Pond fish issues

[vorlon]

bit of background first. i dug this pond nearly 3 years ago.it is filled with mains water but run through a carbon filter. it was left to run for about 4-5 months with nothing in it. then we added the plants. again it was left for another 5-6 months before adding 4 goldfish. at this time i also added the 2nd filter. this first with the fountain head is a blagdon 6000 with uv. the 2nd is a 2000ltr pump running through a box of filter sponges. i put this one in because the water had become a bit green. roll on another few months and started to get a huge blanket weed problem. cured this with addition of evolution aqua stop blanket weed and also some purepond. this worked well and water is crystal clear. however all the gold fish were gone . assumed they had been choked by the weed? so gave it a couple of weeks and added 8 comets, red and gold. was a surprise a few weeks later to count 9. turns out one was just hiding. a week later found one floating dead in the shallows. no visible signs on the body.
have now noticed some very visible scar like eruptions on them. tried to get a pic but difficult. harder to catch but if i need to i will.
also have fish i never put in. pic attached. there are loads of them of many differing sizes which leads me to believe they are breeding. any ideas?
we get frogs and insects, pondskaters, dragonflys. no birds though, the cats would see to that.

 

[Jhn]

Test your water and give us the numbers especially ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, kh.

Also, better to battle unwanted algae naturally with plants than chemicals. Chemicals can affect water quality, cause lower oxygen levels as algae dies, if overdosed lead to fish deaths.

lacerations could be from overly aggressive spawning a heron visiting, or a lesion would be from water quality issues. Either way good water quality is paramount in keeping your fish healthy and their ability to recover from injuries.

As for the new fish, you hit the nail on the head your fish are spawning.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

 

[j.w]

@vorlon

 

[vorlon]

Test your water and give us the numbers especially ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, kh.

Also, better to battle unwanted algae naturally with plants than chemicals. Chemicals can affect water quality, cause lower oxygen levels as algae dies, if overdosed lead to fish deaths.

lacerations could be from overly aggressive spawning a heron visiting, or a lesion would be from water quality issues. Either way good water quality is paramount in keeping your fish healthy and their ability to recover from injuries.

As for the new fish, you hit the nail on the head your fish are spawning.

I dont have a test kit, happy to get one based on reccomendations. the new fish dont look like goldfish though?

 

[WaterGardener]

Goldfish start out dark like the one in your last picture. It's better camouflage from predators and larger fish than being bright orange. They get color as they get older, and may even change colors after that.

 

[vorlon]

so test kit came
PH 7.6
KH 6
GH 14
nitrate 10
nitrite 0.5

 

[Mmathis]

so test kit came
PH 7.6
KH 6
GH 14
nitrate 10
nitrite 0.5

Ammonia?

 

[vorlon]

ammonia 0

 

[CometKeith]

Hi. I’m sorry your fish aren’t doing well. I’m having a really difficult time reading your message because of the lack of capitals letters and punctuatIon issues.

 

[Faebinder]

Your nitrite level is on the edge of being high and it may be the reason for the fish loss. Feed less for a while till the pond makes more algae to eat your nitrites. Put more plants or make a better bog long term.

Your evolution aqua stop blanket weed is probably the reason you lost so much algae that is consuming your nitrites. This causes fish lost with ammonia and nitrite spikes. Water change is recommended weekly until you either are ok with more algae or build a bog or reduce fish.... something gotta give.

 

[WaterGardener]

Prime will bind the nitrite and prevent it from harming the fish. For that purpose it needs to be dosed every 48 hours until the pond stabilizes and the nitrite disappears.

 

[vorlon]

fish all seem really happy, babies growing really well and changing colour too. lovely to see and a nice surprise. I may have another problem now though. i may have a leak. water has been down over the last couple of weeks because of the hot days, have been topping up regularly. however the last couple of days it has been 10 degrees or more cooler so i don't think its that. how else can i check? will it mean taking everything out and replacing the liner?

 

[cas]

Have you checked the sides of the pond looking for damp areas? Have you turned off the pump to see if that stops the water level from dropping?

 

[vorlon]

I'll look around for wet spots. both pumps are in the pond and only one feeds a short distance to the filter( about 3 feet of hose) and there are no leaks there.