I'd love some of you experienced input on my water test!

[bagsmom]

Hey everyone! So far, so good at the new pond! It has been up an running almost two months. I have about 30 rosy red minnows and 7 or 8 goldfish.
I am nervous because I saw one minnow and one goldfish flashing.
Can flashing be a behavior caused by anything benign? It makes me nervous.
About a week ago, I added four very small goldfish from the pet store. Two of them died. In retrospect, they were easy for the store associate to catch, which should have made me think twice.
Yesterday, I saw a minnow flash. Today, I saw a shubunkin flash.
We have had INSANE amounts of heavy rains for the last several weeks. Big giant gully washers that totally overflow the pond. I am wondering if the water chemistry has changed because of it - and perhaps this is causing the flashing?
Phosphate is between 0 and .25
Ammonia is 0
Nitrite is 0.
pH is around 6.5.
kh 89.5 ppm
gh 71.6 ppm
What do y'all think?
I am terrified that those sick fish introduced some kind of parasite or disease. I really don't want to go through the hoopla of trying to medicate such a big pond.
Other than the flashing, the minnows go after food like piranhas. The goldfish are getting used to the pond. They are still shy but I see them swimming around from my window (when I am not out there, scaring them.)
I am keeping my fingers crossed that this flashing isn't always a red flag.

 

[Jhn]

Occasional Flashing isn’t always a sign of something wrong, it’s more of consistent flashing, along with seeing the fish twitch while swimming is an indicator of something irritating it. Keep the water quality up and even if it is something, alot of times the fish immune system can fight it off.

I would never medicate one of my ponds, unless I was in danger of losing the entire fish popuLation…..did years ago when I first got into ponds saved the one sick fish, but ended up losing a bunch of other ones. Decided then and there would never medicate my entire pond again, just keep water quality up and the fish need to rely on their immune systems, worked pretty well since then. Once or twice have had to take one out and treat it if/when I can catch it.

 

[Mmathis]

Keep an eye on them, but if it’s only an occasional thing, they might not be flashing, but maybe just feeling good. As @Jhn said, keep track of the water quality, and watch for any other behavioral changes.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I agree with the above, occasional or random flashing isn't an immediate cause for concern. Sometimes an itch is just that - an itch. The only things in your test numbers that I'd want to see changed (if it were my pond) are the ph & kh. Both are a bit low (IMO) Raising the kh slowly with baking soda should help raise & stabilize your ph as well. Lots of rain can cause those numbers to drop.

 

[bagsmom]

Thanks everyone! That is encouraging!
My pond is 25 feet long and 15 feet wide at the widest. Depth ranges from 1 foot at the shallow end to 3 1/2 feet at the deep end. I have a bog and an intake bay. I wonder how much baking soda I should add?

 

[bagsmom]

I was out watching them and noticed one of the comets has a bend in his spine right by the tail. Instead of being straight, he has a little bend down there and swims a bit awkwardly. That might have been there when I got him. I don't know.
Does that raise any red flags? All the other fish were just out picking around at the algae. No other fish has this situation that I can see.

 

[bagsmom]

@BKHpondcritters - I thought ph seemed low, too. I built the pond with the same kind of rocks as I did out front. Native sandstone, I believe. That pond always stayed right at 8, which makes me think the low number out back was a big change from all the rain. Should I add a cup of baking soda and see how things are tomorrow?

 

[WaterGardener]

The pH is in the acidic range. That can make the fish flash. And yes, rain can lower the pH, since it tends to be acid.

Do you know how many gallons your pond is? That would help to determine how much baking soda to use.

You can always add a cup of baking soda dissolved in water and see if it makes any difference. You don't need to wait until tomorrow to test it. A couple of hours should be enough to see any difference. Then add another cup. Just raise it slowly so as not to stress out the fish.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

@BKHpondcritters - I thought ph seemed low, too. I built the pond with the same kind of rocks as I did out front. Native sandstone, I believe. That pond always stayed right at 8, which makes me think the low number out back was a big change from all the rain. Should I add a cup of baking soda and see how things are tomorrow?

If you know how many gallons it is, use 1 cup of baking soda per 1000 gallons, dissolved in a bucket of pond water. I usually pour my mixture right into the skimmers so it gets well distributed throughout the system. I usually give it a day & then retest (or just do another baking soda treatment if I know it needed to be raised by several drops) The above formula should raise the kh by 1 drop, which is a nice, gentle increase. If you're not sure of gallons, then yeah, use 1 cup & see how it is tomorrow.

 

[CometKeith]

Hey everyone! So far, so good at the new pond! It has been up an running almost two months. I have about 30 rosy red minnows and 7 or 8 goldfish.
I am nervous because I saw one minnow and one goldfish flashing.
Can flashing be a behavior caused by anything benign? It makes me nervous.
About a week ago, I added four very small goldfish from the pet store. Two of them died. In retrospect, they were easy for the store associate to catch, which should have made me think twice.
Yesterday, I saw a minnow flash. Today, I saw a shubunkin flash.
We have had INSANE amounts of heavy rains for the last several weeks. Big giant gully washers that totally overflow the pond. I am wondering if the water chemistry has changed because of it - and perhaps this is causing the flashing?
Phosphate is between 0 and .25
Ammonia is 0
Nitrite is 0.
pH is around 6.5.
kh 89.5 ppm
gh 71.6 ppm
What do y'all think?
I am terrified that those sick fish introduced some kind of parasite or disease. I really don't want to go through the hoopla of trying to medicate such a big pond.
Other than the flashing, the minnows go after food like piranhas. The goldfish are getting used to the pond. They are still shy but I see them swimming around from my window (when I am not out there, scaring them.)
I am keeping my fingers crossed that this flashing isn't always a red flag.

Hi so actually I agree with your instinct. My worse nightmares started out with fish flashing. I definitely wouldn’t sit back and recommend to actively monitor your pond, do water changes when necessary, and anything else that will keep your pond and fish safe. I’m guessing the new fish you got subjected the fish to disease. I don’t trust big box pet stores for my pond. If you go there in the morning you will see them scooping the dead fish out of the tanks so not a good source of fish for a pond hobbyist.