What is going on??

[Lisak1]

Was the lotus a new plant you purchased? Did you "quarantine" the plant before putting it in your pond?

It was brand new, but was just the bare root when it came. And it was planted in the pot for about 5 or 6 weeks before it went in the pond. (We put the whole thing, pot and all, right into the pond.) We always wait for the lotuses to get a good head start before they go in the pond - otherwise the fish just yank them out of the pot. I don't think a bare root plant would carry anything parasitic, but we did have the thought that maybe it had to be sprayed with something to get through customs to be shipped here? That's probably a big stretch though... and even if it did, the water was changed in the pot numerous times before the plant went into the pond. But we are literally considering all possibilities!

Oh, I am sorry that you lost all your fish! It is so frustrating and sad! I dread walking out to the pond right now, for fear of what I will find. Like I said, our neighbor does spray his weeds, but he's a good 30 feet from the pond when he does and he does try to be very careful. I will mention it to him the next time I see him, but since our garden is not showing any signs of overspray, I really doubt that we got anything from his yard.

 

[Ray G]

Thanks @Ray G - internal parasites is our best guess right now, too. From what I'm reading, if that's the case the prazi should do the trick. I like that it's mild and pretty much just does what you need it to do without causing problems with the good biology in the pond or the plants. Fingers crossed that it works. It's not cheap.

And I thought about the bog clean out, but like I said, the fish deaths had started before I did that. I did have a thought that taking out all that plant matter had caused the nitrates to suddenly spike, but the water tests proved that wasn't the case.

yep I reckon it is definitely not the water or toxins in the water. Usually if it is the water or toxins all fish are affected at the same time. If it is parasites then each fish is infected to a different level until they are all affected. Are some of the fish behaving normally and with good appetite? If so I would put them in another container to quarantine them as they may not be infected yet. but treat them with the prazi as well. Prazi is not a fix all though and as you said it is very expensive. internal parasites usually take a while to kill a fish so they have possibly been in the water for a while.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

When I lost all my fish I drained the pond and let it dry for several days. Then I refilled it and started over. I haven't lost any fish since I restocked it. ***knock on wood**

After hearing how you handled the lotus I doubt it had anything to do with your loss.

How many fish do you have left? Do you have a stock tank or pool you could move them to? Just to see if they fare any better out of the pond and in "fresh" water.

 

[cas]

So sorry to hear Lisa! I sure hope things get better soon.

 

[poconojoe]

Oh my, how horrible that you have to go through this again. And not knowing the cause this time makes it even worse.
I'm trying to recall what happened last time. Wasn't it a plumbing connection that worked loose? If my memory is wrong about that, could this loss and the last one be related? Maybe neighbor's chemicals both times?

 

[Lisak1]

@bettasngoldfish we probably have about a 15 fish left plus one big koi. Setting up a separate "holding pen" would be nearly impossible - just getting the water ready for fish would take more time than it appears we have at this point. It's a good idea though!

@poconojoe - yup. The first disaster was precipitated by a plumbing failure that forced the shut down of the pond. And then the Polar Vortex hit. We have wondered if that event - which seemed to not affect the goldfish at all - may have actually weakened them and left them susceptible to parasites. So they may be related in a tangential way.

 

[Tula]

Have you added any new fish?

 

[Lisak1]

@Tula No. In fact we had made plans with a local nursery to go pick out some new shubunkins yesterday to replace all the koi that we lost - put that on hold for the time being. We haven't added a fish to the pond since year three, other than those that have been born in the pond.

We did have a pair of nesting ducks that hung around in early spring... I wondered if they brought something to the pond that has taken hold of the fish? I know ducks carry parasites that affect other water fowl, but I suppose they could have picked up something from other fish and passed it along. Or any of the other birds that visit the pond... I'm thinking of all the possibilities here!

 

[Ray G]

@Tula No. In fact we had made plans with a local nursery to go pick out some new shubunkins yesterday to replace all the koi that we lost - put that on hold for the time being. We haven't added a fish to the pond since year three, other than those that have been born in the pond.

We did have a pair of nesting ducks that hung around in early spring... I wondered if they brought something to the pond that has taken hold of the fish? I know ducks carry parasites that affect other water fowl, but I suppose they could have picked up something from other fish and passed it along. Or any of the other birds that visit the pond... I'm thinking of all the possibilities here!

I reckon you have hit on the clue. The ducks. They are a carrier of waterborne parasites! It is usually birds of some type that introduce the parasites. Waterbirds are usually the #1 suspect. I think you are doing the right thing overall. Dont add any more fish. I am wondering what type of prazi you are getting? They usually add other things to make it more effective. It can be quite hard to kill parasites in a pond that is for sure. Have you ever had parasites before?

 

[Lisak1]

It's Hikari brand PraziPro. I hope it's a good brand. It says the ingredients are just praziquantel and an inert stabilizer. I guess we'll see. The pond store I called (which could mean I was talking to a 16 year old working his summer job!) said internal parasites should only need a single treatment and that should eradicate them from the pond as well. I'm hopeful this is the solution.

And no - we've never had parasites as far as I know.

So far, no dead fish today. We're holding off on feeding for the time being. All the fish appear to be behaving normally, although slightly annoyed that the food isn't falling from the sky like it normally does - haha!

 

[Tula]

My folks have a place up on Lake Michigan and I grew up swimming there regularly. Oe hot summer day, we were thrilled to have a little group of ducks swim with us After a short while I started feeling itchy....which progress to huge red welts that itched and oozed. I forget what it was, but read in a local paper the the waste of ducks contained a "bug" that was prevalent that summer due to heat. Maybe it was the ensuing ducks.

 

[Lisak1]

Sounds like chiggers @Tula - not a fun thing to run into!

 

[Ray G]

How are things after the prazi treatment?
Ray

 

[Lisak1]

How are things after the prazi treatment?
Ray

So far so good @Ray G - no more dead fish. It was super easy to do and we got the predicted small amount of foaming which I was actually glad to see. Reassured me that the medication was being distributed throughout the pond. I've got my fingers crossed that we landed on the correct solution.

Thanks for checking!

 

[Tula]

I'm glad to hear no more losses. I'm interested in the treatment....I've never done it before but have heard it's effective. I've also read we pond keepers should keep it on hand.....what are your thoughts about that?