Lost a Koi :(

[lindsayanng]

So we went to the fish store a few days ago. It hink it was Wednesday and got two white Koi fish. They were kept outside in a pond at the petstore (this is a petstore that has a HUGE pond section though)

So we tested the water the fish was in and our water to compare PH and the temp was the same because, well, they were both in ponds, outside, at night in the same town.. No heater in either pond.

We acclimated the fish for about 40 minutes.. Both went into the pond, swam around and then seemed to hang out under the water fall..

Then, 3 days after we got our fish, one turned up DEAD!

Our ph is 8 and all water perameters are spot on. I was amazed because our experience with fish tanks was different, i guess it being larger helps.

Do you think it might have had a parasite?

Now i cant SEE the other one. We are having what i THINK is a pollen issue. The water is a weird yellow color.. not green or cloudy, but just yellow. Pond is 875 gallons, 4 feet deep in the center. You can see the fish until they get about 10 inches deep and then you cant really see them

 

[bunnymp]

Could be pollen. I live on LI and we have a maple that is dropping little yellow flowers into the pond messing it up. Every night I scoop out what I can and hose the filters and empty the skimmer. It should end soon.
You can do several things to help clear it up.
1) perform several small water changes
2) add bacteria
3) aerate
4) make sure the skimmer, filter,s etc stay clean.

As far as the missing fish, it may be hiding. Are they other fish in there? Are they coming to the surface to feed? Do they look healthy? If the new fish died of a parasite, it may spread to the others, but there is no way to know right now what it died of.

Check your water parameters to make sure you have good quality water.

 

[lindsayanng]

Our water parameters are good.. surprisingly good actually.. Do you think that pollen could kill fish? Or were youjust saying you think the cause of the yellowing was from pollen.

As for the other fish, I have seen them occasionally, but they said at the petstore to start feeding them about 2 times a week because its still cold-ish around here and they are just coming out of winter mode

We have two fancy fantails (what i call blob fish) and one other white koi.. The fan tails are fairly large.. not TOO large though. I have seen them, but not for a coulple of days

 

[bunnymp]

I do not think the pollen (yellow tinged) water killed them. Unless of course the water was dirty and the parameters were bad. Doesn't look like that is the case. Without knowing much more there is no way I can tell what killed the new one.

Could you have a predator either scaring them into hiding or worse?

 

[lindsayanng]

we COULD have a predator, but I think our pond is new enough that they havent found it yet. and our pond is RIGHT Under our bedroom window, i THINK if something were there picking off my fish, that my dog would hear them and bark.. i think.. my pooch is a little lazy when it comes to protecting the fort.

This particular koi was just dead, no abrasions or anything. We did a half water change to try and clear out the water, but we still didnt see the blob fish.. but the water is still murky, so its possible they were hiding.

They also LOVE to hide under the fall where I can not see anything

 

[bunnymp]

When the weather warms and the water clears and you are ready to feed them regularly, train them to eat from your hands. That way you can always call them to dinner, perform a head count and physical check on them while enjoying the amusement they provide.

 

[lindsayanng]

i definitely plan on doing that.. we had many of our aquarium fish hand trained just because it was fun..

 

[D&RW]

Me too. A beautiful light blue Koi with orange accents on the underside. Really nice fish. A week after introducing into pond started hiding and laying very still. Swam away when we got too close to observe, but quickly returned to it's hiding spot.

Checked water every day. No ammonia. No nitrite. Ph =7 Salt 0.1%. Phosphate 5ppm.

Tried correct dosing of Melafix and Pimafix X 3 days. Other fish started flashing and one or two would zoom around like crazy; ? angry swimming? I figured for some kind of outbreak. But then I read one website comment that said that Melafix irritates fish skin/scales and leads to flashing. Don't know if it's true, but I quit the Melafix today to see and the fish are more active and not flashing. One or two of the Koi are still acting sluggish. So I switched to Microbelift Parasite Treatment.

The blue guy was found in the skimmer 3 days after starting to act sick . On one side he/she has a white spot about 5 mm surrounded by red--?ulcer. I'm going to take him to our local Koi shop for exam.

I'm really bummed. Spent a fortune on the Melafix and Pimafix and all it seemed to do was irritate the other fish. Some of the Koi sites say Melafix & Pimafix can enhance healing, but I'm skeptical.

 

[MassKoi]

Can I ask a question. Did you use Melafix and Pimafix because the fish had open sores or because they were acting strange? I have read many forums that tell you not to medicate a pond unless you are 100% sure what you are treating. The flashing may been caused by parasites that neither product you used would help. Scrape and scope is the best procedure for flashing if water parameters are good. The sore may have been a result of secondary bacterial infection that was caused by the parasites. I hope this helps...

 

[lindsayanng]

I agree with masskoi.. you are treating blindly it sounds, and that is just NOT good for your fish.. Those medicines do not help the overall health of the fish at all and are only to be used to treat specific problems..

I would stop ALL MEDICATIONS and just maybe add some salt for healing and try and figure out what it is that you are really treating..

If you have a tank (which you should for quarantine) i would maybe try and catch the sickest looking/acting one and put him in a tank and observe him.. see if there is any signs of actual parasites.. then put some round rocks (so he cant cut himself if he is still flashing) and create some hiding places so hes not too stressed.. Once you have figured it out, you can treat your whole pond


this is just my advice, from a notice pond/koi keeper but an experienced fish/aquarium owner

 

[D&RW]

Thanks for your input. You are right. I treated without a clue, but believed those two products could help, i.e. had a supportive and salve like effect and, according to the bottles, an antimicrobial and antifungal effect.

I truly enjoy sitting on the little deck adjacent to the pond and watching the little guys swim through the nearby plants. My dog likes to sit there too, fascinated by their motion.

I am feeling a bit inadequate and humble right now. I very much feel responsible for the lives of these fish and notwithstanding best intentions, my tendency to want to " do something", lack of complete knowledge, and impatience may have done some harm.

Hippocrates first advice to his student doctors was, "first, do no harm." So doing nothing is often better than knee-jerk action based on partial knowledge.

My Koi/Pond store owner said the blue fish appeared to have a beginning ulcer & thought it probably was isolated to that fish. However, she did not examine it closely nor even take it out of the baggie. She said if others looked sick we'd need to dose the pond with potassium permanganate (sic?). She doesn't inspire confidence.

I'm going to look around Portland, hopefully find a shop with someone with real knowledge and experience. Plus, I'm going to find basic texts on fish and pond health.

Meanwhile other fish are doing ok-no more flashing or angry swimming. The two little Koi who had been hiding are out swimming around, but not eating yet. The others are eating vigorously and seem healthy, no observable parasites nor problems. Water parameters are unchanged.

 

[lindsayanng]

have you considered contacting a vet?? There are vets, almost one in every state, that WILL see a fish - even a dead one.

We had our fish "on file" with our vet because there was a dewormer for them that you could only get through a vet. It was actually a cattle dewormer and very dangerous to use if you don't know what you are doing.

Listen though, what you did is no different than what MOST people do when they don't really know any better. Trust me, we killed a few fish by accident because we just plain didnt know.. and the WORSE thing is the people who just do not know what they are talking about act like they know.. Like people at pet stores.

You are smart to second guess the other pond lady.. Try calling a vet..

 

[D&RW]

Thanks for the support. I'll ask my vet if he knows a fish vet. I wish I'd kept the blue fish. The Pond Koi lady disposed of it. And right, I don't have much confidence in her, but I'm sure she knows a lot more than I do

I did locate a Koi / Goldfish Club in Portland and am going to join. I'm looking forward to it. I also signed up for KoiVet forum. Now I need to find a good Koi/Goldfish shop--folks in the club will be able to help, I'm sure.

rw

 

[bunnymp]

Sounds like you are on the right track. KoiVet is great.

 

[DrCase]

I think we all enjoy sitting on are decks and watching the koi swim by..
Hope the others stay healthy.