waynefrcan
22 years ponding and hopefully a few more!
Report has pond water at 8.8 PH . Don’t know what testing method they used. Petsmart and my tests were 7.6.
Petsmart koi possible problems
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@waynefrcan - long time no see.
Interesting that someone suggests these fish aren’t worth a trip to a vet and you disagree. Then you’re annoyed that the vet had no better or different opinion than anyone here. And seriously - it’s risky enough to buy fish from PetCo but then to rely on the advice from the sales clerk (likely a teen working a part time job) - but this forum is where you’re finding “useless opinions”. The collective knowledge here far outweighs any pet store employee. But you know that.
Did you quarantine one fish but not the rest? Maybe I missed that part of the situation. Bought five, two dead immediately, one in quarantine - the remaining two went in the pond to infect the rest?
You still taking your fish inside for the winter?
Interesting that someone suggests these fish aren’t worth a trip to a vet and you disagree. Then you’re annoyed that the vet had no better or different opinion than anyone here. And seriously - it’s risky enough to buy fish from PetCo but then to rely on the advice from the sales clerk (likely a teen working a part time job) - but this forum is where you’re finding “useless opinions”. The collective knowledge here far outweighs any pet store employee. But you know that.
Did you quarantine one fish but not the rest? Maybe I missed that part of the situation. Bought five, two dead immediately, one in quarantine - the remaining two went in the pond to infect the rest?
You still taking your fish inside for the winter?
waynefrcan
22 years ponding and hopefully a few more!
My old friend, how’s it going?. Your critique is somewhat off but I guess I deserve a few lumps. I’m a bit stressed over this and must be coming off as a rookie. Just that I never had a complete fish pond catastrophe with this pond before, only odd cases of cold water fungus.
pH is 7.8 this morning. I’ll take another reading in afternoon and evening.
pH is 7.8 this morning. I’ll take another reading in afternoon and evening.
You know I’m on your side! But this man was a rookie mistake. We’ve all taken chances though so I won’t be too harsh on you!
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You can order Proform-C, Fluke-M, and Dimilin online.
Immediate Action Plan:
1. Drain & Clean: Remove about 75% of the water. Backwash your filter. Vacuum the pond and hose everything down to stir up trapped waste.
2. Filter Overnight: Let the filter run overnight to pull out debris. Backwash again in the morning.
3. Refill to 50%: Top back up to about half capacity. Add heavy aeration. Watch how the fish respond.
4. Test Water: Order an API Test Kit (Amazon has them). Sometimes it’s just dirty water, especially if new fish were recently added.
Medication Guidance:
If salt is already in the pond, you can try Fluke-M or Dimilin (one at a time—don’t combine unless confirmed safe together).
In my own 12k gallon pond, it turned out to be hidden waste even though parameters looked fine. A deep clean plus partial refill made a huge difference.
Pro Tips:
Melafix often shows the most noticeable improvement though most ppl on here don't like it.
If I were starting over, I’d do:
Major water change + deep clean
Medicate at half volume (cheaper, and still effective with good circulation)
Don’t forget Koi Clay—it’s natural, boosts water quality, and fish love it. It helps clean the water a lot faster too
You can order Proform-C, Fluke-M, and Dimilin online.
Immediate Action Plan:
1. Drain & Clean: Remove about 75% of the water. Backwash your filter. Vacuum the pond and hose everything down to stir up trapped waste.
2. Filter Overnight: Let the filter run overnight to pull out debris. Backwash again in the morning.
3. Refill to 50%: Top back up to about half capacity. Add heavy aeration. Watch how the fish respond.
4. Test Water: Order an API Test Kit (Amazon has them). Sometimes it’s just dirty water, especially if new fish were recently added.
Medication Guidance:
If salt is already in the pond, you can try Fluke-M or Dimilin (one at a time—don’t combine unless confirmed safe together).
In my own 12k gallon pond, it turned out to be hidden waste even though parameters looked fine. A deep clean plus partial refill made a huge difference.
Pro Tips:
Melafix often shows the most noticeable improvement though most ppl on here don't like it.
If I were starting over, I’d do:
Major water change + deep clean
Medicate at half volume (cheaper, and still effective with good circulation)
Don’t forget Koi Clay—it’s natural, boosts water quality, and fish love it. It helps clean the water a lot faster too
Are you suggesting he take the fish out of the pond? This is a large pond - that’s a heck of a water change.
waynefrcan
22 years ponding and hopefully a few more!
Wow Lisa, I remember when you were a pond baby, now almost 14,000 posts later you know everything. Future Mod material I’d say, good for you.
waynefrcan
22 years ponding and hopefully a few more!
I know one thing for sure, I have to keep a better handle on the pond. Complacency with having a great running pond has caused me problems this time. I’m leaning now to environmental factors rather than new fish as the problem. The fish got better on their own without any treatment. Now almost all look good and are eating and behaving normally. I think some things in the pond are borderline problems and something put it over the line. New fish, stressed fish, high pH, algae, chlorine toxicity, o2 levels. I will work on environmental now.
waynefrcan
22 years ponding and hopefully a few more!
waynefrcan
22 years ponding and hopefully a few more!
waynefrcan
22 years ponding and hopefully a few more!
The little guy I took to see the Vet has improved immensely and is eating and with lots of energy. But after 8 days of salt treatment in a 5 gal pail at .3 % still has some red spots on fins.
Some of the pond fish still show red streaks but also better almost normal.
Some of the pond fish still show red streaks but also better almost normal.
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Finally someone has noticed - haha! Hardly everything, but I've learned a lot!
Glad to hear things are moving in the positive direction. You may have just had some really stressed fish on your hands. My general approach to most things in life is just to wait and see... many things do resolve on their own.
waynefrcan
22 years ponding and hopefully a few more!
Exactly! Glad I waited and didn’t use that killer formalin.
waynefrcan
22 years ponding and hopefully a few more!
