OK, thanks for the advice. It definitely looks like there are too many fish.
This kind of crept up on me this year
- I didn't realize how quick the fish were breeding.
I have had a close look at the fish on the surface and they do not appear to
have signs of gill disease or indeed anything else amiss.
I'm keeping the air stones on 24/7 until I can remove some of the fish.

Thanks for the help.

Conrad

"Mike Patterson" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 18:16:59 +0100, "Conrad"
wrote:

Hello

I have a pond of about 18 X 12 feet with a max. depth of 3.5 feet. The
water
is clear and there is lots of vegetation, mostly
water lilies, irises and oxygenating plants.
There are about 30-35 ghost koi, comets and shubunkins of varying sizes up
to around 12" plus a load of small fish of various types from fry size to
3-4 inches - I would guess at about 60-80.
I have adequate filtration which incorporates a fountain at one end and a
waterfall at the other.
What's concerning me is that most of the comets and shubunkins and one or
two of the koi seem to spend all their time on the surface under the
waterfall ( they ignore the fountain). Other than gasping at the surface
they appear to be OK, there is no other unusual behaviour and they feed as
usual.
The weather (I am in southern England) makes no difference to their
behaviour.
I have bought some air stones which I am running for 3-4 hours a day. The
fish move away from the waterfall whilst these are switched on but the
next
morning they are back to gasping on the surface again.
I would like any advice on whether the pond is overcrowded or if the water
needs testing. If the latter what do I test for and how do I interpret the
results.

I have thought for some time I would like to remove a lot of the smaller
fish so any ideas as to the best method/least stressful to the fish
would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Conrad


Way, way, WAY too many fish.

You need to keep a sharp eye on ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels
and remove most of those fish. My advice is to keep the 10-12 you like
most and remove the rest ASAP.

I use a minnow trap similar this in order to remove fish:

http://wildco.com/vw_prdct_mdl.asp?prdct_mdl_cd=125G10

The local department store carries an inexpensice version of this trap
that works great with a bit of food wrapped in cheesecloth for bait.

Good luck!
MP
Mike Patterson
Please remove the spamtrap to email me.
"I always wanted to be somebody...I should have been more specific..." -
Lily Tomlin