One dead butterfly today

[Mommacoop]

I have a pond that is approx 400 gallons...has one small creek spill, 1 large waterfall and one medium waterfall. I had 4 butterfly koi, (3 ) 6” and 1 around 12”. One of the smaller ones was yellow and week 2 of adding them he disappeared...never found a body or remains at all. I kinda figured maybe a bird. That was about 3 weeks ago now. Today, I added about 30 gallons of new water.....I add water all the time because the waterfall at the head is so big it causes a lot of evaporation. As I was about to pull the hose out I found one of the smaller koi floating and he was bloated so I know he did not just die. As I netted him I looked at the body and did not see any infections or anything yucky....and as a not I do add dechlorinator and metafix when I add water. What could have happened to him? The others seem to be fine. I’m new to
This....TN weather, some algae..not a lot, no algae chemicals ever, I use a toilet wand on a long stick to clean rocks then oump
Filter,ez 400 uv filter and large pump, I added some pics of
Pond for you to see setup. I wish I had taken pic of the deceased butterfly but he is gone out to the field for the coyotes tonight

 

[mrsclem]

You are adding dechlor and melafix with water addition. Why the melafix? You have a beautiful pond. do you have a test kit? If so, what are your test results, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, ph. So it's been over a month since you added the fish, how long has the pond been running? 400 gallons is small for koi. Those fish can grow to over 24" very quickly.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our group!
Nice looking pond. I agree with @mrsclem that pond is too small for koi, once they grow. You may need to re-home them.
For that size I would stick with shubunkins, they have great colors and will stay at a good size for your pond

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome to the GPF - sorry that it's fish trouble that brings you here. That's always sad.

You could have just gotten some sickly fish. Are these the only fish in the pond? Did you add them all at once? Did you buy them from a reputable dealer?

And yes - this may be an opportunity (as sad as it is to lose fish) to rethink your choice of fish. Your pond is perfect for goldfish!

 

[j.w]

@Mommacoop
Sorry for the loss of your koi. Your pond is very nice and I agree goldfish would be much better for the smaller area.

 

[Tula]

Welcome, your pond is beautiful! I know it's disappointing to think of rehoming the koi, but they grow quite large.