Test Fish Disappearing after about 2 hours.

[Eyezik]

This morning marks 1 week of my pond having water in with the filter. In honor of this, I got a 2-3 inch goldfish to test the pond to see if there are any issues I may have missed. I had put the fish in around Noon and when I came home from running around at about 2 pm (2 hours later), it seemed to have disappeared. I live in a pretty tight neighborhood with lots of tree coverage in my yard. My pond is about 2-3 feet deep, I have blue pond tint and some floating plants. I have checked 2 times now to ensure I did not just miss him but I can not find him for the life of me.

Any thoughts on what it could have been? I am lost.

 

[poconojoe]

It's pretty normal for newly introduced fish to be shy. They will hide for days or even a week or so until they get acclimated.

 

[j.w]

@Eyezik
You may think they are gone and then they pop up. Give them some time.

 

[Tula]

I agree, give them some time, they're probably hiding.

 

[Eyezik]

It's pretty normal for newly introduced fish to be shy. They will hide for days or even a week or so until they get acclimated.

View attachment 139402@Eyezik
You may think they are gone and then they pop up. Give them some time.

I agree, give them some time, they're probably hiding.

That does make sense but my pond is the somewhat bare bottom. I have around 30 ish large stones but nothing I couldn't look through. I ended up going into the pond to take a closer look and I don't see anything. Thank you for all the replies though. <3

 

[bagsmom]

The same thing happened with my first two fish when I put them in my brand new pond. I thought for sure something had taken them, but they just turned out to be amazing at hide and seek!

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome to the GPF @Eyezik !

Fish are excellent at hiding - we had one that would disappear for weeks at a time and then suddenly pop back up. One fish in particular may feel more vulnerable and less likely to want to show itself. Are you testing your water?

We'd love to see pictures of your pond!

 

[reefsr]

Definitely hiding. After 2 of my shubunkins got eaten by a raccoon, my third one took notice and now sticks himself in the roots of water hyacinths.

However, now that the hyacinths are covering a lot more, he just swims under them instead of sticking himself in the roots directly.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

Ditto what everyone else said, but I would advise against using “test” fish — it’s like you are expecting the fish to be expendable. Get a water test kit and keep up with your water parameters. Give the fish places to hide (tunnels, plants, etc.). Add additional fish gradually.

Also, adding tint to a pond is not necessary. Good filtration and plants will go a long way toward any “benefits” of tints.

How big is your pond — total gallons, dimensions (besides 2’-3’ deep)? What kind of filtration do you have? Where are you located?

 

[Eyezik]

Welcome to the GPF @Eyezik !

Fish are excellent at hiding - we had one that would disappear for weeks at a time and then suddenly pop back up. One fish in particular may feel more vulnerable and less likely to want to show itself. Are you testing your water?

We'd love to see pictures of your pond!

it’s very DIY and we just had a decent sized storm last night. I am doing rock work soon but my family is out of town and they wanted me to wait till I get home. Some what embarrassed so show this as it is no where near done.

 

[brokensword]

it’s very DIY and we just had a decent sized storm last night. I am doing rock work soon but my family is out of town and they wanted me to wait till I get home. Some what embarrassed so show this as it is no where near done.

View attachment 139426

don't be embarrassed; we've all been there. And you'll be glad later for any 'in progress' pics. Watching how yours finishes will be fun! I mean, we'd all have LOVED to see you digging initially but we'll settle for halfway done!

 

[mrsclem]

What type of liner do you have?

 

[j.w]

So it seems your fish would be in plain site for any critter that passed by. Could be it was grabbed! Now if it does not turn up then I see a net in your future.

 

[Jhn]

Agree, with everyone In 2 hours unlikely something got it. Did you look under the folds in your liner, they will tuck up in there and hide as well, they are very good at it.

 

[Eyezik]

Hello and welcome!

Ditto what everyone else said, but I would advise against using “test” fish — it’s like you are expecting the fish to be expendable. Get a water test kit and keep up with your water parameters. Give the fish places to hide (tunnels, plants, etc.). Add additional fish gradually.

Also, adding tint to a pond is not necessary. Good filtration and plants will go a long way toward any “benefits” of tints.

How big is your pond — total gallons, dimensions (besides 2’-3’ deep)? What kind of filtration do you have? Where are you located?

Bc I did it free hand it’s a bit hard to say the exact gallons but it’s about 2 and a half feet deep with a 6x8 diameter. There’s a picture above for reference. I also used a liner that was graded for 400 gallons and it fit perfectly so around a 400-350 mark.

Yeah I put half the tint in as I hate the blue look so hopefully it would less over time to a point that looks natural.