handful.

I have a filter that is suitable for a heavy stocked pond of 10,000 litres so oversized a little. 18w UV light and large air stone pumping lots of bubbles into the deepest part and a water blade adding air to the pond too.

It is about 5 metres by 1.8m and 0.90m at deepest point.

I have been advised by the guy I bought the Koi from to add some Tonic Salt which I have 6kg being delivered this afternoon. Is this the best course of action or is there more I can do?

Any help much appreciated

 

[Steve-H]

Hi all

I am a newbie pond keeper and my koi are in trouble, please help.

I have about 20 small koi mostly 5 - 6 inches with a few 7 - 8 inches. They have been in the pond for almost 2 weeks and 2 days ago I noticed some are not staying the correct way up when not swimming. Some go on to their sides and a few go head up towards the surface. Some lie on the bottom. Some seem fine.

Info you may need:
6000 litres
Pressurised filter capable of 10,000 litres heavy stocked pond
18w UV light
Air pump with large air stone
Water blade adding more air to water

Setup 4 ish weeks ago as follows:
- Filled slowly through dechlorinater from tap then started pump to run through filter
- 2 days later I added Evolution Aqua Pure + tow filter foam and ran for 2 days with no UV
- Then added Evolution pond bonb
- tested with Tetra 6 in 1 and all levels wuthin their acceptable guide for pond
- Fish added about 10 days after first fill and all of the above

Still testing within correct levels on Tetra strip

I feed a very small handful twice per day with a mix of koi pellets and fish sticks. I check all the food is gone from surface before next feed.

I have been advised to add salt which I am getting later today. Any other suggestions please?

 

[GBBUDD]

You have no tests from your water with liquids straps are notoriously wrong.

You have no nitrogen cycle you don't just add a heard of fish into an area . I did do the same but it was on 12000 gallons and I fully expected losses.

I'd be willing to bet feeding them twice a day or more.

Your filter can't do anything g until there has been death either from waste or death. It matters not if ots an aquarium a raised smaller or a farm pond. What destroys/ consumes waste is a cycled pond and that can take a year or two.

 

[Lisak1]

So much wrong here it's hard to know where to start.

20 fish in a brand new, uncycled pond with 1500 gallons of water. Too many fish, now and especially later.

Filter size - doesn't matter. No bacteria - no biological filtration,

UV - has no positive effect on fish. Just kills all the single celled organisms, which you probably need right now. And the last thing you want to do is kill off algae. You need all the help you can get right now.

Air pump - aeration is good, but again, uncycled pond.

Dechlorinator - only necessary with fish in the pond. If it's chlorine it will dissipate on its own. Are there chloramines in your water?

Have no clue what those Evolution products are, but they appear to be bacteria products? Jury is out on those. Won't hurt anything but most likely they won't help either.

Pond salt? Why? Are you raising salt water koi? Salt has minimal use in pond keeping - it can be helpful if you have a fish with parasites or open wounds to speed healing. But adding it to the pond in general is not recommended.

You need a better test kit - the strips are useless.

Stop feeding until you get this sorted out. You can probably expect to lose fish. One way to cycle a pond is to add fish, but generally you have a good chance that they will die. Letting a pond sit empty for days or weeks does nothing for the nitrogen cycle.

 

[JRS]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your problems.

I also would confirm those test strips. In addition the Tetra 6in1 strips I see online do not have an ammonia test. Based on your description and the amount of fish in a small pond you would be at one of the most dangerous parts of the ammonia cycle. https://cafishvet.com/fish-care/fish-system-cycling/

Have you done any partial water changes?

The other cause may be some type of parasite or disease among the fish, brought on by the stress of the move. All from the same source? Any feedback from the vendor?

 

[Steve-H]

Thank you for the above. My starter plan for the pond was given to me by the koi dealer. I obviously should have done my own reaearch.

How long to cycle a new pond?

What tester kit would you recommend please?

Thanks.

 

[Lisak1]

@Steve-H I realize my post may have sounded rather harsh - that was not my intent. We just hear so many times about people getting terrible pond advice from various sources. It's sad to see someone start out on the wrong foot.

We are here to help - please don't be put off by Mrs. Crabbypants who showed up in that first post!

 

[Lisak1]

My starter plan for the pond was given to me by the koi dealer.

Makes my point exactly. So many "koi dealers" could care less about the outcome of their "advice". Hey - he sold you 20 fish and he hopes he can sell you 20 more when they all die. Gah.

It can take weeks to cycle a pond. Read up on the nitrogen cycle and you'll see there are things you want to watch for and test so you can see where you're at. Like I said - you can use fish to cycle a pond (often called sacrificial fish) or there's a way to use ammonia. Since you already have the fish, you may as well just let it play out.

A liquid test kit is the way to go - I haven't bought one is years, so no help there. Perhaps someone else can recommend a brand that you can get where you live.

And again - welcome to the GPF! You'll find so many helpful, knowledgeable folks here!

 

[Steve-H]

Thanks all. I will re read the above and look at the links posted later today when I can take the time to absorb the info.

I may come back with questions then but thanks so far… I really hope I’m not in the process of murdering my poor fish in my haste to get my pond going.

 

[Mgessert]

Sorry about your fish. I would skip the salt, do a 20% water change daily, and stop feeding for a few days. In the meantime, get a water test kit like the API Pond Master so you can get actual number results. It’s likely that the ammonia and nitrite levels are toxic.

 

[RMaynard]

You should get some Prime ASAP and add it to neutralize the ammonia. The ammonia will still be there, so the cycle can continue, but it won't be toxic to fish. Make sure you keep dosing every day until you're pond has cleared that portion of the cycle, probably an additional 2 weeks or so.

ETA: Also agree with others on the feeding. Stop completely for the next few days to a week. Feed once a day, only as much as they will consume in 2 minutes. If after 2 mins there is still food, you fed too much.

 

[Lisak1]

And if ammonia tests high, be prepared to use an ammonia remover. Not sure what the products are called where you're at -

 

[j.w]

@Steve-H
Any photo's to share?

 

[Tula]

Pond Prime will detoxify ammonia .

Seachem - Pond Prime

www.seachem.com

 

[j.w]

@Steve-H so sorry to hear you were given a bunch of bad advice. Now you are stuck w/some real problems. Listen to all the comments above and try to get things straightened around for the fish and your sanity. If you can save the fish w/all the good advice then perhaps later you can either return or trade for smaller fish or sell them as they are just gonna just grow bigger and bigger and make it hard for you to keep the pond right for them. I would not be putting koi in there. Maybe choose something smaller like Shubunkins that kinda look like koi. Gosh I sound like a broken record here all the time posting about Shununkins to lots who have wanted koi for their too small ponds. Koi are beautiful but they do need a ton of room and great filtration. There are other types of fish that are smaller than koi also.

Shubunkins