Why you should test your water

[MIKES KOI]

ok folks here it comes, after looking at the forums here im seeing a lot of ; people having issues with dead, dying, fish, parasite issues, bacteria issues,and fungal disease,columnaris disease,aeromonas infections, and nitrite issues..Im gonna try to help everyone with a issue that is not talked about much . the importance of oxygen in the water.[ here is a example].........im new here... help i have lost my biggest fish and now the little ones are dying off fast. my water test shows this, fair but not perfect all within range of /not bad enough to kill..my fish are at the bottom of the pond by the falls . they wont move or eat please help... most here would say you probably have a disease. you should NEVER treat a koi pond unless you know for certain just what your treating.its stresses fish.....most will say use this and hope for the best..most dont have a microscope.[ a very important tool]this is what i see a lot.so they treat...with a fix all that promises to to do the job. 3-4 days go buy no more dying fish...hummmm. that must have been that frog or bird etc.etc. week goes buy and off to the pond store i need more eye candy.[fish] what they dont realize is all most all medications say this............a HEAVY AIR SUPPLY IS NEEDED 24-48 HOURS...they dont realize that it was not a disease and the air [ OXYGEN] is not enough and the big fish needs much more O, because hes bigger..and after the air is pumped in to the pond they do much better.................what they have is a time bomb ready to go off again.............just a matter of time......if you want a healthy fish, pond, filter, plants i highly recommend this. get a oxygen meter...and use it.... this is what you will find. if the pond is loaded with plants and you have fish and a filter any kind of filter they all must have a supply of OXYGEN or they ALL will suffer and die . so expect this with a meter.....check the water at first light......it will be low...why? because the plants, the filter with the good bacteria, fish use it at a fast rate.. depending on weather and water temps. the hotter the water is the less o is in it/ when temps hit 90 deg you better be adding a air supply.the plants do add O to the water . but at night they steal it. .....do to photosynthesis. so your filter if its a huge bio filter it needs a huge amount of O to supply it and keep it from crashing. all filters do the same. some are just much bigger.the big fish will suffer first , because the require more O...the plants will suffer..ive seen this hundreds of times. ..... do not wait and let the fish tell you something is off. by then they are stressed ...... this leads to poor health fast because the immune system goes first.. if left untreated the things you should notice, the fish is not healing even with a small scrape, #2the fish are not growing fast or at all.#3the dont put on eggs and reproduce much or any at all is common because of this lack of OXYGEN. Get a air pump....it does not need to run 24/7.. get a timer....check OXYGEN with meter... morn, noon. nite...get a pump not a little indoor aquarium pump. get one with a ground and use a ground fault . nothing like a hot jolt. before you buy one ..make sure you can get a rebuild kit .................. you will notice this. healthy BIGGER fish, healthy plants, the bog filter or filter will do a much better job... this is for the people who dont get ice on the pond.... keep the air supply at the deepest spot................it will take the less oxygenated water from the bottom [warmest] and less o and it will push it up , while helping to remove the organic matter to the filter. the water will show a major difference. cleaner... plant will be much happier. for those like myself i do get some harsh winters... a word of warning on ice, .... dont use the air diff-user at the deepest spot to remove ice, what you are doing is removing the WARM water... disrupting their sleep.... get a heater..it keep a blow hole open so to remove the gas build up...NEVER break a hole in the ice with a pole, ax, rod, it will kill the fish by concussion.they will dart..and die off unless you get real lucky and it dont kill everything.... try to keep the O meter above8 . i keep mine at 10.5 anything below 4 the fish will pipe. a fish that is gasping at the surface is like a man with both hands around your neck choking you . only to let up every once in a while to let you catch a breath...... the older the fish, or the weaker fish will be in harms way . below 3 they are gonna die..and most pond people will never know what hit them.....another very important tool that in my opinion should be used every time you do a water change...and monitor the water........... WARNING to small pond owners very little oxygen is found in tap water.. ....... and i have never seen well than had any oxygen.................... the water...test. test ............your fish will live longer, get bigger, less health issues.and they will put on more eggs.............ill be glad to help anyone to the best of my ability, you can pm. e-mail.post. please do not ask me anything about gold fish..i only do koi....sorry but be prepared to give water details, pics..there will be a bunch of questions, so i can be 100 sure the info i give out is correct. hope this helps.... im sure it will save a few fish ...... MIKES KOI

 

[Tula]

I run my aerator 24/7 , 365 days a year. I swap out the bigger one, with a smaller one for winter and keep the air stones about 10-12 inches below the surface of the water. Once summer is here I use my more powerful aerator and it rests on the bottom of the pond.

I do not have an oxygen meter though, but it sounds interesting.

 

[Relic]

I run a pair of large aerator stones inside my filter can as the water passes through - year round.