So many questions

[Newhouse]

Hi I have recently moved into a new house with a large garden pond, before we moved in we had a grid put on the pond. There are about 12 about 30cm fish in the pond. About 8 are mostly gold with the odd black spot on them, so my first question is are these goldfish or something else. The other fish are black with a light coloured underbelly and fangs (sorry for my basic terms I am very new to all this) any idea what these might be? My final question is the pond seems to have a huge filter and waterfall do these continue to stay on through the winter? Any help anyone could give me would be great. Thank you

 

[sissy]

welcome and the ones with the so called fangs are koi .They are called barbels by some people

 

[Newhouse]

Thank you for your quick reply, is it likely the others are just big goldfish?

 

[sissy]

Could be or could be mixed with something else .Can you get pics .The big one is a koi

 

[Newhouse]

Because there is a grid on the pond it is quite tricky to get a decent one, they don't tend to feed in the same way as the black ones so difficult to see if they have 'fangs'.

 

[Newhouse]

Can I turn the filter off or does it need to stay on through the winter? Also we seem to get collections of bubbles/ froth on the pond for periods at I time. I have dipped the water and all seemed to be within safe limits. Sorry for all the questions but it all seems a lot more complex than I thought. The pond also seems to have a lot of blanket weed developing. It has an oase water filter with us bulb, does the development of weed mean the bulb needs replacing? Thank you again for all your help.

 

[moby]

They look like common goldfish and the black ones sound like ghost koi.
Filters and UV bulbs won't prevent blanket weed. UV's clump microscopic algae together to allow the filter media to strain it out. Blanket weed is best removed by hand or by a stick with rough edges, like a thin branch so it can twirl around and pull the stands off. Don't use chemical treatments, they kill the algae then it just decomposes on the bottom and causes even more problems. Best removed as mentioned, it comes away easily.
Can the grid be removed? It looks heavy, is there a reason for it? Children, dogs maybe? I personally prefer a net, easily removed for maintainence, and keeps the herons out too.
Bubbles and froth...is it there now or was this happening in the warmer months? Usually seen in the morning after spawning has happened...it's from all of the errrr, goings on, a kind of errrr protein based meringue, so to speak!
Need to know size of pond, and depth, make & model of filter, size of pump and hose diameter.
How old is the UV bulb, it may well be lighting up, but may not be efficient, they need replacing every year or so.
Need the readings you got from the pond water test and the make of the test kit you used and was it a new kit?
I've run my pump, filter and waterfall x365 for 25 yrs and don't get problems, my fish and pond are all good. Some may suggest it's not a good idea, others, like me, prefer to run them.
I won't be able to answer all of your questions myself, but someone will help out!
...and you're in which county, just for curiosities sake? Mine is N Staffs.

 

[Newhouse]

Thank you for your really helpful reply. We have a grid for our children, and it can be removed in sections but it can also be walked on. We are in Shropshire. As far as pump bulb etc go, the house is only 3 years old and I think the pump was put in then, but I can find no evidence that the bulb has ever been replaced so that may be a problem. The water testing kit was new and it was tetra 6in 1 strips. I will look at the model of the pump in the morning but it is an oase filtoclear either 12000-30000. The pond is about 10ft by 8ft and approx 4ft deep, and is kidney ish shaped. Do you run your pump even when it is below freezing? I have read that you should stop feeding fish when the temp drops, is that true of all fish? Thanks again for all your help

 

[sissy]

I run mine but my weather does not get that cold here .Most run pond heaters to keep an opening in the ice for gas exchange .The foam could be broken down gunk on the bottom of the pond or from fish breeding if the water is warm enough for that .A swimming pool net works great to get the stuff off the bottom ,but you must go slow if there is a lot of it .Does the filter have a back flush and have you done that

 

[moby]

Ah, children, yes, I did have 3 of those! Best you keep the grid then.
Yes, the pump/filter runs in all weathers, even with thick ice on the surface as it keeps an area open at the base of the waterfall for air/gas exchange. Been down to -17 C during 2010/2011 winter, no probs.
Think the pump and filter would benefit from a clean out as you have no idea when that was last done I'm guessing?
Fish in planted ponds shouldn't be fed when the water temps drop below 10C as they can't digest it. Wheat germ based foods can be bought for winter feeding but I've never used them as my pond is mature and planted well. They can graze on algae and plants if they need to, but in the depths of winter they're slow and lazy and spend their days at the bottom levels so who knows what they're up too down there? I have ghost koi, goldies, yellow goldfish, golden orfe, blue orfe, shubunkins, comets and sarasas and I've stopped feeding them now as they've started to ignore food I've given. Unless the weather takes a U turn that will be it till it gets above 10c sometime in spring.
The liquid testers are often thought of on here as a more accurate way of testing as opposed to the strips, I'm not sure why though.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

The liquid testers are often thought of on here as a more accurate way of testing as opposed to the strips, I'm not sure why though.

Because test strips are easily contaminated by humidity.

 

[moby]

@Meyer Jordan, thanks for the explanation.