Why are my fish dying?

[Fishylove]

I have nothing to add, good advise everyone. FishNovice, I would like to say that I think it is great that you are sticking in there to save these fish. There are more than enough people that would have just let it go and forget it. I promise you because of all the hard work and resurch you are puting into this, you will appreciate your new pond so much more. Ponding can be stressful but its so very worth while. Welcome!

 

[Mmathis]

Evening all, bit of a long day today as i ended up at the doctors with a swollen leg due to getting bitten on the calf by some critter while doing the water change yesterday! I have antibiotics but if it swells any more i have to go to hospital as the pain has travelled up into the thigh area and the doc said its a pretty bad reaction.

I thought this pond lark was supposed to be safe and relaxing?

anyway, fish are looking ok, still very much underwater and not gasping at the inlet. I did test the outside tap, and the ammonia level was zero, so that rules that out. I would like to test the water coming out of the hose though, in case that is contaminated. But as mentioned by others, its probably the scurge at the bottom of the pond. Its thick, and gloopy. I put my hand in yesterday and the rubber glove looked rather distasteful when i pulled it out

its still very murky, so im keen (and a bit more confident now) to go ahead with removing the fish and doing an all out clean.

Yes, i do have a kiddie pool, a few of them! so i can at least borrow one and use it as a temporary tank while i get the job done.

Again, thanks for all the valuable input, its greatly appreciated

OMG, I hate that you got bitten! Any idea what it was, as in insect or animal? No matter, take care of yourself!

 

[Tula]

I'm sorry about the bite Do follow your doctor's advise if it doesn't improve.

I'm glad to hear things are improving , in that the fish are not gasping at the pond's surface. Thanks for hanging in there with us, we really are a friendly garden forum.

 

[TheFishNovice]

OMG, I hate that you got bitten! Any idea what it was, as in insect or animal? No matter, take care of yourself!

My wildlife savvy school teacher friend thinks it's a saucer bug bite. It bled quite a lot, making me think it was a leech. But apparently not.

Ammonia levels still high this morning, time for a full on clean.

Scooping the fish out - just use the net and gently transfer to temp pool?

 

[Mmathis]

I had never heard of a saucer bug -- nasty looking thing. Read down about 2/3 of the way under "Appearance." They describe what the bite/sting/puncture [what ever you would call it] of one of these guys feels like. And yes, Guy, from the description of your pond, you have the PERFECT living conditions.

http://www.microcosmos.nl/bugs2/ilyocoris.htm

 

[Fishylove]

Yes guy. If possible try to get the temp pool water as close to the temp of the pond. Good luck
Ps. Do not scrub the sides of the pond, just clean out all the gunk and clean the filter again and fill.

 

[Nepen]

I would also recommend taking any rocks, if any, out from the pond too, it'll be easier to maintain the pond without them. I have some still but really consider taking all out.

 

[Fishylove]

You want to try and keep as many of the good Bacteria as you can, so the pond will not have to start all over cycling.

 

[Priscilla]

Good luck to you!

After all this, you WILL sit by the pond one afternoon with a beverage and think, yes, it was worth it!

 

[Tula]

Ick! I too read up on the saucer bug....nasty little buggers! I think it's good you're going to empty the pond....no telling what lurks beneath the surface....maybe the lochness monster - LOL.

I do think you should take some precautions when doing this - if you don't have waders/ wells etc.....I'd at least wear long pants and gloves.

Keep us posted

 

[TheFishNovice]

total clear out went well. The only mistake i made was to accidentally hit the filter foam with my hose pipe spray, but hopefully it didn't wash away too much good bacteria.

The fish were ok in the paddling pool (its 3m x 2m), and i used a lot of the existing pond water. 24 fish in total, most look like the dead ones i posted last week, but 2 are small silvery black ones.

checked this morning and the ammonia level is down to between 1 and 2

i just hope they settle ok with the complete change.

the contents of the filter was putrid. Thick, dark brown sludge that smelt worse than a sewerage. I completely emptied it and cleaned those weird plastic cage things inside it too.

I also completely dismantled the filter from inside the pond, cleaned it out, and put it back together again.

lots of stones, sludge and stuff in the bottom of the pond. so that got shovelled out.

Its quite a bit clearer now too.

I just hope i havent been too overzealous with my filter cleaning.

MANY, MANY THANKS to all of you for your input.

Beer by the pond tonight i think

 

[dieselplower]

Good job. If you want help identifying the plastic cage things feel free to post a picture. Was that you who estimated your pond to be around 600.gallons? I forget... Anyway, 24 fish is a high load for 600 gallons. You've done a good job and lots if work vetting the pond cleaned up. Now it's time to put it back together properly considering fish load, filtration, etc. Enjoy!

 

[Mmathis]

Good job. If you want help identifying the plastic cage things feel free to post a picture. Was that you who estimated your pond to be around 600.gallons? I forget... Anyway, 24 fish is a high load for 600 gallons. You've done a good job and lots if work vetting the pond cleaned up. Now it's time to put it back together properly considering fish load, filtration, etc. Enjoy!

DP, sending you a PM.

 

[JohnHuff]

@TheFishNovice, sounds great! Good luck and looking forward to hear more from your pond. What's the filter inside your pond?

 

[TheFishNovice]

my pond is around the 200 gallon mark.

pond is 210cm long x 130cm x 35cm deep 'in the middle'.

The sides have a step which is around 20cm wide so the deeper part is 200cm long x 90cm x 35cm.

Which makes it around 900-1000 litres?

@JohnHuff the filter inside the pool is a titan, cant remember the number.

hopefully i took a picture of it, will check....