Try adding some activated carbon. Something is telling me that it may be
some kind of poisoning. It may be low level, but carbon will remove the
poisons. There doesn't appear to be any other explanation that hits me,
based on the information you have posted.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"JGW" wrote in message
...

Again, thanks for responding!

Today I found another fish dead. :-(

Again, I checked the water chemistry. pH 7.4, nitrite and ammonia
negative, hardness as before. I added a little more lime to the
filter and cleaned the pumps and checked to make sure the air pump and
waterfall are working okay.

I did find some aphids on a couple of the pond lily leaves. Removed
those I found.

I went to the website you recommended and did my best to do a
post-mortem physical exam. I also checked a could of websites that
tell you how to sex a fish. As far as I am able to judge (granted, I
am really new at this) the fish appears to be female. I saw no
bruising this time. The gills were not gloppy or gooey and the tissue
didn't look like raw hamburger or anything. I guess it's hard to
judge the color in a dead fish, but the color was a deep pink, about
the color of healthy gums in people. The consistency of the belly
felt normal, as far as I was able to judge. I couldn't express
anything from the anal port. The mouth looked okay--no redness, no
white strings. I was aware of a slime coat but it didn't feel
particularly mucousy or thick on my fingers after I let go of the
fish. The fins and tail looked okay, no evidence of trauma or
unusual coloration or texture. The eyes looked normal as far as I
could see. There were a few scales missing, but I don't know if that
happened after the fish died or not.

I don't know why my fish are dying. It's very scarey. Anybody have
any thoughts about any anything else I ought to be doing?

Thanks.

Joan

Internal spawning injuries and/or infected eggs would account for what
you see.
spawning bruises most certainly would look purplish. Ingrid