1. creating a pond for fish
2. water quality
3. watching behavior
4. signs of disease

1. a pond for fish is deep with no shelves so predators are discouraged. the pond
is netting to keep leaves, predators and birds out. there is excellent filtration
and aeration. and the design is simple so no dead spots where water doesnt move.
2. pristine water conditions are essential.
keep rotting plants out of the pond, the kind that sink to the bottom.
keep snails and other denizens out of the fish pond, they carry diseases.
keep birds and bird shit out of the pond. net the pond. dont let birds bath in
areas that drain into the pond. bird shit is loaded with disease. salt to 0.1%
stimulates the slime coat and prevents disease.
quarantine all new fish and plants for 1-2 months. in fact, dont add new fish at all
to existing ponds. a closed system is healthier.
change water routinely ... I think Steve (Jo Ann's husband) replaces 500 gallons out
of the 6000 gallon pond once a week. clean the filters once a week.
feed high quality foods. feed sparingly.
dont stir up much in the pond.
always check water parameters after rain storms. pH can drop in soft water ponds.
3. behavior. often fish show behavioral changes even before signs of disease. see
behavior http://users.megapathdsl.net/~solo/p...se/disease.htm if ANY of
the fish arent acting right start by checking water quality. all of them, ammonia,
nitrites, nitrates and pH and hardness. then do a water change and bring the salt up
to 0.1%. check for rotting organics in the pond.
4. disease starts with a poor slime coat either caused by stress, toxic water,
spawning or other mechanical damage, or parasites getting in and under.
strengthening the slime coat, getting it to turn over prevents most diseases.
however, if the slime coat is thick, AND there doesnt seem to be any water quality
problems, then using a STOCK solution of PP every other day for 3 treatments. change
some water every day. use a bit of peroxide to clear the pond after treatment. PP
should not be used at very high temps or in very high pH/alkaline water.
treat for parasites first, bacteria second. if there are definite problems like
ulcers, feed romet B for 10 days to prevent spread of the infection.
Use formalin/malachite green if there are symptoms of ich. dont use in cold water.
dont use in water over 75o if there is more than 0.1% salt either.

last summer I had 2 fish die. there wasnt a mark on them anywhere. slime coat was
great. on necropsy I found infected eggs with the kind of bacteria carried by birds.
that was when I netted my veggie filter in addition to the pond itself. It is very
important to do a necropsy on dead fish to try to determine what the problem was.
after this I fed romet B and didnt lose any more fish, not that I would have
necessarily anyway. Ingrid



ospam (GACinMass) wrote:
Here's my question: If you can only guess at what the ailment is, how would you
treat it? What meds in what order? Is PP the best place to start? My fish
have just been through a spawning episode and several are now showing whitish
bumps on their fins. One has skinned his nose pretty seriously. I started the
PP yesterday and have my fingers crossed. Any advice would be much
appreciated.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.