On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 15:08:52 +0000 (GMT), "Rodney Pont"
wrote:

On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 14:23:56 GMT, Anthropy wrote:

Please help.
We have a pond, about 3 x 4 x 4 (feet). We've had it for about 5 years
and everything was great. It contains about 40 goldfish but recently
they have begun dying. The dead ones are small and appear to be a
silvery \gold type colour.
We don't do anything to the pond other than feed the fish and clear
off the leaves and stuff off the surface and until now all has been
fine. We haven't changed the food nor put anything in the water. The
bigger fish seem to be OK but 5 have died in the last week.
There is no residue or anything usual about the pond. The fish are a
bit slow but that is just the cold (It's winter here England,
Brighton)
Could it be something to do with the fluctuating temperature we're
experiencing this winter?
Please, if you can help or recommend anything we'd be most grateful.
Thanks.

You need to check the water parameters, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and
ph. Take a sample of water with you and see if they can test it there
and if the ammonia is high you can buy something to bind it while you
are at the shop. Over 90% of fish deaths are due to poor water quality.
It's likely you will need to change quite a bit of water so get a
tapwater conditioner ready for that, you normally put it into the pond
before the fresh water so that it treats the water as it goes in.

Let us know how things go and what the water tests were.

I take it there isn't any filtration, if so what type is it and is it
clean? If it has a biological section you mustn't clean that in
tapwater since the clorine will kill the biobugs, rinse it in old pond
water. Do you have a pump/fountain to increase the oxygen content?
Can't really say anything more without more info but it could be that
you have a layer of detritus on the bottom of the pond and the warmer
temperature has started it to breakdown and deplete the oxygen. If you
do have a lot of muck in the bottom don't scoop it out with a net at
the moment. It will just release poisonous gasses into the water and
make things worse.

Everything is just guesswork at the moment but I've given you some
starting points.

Thanks for the help.
I will certainly take a sample of water and have it tested. Will the
petshop do it? or some kind of kit where I could do it myself?
The pond is very basic. It's in the garden and we tend to leave it
alone other then feeding and cleaning. It has no filtration system nor
any kind of pump or fountain.
Also, here in England right now it's winter but the temperature has
been erratic. On the occasional warm day I have fed the fish a small
amount of food. I know not to feed them under 55f which I haven't.
Could the feeding be the cause?
Is it significant that only (so far) the smaller fish have died?
Thanks.