New spring pond Fish dying

[lenny jewell]

Just built a new Gold fish pond , has 2 small fountains made of plastic, actually removed from those indoor soothing waterfall things , lots of rocks , it is surrounded by some fake plants but not in the water . Some algae is formed and the fish are eating it , there are about 15 small goldfish in the pond including 5 fan tails (butterfly ) goldfish... there were 4, 6 inch fish in there to begin with , i got a little over enthusiastic and i believe i over populated the pond , but on the first day with only the 4 bigger fish in the pond one died , then slowly but surely over the course of a week to 10 days all the big fish died , i added the little fish when there were 3 big fish , now no big fish left and three little ones died today , i have not tested the water for ph , i have added the requisite amount of water conditioner t the pond ( can this be over done ?) i do have im sure the odd piece of old concrete in amongst the waterfall rocks . should i add a filter , a 02 pump , a Plecos fish , do i need to wait and see what happens to other fish as the enviroment develops ( how long?).. as you can see i need some help , and please forgive my ignorance i do mean well and all this death is emotionally draining

 

[vertigo72]

If I understand you correctly, you currently have no filter and no plants? Thats not going to work. You are going to need, ideally both, but at the very least a pump and biofilter. An airpump is nice to have, but if you already have waterfalls, its not a necessity. You will however, need a test kit to test your water PH, ammonia and nitrite (and ideally, nitrate, KH and GH as well).

Im not sure if you can overdo it with water conditioner, Im fortunate enough to have chlorine and chloramine free tap water, but I would assume its not a good idea. Follow the instructions.

Until you have a filter, and the filter has "cycled" (which will take several weeks), you will regularly need to do partial water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite levels in check (and you will need to condition that water every time). Thats assuming your PH isnt off the charts. Dont buy anymore fish until your water is in order, and clearly its not atm. Adding more fish will only increase ammonia concentrations which poison your fish.
Welcome to the forums btw

 

[addy1]

Welcome lenny, a lot of people have made that mistake, build pond, add water add fish, fish die.

It is a learning curve. You do need some sort of filtration like vertigo suggests, plants are great to have in your pond (real ones lol)

Welcome to our group!

 

[j.w]

lenny

We are glad you found us and we will give you all the help we can. When the time comes to add fish only add a couple tiny little buggars to start the with. They can handle the new changes better than the biggies. Less fish to start will mean slower start and easier management in the long run. Plants are great and yes get a filter or make one. Lots of DIY ideas here.

 

[j.w]

Just noticed your pond was only 50 gals. I would not put but just a couple fish in there as that's not big enough for many. Goldfish can get big and in a few years two goldfish can really make a mess in a pond that size. Is there any way you can make it bigger later on

 

[lenny jewell]

just added 30 - 60 gal filter , ammonia rocks to dcrease ammoni and i am lowering the ph a little at a time to a safe 7.2 ... pray i dont lose another , but i am learning , thanks for all the advice...

 

[vertigo72]

Ammonia rocks? You mean zeolite? If so, its a good idea, just be aware that they dont actually break down ammonia, they absorb and store it, and only until they are saturated. You have to replace them regularly or reactivate them by putting them in salt water. But by that time, hopefully your filter will be up and running.

Also, Im a bit worried about the filter. Most manufacturers are hopelessly optimistic about the capability of their filters, and I tend to divide their claims by a factor 4x or more, especially if you have a very high fish load like you have. What filter did you get?

 

[lenny jewell]

its an Aqua Tech power filter , made for aquariums but it should work ..looks heavy duty , has two filters and i placed ammonia absorbing rocks in a flow thru bag and into the filter system

 

[addy1]

Great lenny all you do will be helpful for the fish.

 

[CometKeith]

Hi Lenny, Welcome to the forum! Yes we have made mistakes starting out. You don't want to hear mine! A pond with average filtration should hold 5-10 inches of fish per 100 gallons. The problem with too many fish as you have learned is the pond gets too concentrated with ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. Also there is not enough dissolved oxygen in the water for the fish to breathe. That is why larger fish usually die first because they need more oxygen. Probably once you get your pond cycled and going good two small goldfish would be about right for the size pond you have. Good luck and try to have fun with the pond!

 

[lenny jewell]

i have 2 fountains streaming into the air before hitting water and i have a 30-60 gal filter pump pushing water thru the air before returning to the water i figured that should put lots of oxygen into the pond , apparently not enough eh?

 

[addy1]

It would seem so. That is a lot of water movement for a small pond.

 

[CometKeith]

hi Lenny Jewell, The whole key for keeping pond fish is to try to create a natural ecosystem that comes close to maintaining itself with minimum help from us. Goldfish and koi produce a lot of waste and have very definite needs. They need way more water per fish than a lot of other fish do and is why goldfish and koi are such popular pond fish. Even for experienced ponders it's a lot of work when the bio-load gets too big. I would recommend that you get test kits for ph,ammonia,nitrite and nitrate. It takes a new pond 3-6 weeks to cycle and its easy to kill your fish during this time. I would try to be a lot less ambitious about quantity and size of your fish and start really slow and learn as you go. Also no matter how much O2 you pump in, a 50 gallon pond can only hold so much. It also depends on surface area and this is another way people judge how many fish a pond can hold.

 

[DrDave]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[addy1]

Think of a 50 gallon fish tank sitting in your house and the fish load it can handle. That will help you.