Woke up to an empty pond

[Mr Thompson]

Look for sympathy and a bit of advice. Looks like a cat or a fox knocked my water feature in such a way that it was pumping water throughout the night. Woke up and saw the pond was empty and a few dead fish. Devastated, I assumed the worst but when I took a proper look, it looks like there was a small pocket at the bottom and a lot of the small fish survived.

My questions are -

Some of the fish are barley alive; breathing but very lethargic and hardly moving. Would it be best to mercy kill them or should they recover once the pond is back full?

There are a few dead fish entangled in plants and maybe at the very bottom where I can't get to (I have back problems). Is it okay to leave dead fish in the pond or best to get someone to take them out?

 

[Lisak1]

Oh no! That's a fear that all pond owners have - waking up to a disaster. I'm sorry you lost some fish, but hopefully most will survive.

If you have fish that are still alive, I'd give them a chance and get them back in the water. Dead fish should be removed from the pond - definitely get help if you need to.

You'll be putting them back into an essentially new pond as most of the water will be fresh, but you have an established filter and some pond water left so those are both positive. Make sure you treat for chlorine if that's an issue with your source water.

Share some photos of your pond set up and maybe someone will have some ideas on how best to prevent this from happening again.

 

[addy1]

Darn, that is sad.

One thing you could do is raise the pump off the bottom, so if it ever happens again it will not pump the pond dry.

Like @Lisak1 says get the dead fish out. They will just cause water issues.
When you refill make sure you use something to remove the chlorine from the water. IF you are on city water.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum! btw

 

[Stephen Noble]

Fully agree with Lisak and Addy. Sorry for your disaster and loss. I bet your pond will be better than before after you get it going again!

 

[j.w]

How awful! I agree let the fish try and survive and see how it goes. Yep take the dead fish out. Maybe a long handled net to try and get the dead ones out of the tangled plants or a long pole w/a hook on it to try and move them away from plants so you can reach w/the net.

 

[poconojoe]

Sorry this happened. I know how you feel. It happened to me once, but it was my fault. After working on the plumbing, I forgot to tighten one of the clamps and most of the water pumped out, killing one huge koi.
Now I keep my pump on a ledge way above the bottom.
As far as retrieving anything from the pond, I use a pool net on a long telescoping pole. The large bag style net, not the flat skimmer type.

 

[Tula]

So sorry this happened. I like @addy1 idea about keeping the pump off the bottom of the pond and @Lisak1 to remove the dead fish and give the survivors a chance.

 

[GBBUDD]

It's crazy no matter how much we prep to prevent this stuff how something can sneak in on us , glad you have some of your fish. Any fish that is keeping it's self up right should do ok anyone who is not i would remove to a hospital tank so if they do pass they won't add to the stress that the other fish are already fighting. and i swear by this part get some aquarium Start right or stress coat .It is THE ONLY chemicals i will add with no reluctance at all. It helps the fish build up the slime coat that helps them fight off disease.

 

[Jefina]

I also strongly recommend using the stress coat in the new water. Keep your fish that lived. This happen to me and to my neighbor. I woke up in the night and heard the pump making a strange noise so went out to find it nearly empty but not quite. The fish were ok. Unfortunately for my neighbor, she didn’t make it in time but two fish did survive in a small pocket. They were in terrible condition and in 5 gallon buckets. I took them in, putting them in a metal rain catchment tank filled with city water And Stesscoat. Not only did they survive, but they thrived and had babies. Also added in filtration and airation to the rain tank. Anyway, they’re doing well. Stress coat! Hang in there.