Why should you give us all info up front when you have a fish-health problem?

[Mmathis]

This morning I was reading some posts on a Face Book [koi pond] group. As I was reading through the OP's posts and looking at answers and questions, one thing stood out.....OK, the OP has a real health issue problem going on, but aside from that: information from the OP that was given to the group was given in a haphazard way so that members had to repeatedly ask questions in order to find out important stuff. And as usual, the OP wasn't always answering the questions directly.

You know how we always ask the poster to start with giving us physical properties of the pond [size, etc.], pump & filtration info, water parameter info, number and size of fish, fish behavior, if anything has been done or changed recently..... There is a reason for that.

Here is an example of this FB post:

• OP has posted asking whether a certain "treatment" can be administrated in a salted pond.
• OK, so members ask what the problem is -- why is Tx needed?
• Koi have ulcers (bad ones, going by the pics)
• OP has used repeated and different treatments, but fish getting worse
• Then there is a discussion about what treatments will/won't work
• Finally, members start asking the pertinent questions and things began to evolve
• After many exchanges and picking out answers, we find out that:

1. Pond is somewhere between 1500 - 2000 gallons.
2. Established pond of 12+ years
3. Has about 30 fish in the pond, sizes ranging from 6" to 28" long (koi & goldfish)
4. Recently added 5 new koi
5. Was told by the seller that she didn't need to QT the fish [she did ask about that], so didn't

I don't recall much more about the "conversations," [I was getting frustrated reading], and it was getting to the point where, NOW THAT WE KNOW THE WHOLE STORY, and FB members could see more of the whole picture, the responses were starting to be helpful.

Anyway, it would have been so much more helpful if the OP would have started with pertinent info about what was wrong with her fish, given info about her pond [see above]..... So, as GPF members, let's continue to request that sort of info before we start giving out advice.

I think this person is going to lose more fish, and who can say if any will survive, but 2 important things I did notice were that the OP acknowledged the need to re-home, IOW, she had too many fish! AND that she would QT in the future regardless of what the seller says.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I agree but in many instances the OP does not know what is important information. We, as responding Forum members, have a responsibility to ask the specific pertinent questions.

 

[Mmathis]

I agree but in many instances the OP does not know what is important information. We, as responding Forum members, have a responsibility to ask the specific pertinent questions.

Exactly! And we need to get to the point with the right questions, ASAP! That's pretty much what happened with this FB person, and the other members did begin to make attempts at getting info. But I hate to see it when people just start offering opinions without having the facts, and then you've got 4 or 5 trains going on, but no one's addressing the basics (which can be different for each situation, so there's not one answer). With this FB person, her question was about using a treatment with a salted pond. What if that was the only answer she got, and no one questioned her further......? Well, I guess that's her business, but just saying.....

Sorry, I had to have my rant for the day.

 

[MitchM]

I don't understand the attraction of Facebook groups for issues like this.
Public forums like GPF seem to have a much better design structure for a constructive discussion.
Facebook looks better suited for regular banter between "friends".

 

[Meyer Jordan]

This may be getting off the subject somewhat but it seems that Fakesbook is attracting more and more of a certain mentality lately.

 

[MitchM]

Yes, it all seems to be going down to the lowest common denominator, trolls or people who want to let everyone know how wonderful their life is.
I remember when news organizations first started online, there was a lot of optimism about how people around the world could contribute by sharing their point of view, from completely different cultures.
Now all the news organizations are severely restricting their comment sections or disabling them competely because of online abuse or commenters paid by third parties to flood the comment section with a certain point of view.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

We have a sticky in Illness and Disease posted by Becky with all the questions that should be asked when a member is having trouble. I just copy and paste in the thread where someone is asking for help.



Before posting please take a moment to think about what information could really help the other members to help you. If your question is about water quality then this is particularly important! Water quality can have a great impact on fish health. To help us better help you with your fish or water problems please read the following.

The more information you can provide, the easier it will be for any issues to be identified. Therefore please answer these questions as completely as possible:


Water quality
* Ammonia Level (pond)
* Nitrite Level (pond)
* Ammonia Level (tap water)
* Nitrite Level (tap water)
* Ph Level, pond (If possible, KH, GH and chlorine)
* Ph Level, tap water (If possible, KH, GH and chlorine)
* Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops?

Other useful information:
* Water temperature?
* Pond size and how long has it been running?
* What is the name and size of the filter(s)?
* How often do you change the water and how much?
* How many days ago was the last water change and how much did you change?
* How many fish in the pond and their type?
* What kind of water additives or conditioners have you used?
* What do you feed your fish and how often?
* Any new fish added to the pond recently?
* Any medications added to the pond?
* List entire medication/treatment history for fish and pond
* Any unusual findings on the fish?
* Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.?


If this is an EMERGENCY and your fish are in immediate danger, we encourage you to post ASAP regardless.

If you do not have a test kit, you may be able to take samples of your pond and tap water to your local fish store for testing (which is often free). Please request numerical results rather than generalizations like "OK", "fine", "safe", "acceptable", etc. However since knowing your water quality is important, we suggest you get your own test kit. A drop kit is both more accurate and much less expensive per test than the test strips.

Photos can also be a big help!

Forum Etiquette
Becky, Jul 19, 2013Report
#1Like

 

[Mmathis]

Yep! Just reinforcing!

 

[Dave 54]

It is vitally important that we have all the infotmation to hand when we ask questions about sickness in a koi or goldfish , however we must remember and understand that when person is panicing they often do forget things like this or dont know they need too as newbies.
It may be an idea to sticky this information on all the treads that a novice may choose to use to contact the forum

Dave