New pond owner. I need help.

[crystal r]

We just purchased our home last November before the cold cold winter hit. The previous owners shut off the water fountain at the end of September. There were 3 large beautiful Koi and at least 6 small Koi in the pond. Our winter got very cold this year down to 0 degrees for a good stretch of time. It is now getting warmer. In the 20s at night to 40s in the day. We were told by the previous owners that the fish would be fine in the pond with out a heater. They had never used one. We purchased a heater anyway and put it in. The fish at first were fine. I saw them all hanging out by the heater. Once the pond started thawing I found that all 3 large Koi were dead. The little fish seem to be fine. We are almost wondering if we killed them by putting in the heater. I have not started feeding the fish yet and I'm. It sure when I should start. I plan to turn on the fountain as soon as it stops freezing. I would love some advise from experienced pond and Koi owners. Thank you so much!!!!

 

[MitchM]

Welcome!
What is the size of your pond? Length, width, depth.
Please describe the filtration and water circulation setup.
How old is the pond?
You did not kill the koi by putting in a heater.
Do you have any ice cover? If so, how much?
What part of the country do you live in?

Pictures are always helpful.

.

 

[MoonShadows]

Welcome to GPF. I'm a newbie, so I'm afraid I can't be of much help. I'm sure some of our more experienced ponders will be able to help you out when you answer the questions Mitch asked above. I just wanted to say welcome aboard. Lots of great information here.

 

[Usman]

welcome ... sad to hear , thats very strange what happened i cant think of any thing , do you have aerator ? possibility if all big fish were effected , it can be oxygen issue , but others can tell more im not sure .... by heater do you mean de-icer ?

 

[sissy]

Welcome and could it have been a lack of oxygen .I don't like when old owners do not give enough info on ponds to new owners

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our group!

 

[Gemma]

Welcome to the group...so sorry about your koi

 

[Tula]

Welcome and sorry about your koi.

 

[bagsmom]

Gosh, so sorry to hear this! But welcome to the group. I am pretty new here, so I'm not an expert -- but the advice from the people in this group is fantastic. I'm sure the experienced pond keepers will be able to give you lots of help!

 

[teeemkay]

Sorry to hear about your koi. I was sad when I lost one of mine too a couple years ago.

How bad did the ice cover get before you put in the heater/de-icer? Did it cover the entire pond for an extended period of time? There needs to be a hole in the ice surface for gas exchange.

 

[crystal r]

Welcome!
What is the size of your pond? Length, width, depth.
Please describe the filtration and water circulation setup.
How old is the pond?
You did not kill the koi by putting in a heater.
Do you have any ice cover? If so, how much?
What part of the country do you live in?

Pictures are always helpful.

.

I'm not sure of the size. The only information I got about the pond is that it is 4 ft deep. The pond is only filtered by the water fountain which is off now. I will get pictures as soon as it stops snowing here. I live in eastern Washington state. The pond , I'm guessing is from 2002. That's when the house was built. I'm not sure. The pond was frozen but it has thawed now. That's how we discovered the dead Koi.

 

[crystal r]

Sorry to hear about your koi. I was sad when I lost one of mine too a couple years ago.

How bad did the ice cover get before you put in the heater/de-icer? Did it cover the entire pond for an extended period of time? There needs to be a hole in the ice surface for gas exchange.

The ice was pretty thick for about a week and then we put the heater in. I did see the big Koi alive after the heater was put in.

 

[crystal r]

View attachment 97581

Welcome to GPF. I'm a newbie, so I'm afraid I can't be of much help. I'm sure some of our more experienced ponders will be able to help you out when you answer the questions Mitch asked above. I just wanted to say welcome aboard. Lots of great information here.

Thank you. I'm so glad I found this site.

 

[crystal r]

welcome ... sad to hear , thats very strange what happened i cant think of any thing , do you have aerator ? possibility if all big fish were effected , it can be oxygen issue , but others can tell more im not sure .... by heater do you mean de-icer ?

It is a heater like you would put in a water trough. We have a friend that has Koi and that's what she uses.

 

[MitchM]

The best thing right now would be to get a small pump or aerator in the pond to move the surface water.
You don't want anything too deep in case there's a lot of organic material at the bottom. Stirring that up now could cause some water quality issues.
The sooner you could post some pictures the better.
That pond could not have been operating for 15 years with only a water fountain.
Did the owner leave behind anything like a pond vacuum?
How big were the koi that died?
What size are the fish that are still living?
Did you remove the dead koi?

If you can't even see the dimensions of the pond due to snow cover, I wouldn't want you to get too close.
You placed that trough heater in, so you must know where there is an electrical outlet and at least part of the pond edge.