Koi and goldfish won't eat

[Cjs123]

Hello all,
New to the forum but not to pond fish (and aquariums). My fish are refusing to eat the food. I have had Koi and gold fish maybe 10 years now in my pond. Never have I seen a Koi refuse a meal. I switched food brands last year. Sorry, don't remember the name, but I got it at Pet Smart originally. Then I started buying at Walmart because it's closer.That is Wardley's brand there. I had almost a full bag left over from last year so I started feeding it when the temp started staying over 45. We cleaned out the pond last week and threw in some algeacide because we had major problems last year. Tues I noticed that the water was cloudy and I saw a lot of uneatened food. So I drained about 3/4 of the pond and put fresh in, plus I cleaned out the uneaten food. My husband added more algaecide and I threw away the feed from last year and bought new. They still won't eat and I just found 2 dead gold fish today. Are they poisoned by the algeacide? I hate that stuff. I tried natural last year but it didn't work. Didn't lose fish either.
I am now in the process of doing another water change WITHOUT algeacide. I haven't lost a fish in years - except for the Blue Heron visit. They haven't eaten in days. Some of those Koi are a foot long.
Suggestions??????!!!!!!!!

Not a mark on them. They must have just died.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Throw the algicide in the garbage. When you refilled the pond did your use a dechlorinator?
It seems that the first issue was old, stale food which will quickly destroy water quality.

 

[Cjs123]

No on the declorinator. Yes on the, I bought new food. Still won't eat it. You mean like Start Right? Why? I have a well? Good idea though. Decreases stress and ammonia levels.
Thanks, BTW, on the algicide. Have to "tell" hubby.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

No on the declorinator. Yes on the, I bought new food. Still won't eat it. You mean like Start Right? Why? I have a well? Good idea though. Decreases stress.
Thanks, BTW, on the algicide. Have to "tell" hubby.

When is the last time that you tested the well water?

 

[sissy]

If your well is shallow stuff can seep into it .Besides the algaecide (I hate that stuff ) Has anyone sprayed in chemicals that could have been blown into the pond .Also did you follow the directions to the T on the algaecide .Has your filter material been changed after the chemical and what is the temperature . of your water and do you have an aerator

 

[Cjs123]

We have an ultraviolet on the well. I check levels regularly since I have a 125 gal. aquarium in the living room.

 

[sissy]

Water temperature between your well and the water in the pond can and will differ .My pond water is about 30 degrees warmer and more sometimes since my well is over 400 ft in the ground .A big shock if you add to much at once .Also how deep ,how big and how many fish do you have and how many gallons is your pond .Temperature for feeding is water temps. not air temps. Filter needs to be working and build up good bacteria to eat up waste from the fish when you start feeding .Some fish know when it is not time to eat

 

[Cjs123]

If your well is shallow stuff can seep into it .Besides the algaecide (I hate that stuff ) Has anyone sprayed in chemicals that could have been blown into the pond .Also did you follow the directions to the T on the algaecide .Has your filter material been changed after the chemical and what is the temperature . of your water and do you have an aerator

Boy, ok. My pond, oh heck, here's a pic. Can you see it ok? It has a falls. And no chemicals around it. Husband is a math wiz. I would never attempt mixing myself. I hate that stuff anyway. We used barley last year but didn't work.
No filter material. Temp is whatever the temp is outside.

 

[sissy]

algaecides deplete oxygen in the water .My fish will only eat when water temperature is above 50 degrees .The fall running can cool the water off faster .Fish have enough in the pond to eat ..Liquid barley is better than the other stuff and safe .Algae is your ponds way of keeping it safe from ammonia spikes and fish love to eat algae .Plants are your ponds safe guard also and algae is a plant .I keep a thermometer in my pond so I know the temp. Aeration is also your friend I have my aerator running and water is clear

 

[Cjs123]

View attachment 99016
Boy, ok. My pond, oh heck, here's a pic. Can you see it ok? It has a falls. And no chemicals around it. Husband is a math wiz. I would never attempt mixing myself. I hate that stuff anyway. We used barley last year but didn't work.
No filter material. Temp is whatever the temp is outside.

I don't normally change my water, especially a radical change like that. I just wanted to get rid of the algeacide completely. Bacteria I can deal with with small water changes. Water temp from the house is ~60•

 

[Cjs123]

I just want them to start eating. My husband is driving me crazy that they died of starvation.
I know better, but can't convince him. He did scrub the sides of the pond when he cleaned it . So not much algea left in there to eat.
Beautiful Koi, BTW.

 

[sissy]

not really good to scrub muck and it is there for a reason on the sides of the pond .Even when I rebuilt my pond I took apiece of the good liner and just hosed it off and laid it into the pond .

 

[Lisak1]

With so many things happening all at once, it may be tough to narrow it down to just one cause. Was it the food? Or the chemicals? Or something in the water? Or just too much new water at one time creating stress? Or just a series of unfortunate events happening all at once? One thing you can be assured of - your fish did not starve to death. They look fine in your picture - other than being dead! haha!

I would suggest you just give your pond time to "catch it's breath". Make sure you have some aeration going and don't let the algae bother you. It's your best pond's best friend right now. But an overabundance of algae is an indicator of excess nutrients in your water, which could mean your pond is overstocked. Ponds that are "fine" for years will reach a tipping point, where the size or number of the fish increases to a factor that is just too much for the pond to handle. You may be at that point, and nature is doing what nature does - solving the problem.

Hang in there. Keep posting and reading and let's see what happens. If the fish have been harmed by the algaecide or the water changes or bad food - the damage is already done. Patience is your best tool right now.

 

[Lisak1]

By the way - how big is your pond? Any idea what the total gallons is?

 

[Cjs123]

My husband the math wiz is asleep. Pond is about 9 by 11, 3 levels and deepest part is about 2.6 feet deep. There is a year round falls but no filter system. There are now 24 fish and a bull frog somewhere in there. 2 Koi are about 12". 2 are ~ 8 - 9". Rest are assorted sized goldfish. The one in the pic was one of the larger ones. I had 5 pots of lillys but he threw 3 away because he and my son thought there were too many plants for the pond (go figure). Now I have NO leaf coverage. They just don't get it. I can't buy any aeration plants or any type pond plants until mid May. I live in SC Pa.