Laying on bottom of pond

[Priscilla]

Hi,

I have a 2200 Gall pond. Its just over two months old. The water seems to be testing normal:
PH - 7.5 (constant)
Phos - 0
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0

I should add I live in the Caribbean, so no winter issues here.

Yesterday I noticed the fish were laying on the bottom on the pond, just hanging out there. Then they swam to another spot and lay there for a while. I fed them, they ate but not as good as they normally do and seemed really skittish.

Today, same thing, although some are swimming around a bit more, but a few are just hanging around one spot, not really moving. Until yesterday they all seemed to swim around constantly looking for food. I had cut back on their food to once a day - am I starving them? (joke - but not really....)

Is this a behavior thing? Or is the beginning of many sleepless nights for me? My fish have names and I'm super attached to them already - which is why I'm always on this site seeking advice. I have small kids, so my doses of the pond are like 5 - 10 min increments - maybe I'm just catching them at a rest time? I don't see any signs of anything on them and I have not added new fish or done anything new to the pond recently. On a personal note, I have been known to over react to things. I can't help it, its in my DNA, lol.

I plan to clean and backwash the filters, let out 25% of the water and add new water and see if that helps anything.

Anyone have any thoughts?

On another topic, I went to a tourist attraction today and they have two of the most gorgeous butterfly koi swimming around in full sun in less a foot of water! Seriously, the fins are time out of the water. I spoke to the guys there, they said their 'fish guy' said to keep it at that level. Its in an enclosure (bird atrium), so no issues with predators, but I imagine the poor fish are so HOT! Seriously, at 2pm today it was too hot to stand outside in the sun. I'm devising a plan to steal these fish and relocate them to my deeper happier pond - kidding (but not really).

 

[Priscilla]

UPDATE: They all seem totally fine today. So maybe a visit from the heron.

 

[j.w]

How do you protect them from the heron................if you said before, well I forgot
If the heron has been there he will be back and he will not stop till he gets your fish unless it is protected w/ something. Even if you have to only devise some type of net cover you can easily put on when you are not out there.

 

[Priscilla]

I lost 13 fish to the stinking heron (mostly fantail goldfish). My Dad has a spider web of fishing line around and over the pond. I really need to take the time to organize it a bit better, its literally a mess of fishing line. But its doing a fairly good job, only one fish has disappeared, but I suspect he might have died in the pond.

I love how natural your pond looks. I love that the water level looks almost the same as the ground level. I'm going to try using the Rock on a Roll to try to help hide some of my liner.

 

[j.w]

Fishing line should work. Those birds are sneaky tho and try to fit through spaces you would think they would not fit.

I take it you don't have enough liner left around the edge of your pond to make a little step/shelf about 6" down in the dirt underneath to put rocks on and then put the liner up over the edge of the pond w/ more rocks around the edge? That way you could raise the water level to be halfway up those bottom rocks on the shelf and hide the liner. Wish we could have been able to help you w/ that before you finished doing your pond but them's the breaks

 

[Priscilla]

Unfortunately, I read that was the correct way of doing things after I cemented the raised edge of my pond ...... UGH! BUT an even bigger problem is the fact that we don't have nice boulders here. We are a limestone island, so putting rocks in the pond is like adding lime to the pond. Plus the rocks are sharp edges. So its not really an option.

That's why I built a deck over almost half the pond to hide the liner. I can do a few rocks and some plants that will grow into the water.

The challenges of ponding in the islands! Lol!

 

[j.w]

Yay then for rocks on a roll, maybe it will look just fine and w/ letting some sprawling plants creep in on the sides I bet it will look really nice

 

[sissy]

have you got a pond thermometer ,since you say it has been really hot out the water could maybe not have enough oxygen .Remember plants give off oxygen during the day but use it up at night .You can use a regular thermometer also

 

[Dave 54]

you are probably getting visited by a night time preditor which is making them skittish , however giving them cover should help with that issue.
Ph isnt always as constant as you think , it can be different at differing times during the day.
As to the tourist attraction i would report them to the Animal Welfare Authorities on the island, i;e (your equivulent to the UK's RSPCA), as the water is far to shallow for them , like us they can and do suffer from Sunburn they need at least 4ft in depth.
It sounds like the water is quite hot out there which can cause them undue stress
They can also build up exessive mucus to protect those areas that are out of the water and with so little water thee is a danger of Catastrphic Oxygen Depleteion which will kill them it sounds like their supposed expert has it all to do if you do report them

Dave

 

[Priscilla]

They can also build up exessive mucus to protect those areas that are out of the water and with so little water thee is a danger of Catastrphic Oxygen Depleteion which will kill them it sounds like their supposed expert has it all to do if you do report them

Dave

I wish I had some place to report them to. We have a Humane Society, but their hands are full of dogs and cats. I don't think they would be interested in two fish. Funny how fish don't seem very important to some people.

 

[Dave 54]

Point out to them that for one a fish is a living creature and they have a duty to them , theRSPCA if they recieve a report of an owner going away on holiday can rig the home of that person with a type of seal to see if anyone has been in to feed them and if not they can take them to court under our new animal welfare act where a duty of care has to be proven .
Fish for two long have suffered atthe hands of people who think them as throwaway comodities .
It gives the owner one chance to prove there was sufficient food for that holiday if they cant they are find.
Perhaps it needs someone like our good self to point this out to them bringing them up to date .
Tell them from me that a koi's allotted life span is greater than that of the
Parrot at 80 years plus if they are well looked after throughout , we have two 27 year old koi in our pond .
Goldfish if looked after propperly will last up to and slightly past 40 years of age .


Dave