Pond/Fish Troubles

[1lilhunt]

Hi all,

Within the last week, we've noticed our fish have been acting strangely. They are at the surface or right at the bottom on the left side of the pond. We've lost two fish but the others aren't flowing through the pond like they used too.

- We've tested the water, everything was back in the normal range
- We've added back our Aerator so that we are providing more oxygen for them
- We added Beneficial Bacteria to help with the Algae
- Our pump and filter are clean and have been cleaned on a regular basis
- We have a Waterfall which is helping circulate the water
- We have added water to the pond as well


Any suggestions here? Im worried about our fish (just regular types of Gold Fish) ...

 

[Lisak1]

A few questions first -
How big is the pond? How many gallons? How many fish? How old is the pond? How long have these fish been in the pond and have you added any new fish recently? Changed or added anything else in the way of chemicals, plants, things around the pond, etc.

Water tests - what do you mean by "back in the normal range"... what are the actual readings and were they out of range recently?

Beneficial bacteria doesn't do much for algae, but what kind did you add? Was this before or after you noticed the fish were acting strange?

How much water did you add? Was this also before or after you noticed a difference?

Is it possible there was some kind of predator attack that has spooked your fish? You say you "lost two fish" - does that mean they died or you can't find them? If dead - did anything look off about them when you found them? Redness, wounds, bloating, gills red, etc?

Sorry for all the questions but there are lots of possible answers -

 

[WaterGardener]

Could you please post the results of your water tests? Liquid tests, or strips?

The more we know about your pond, the more likely we will be able to help you.

 

[sissy]

My fish do that when there is a predator in the pond or visting the pond . I found a turtle last week in my pond . Hubby threw fish food into the pond and some landed on the bridge and I think the turtle fell off the bridge getting the food .I als a couple of years ago found a snake in the pond . I think JW or Addy had the same thing happen to them . I also had to relocated a huge toad , Not sure where it came from but there it was . Sometimes adding the wrong stuff to the pond can cause fish to act funny . I have seen expired chemicals at the pond store and mentioned to them .The bottom end they did not care and some people never look at dates

 

[1lilhunt]

- This is our 3rd year with our pond
- Yes, we've added 4 new fish into our pond in the last week. The other fish are 2/3 years.
- Fish Pond testing strips in the middle range of the testing strips .. next time I will post!
- 300 Gallon Water Pond
- Fresh Plants added last week .. we had plants that got the cold bit ( Toronto, Ontario)
- We use Aquascape Chemicals - maintain, clean, and clear. We have used the SAAB stuff for algae (This has always been the stuff we've used in the pond
- Fish that died looked normal .. One was at the bottom (He kinda looked like he was shedding skin) .. one floating on top ..

 

[WaterGardener]

If you did not quarantine the new fish, they could have introduced something that they are used to that your other fish are vulnerable to.

How many total fish are in the pond? 50 gallons per goldfish is recommended in a pond. If the fish are small and you have enough filtration, you can pull it off for a while. But if the population doesn't decrease and/or extra filtration isn't added, there can be major problems.

The shedding skin sounds like a chemical problem. Could the aquascape products have been overdosed? Or was the ammonia level high at some point?

You really don't need to add those chemicals to your pond and they actually interfere with the pond finding it's own balance. They are supposed to break up fish waste and debris on the bottom of the pond. But if you have a filtration system and net out any leaves that fall into it, there is no need for chemicals.

The only thing you need to use is something to dechlorinate the water if your water source contains chlorine.

The liquid type test kits are much more accurate than the strips. The accuracy of the strips start to deteriorate as soon as the package is opened and they are exposed to air.

 

[1lilhunt]

Thank you for your help

 

[j.w]

@1lilhunt

 

[Stephen Noble]

Shedding skin could be ammonia poisoning. 300 gallons is not big enough unless you are keeping one gold fish or a few very small fish like guppies. My guess is the addition of the 4 new fish jolted the system. Personally, I would return or rehome the new fish and concentrate on keeping your old fish healthy. Test strips are inaccurate. Get a very clean glass container and take a sample of your pond water to a good shop and have them test the water for you. I bet the problem is an ammonia or nitrite spike.

 

[1lilhunt]

Hi all,

Within the last week, we've noticed our fish have been acting strangely. They are at the surface or right at the bottom on the left side of the pond. We've lost two fish but the others aren't flowing through the pond like they used too.

- We've tested the water, everything was back in the normal range
- We've added back our Aerator so that we are providing more oxygen for them
- We added Beneficial Bacteria to help with the Algae
- Our pump and filter are clean and have been cleaned on a regular basis
- We have a Waterfall which is helping circulate the water
- We have added water to the pond as well


Any suggestions here? Im worried about our fish (just regular types of Gold Fish) ...

 

[sissy]

even adding plants before you clean roots and always put them in a water tank to make sure there is nothing hiding in the roots . I put mine seperate for at least a week or 2 . Even ones I over winter in my basement never go straight into the pond .

 

[GBBUDD]

One possibility i have not seen brought up is cleaning your filter. When we think of cleaning the first instant is to get it sparkling where it looks as close to new as possible. In ponding we don't want to go to this extreme. Within the sludge that builds up on the filter is the life of our ponds the bacteria. So while there may have been another factor that triggered your issue. Seeing one and taking cleaning to an extreme could also cause a problem .