Just found 2 dead goldfish in my pond - black discolouring on their
undersides.
Can anyone help diagnose and say whether I need to do anything to the
pond please?

We're going to need as many details as
you can provide.
Our fish people will be on soon and have some
specific questions for you.
Hope we can track the reason down for you!

k :-)


http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

Welcome, John.

I trust our folk will give you some good help.

Jim

On Thu, 10 May 2007 06:32:32 CST, John
wrote:

Just found 2 dead goldfish in my pond - black discolouring on their
undersides.
Can anyone help diagnose and say whether I need to do anything to the
pond please?

Sick Fish or Sick Pond Form

Please describe your problem, including fish characteristics, like;
whirling, flashing, gasping at surface, wounds, etc.:

Pond Size in Gallons? (litres*.26=US Gallons):

Water Source (Well, Irrigation, City?)
If City how is water treated?: =

Time in Operation?
(How old is the pond/water?):

Liner type? (EPDM,PVC,RUBBER,Cement/Concrete etc):

Fish Population?
Type? Size? QTY, Time in Pond:

Food? Type and Frequency of feedings.:

Pump Type, IN/OUT of pond, GPH etc
(Describe your filtration system as well as possible):

Prefilter media type? Last cleaned?:

Filter is BIO or Mechanical? Last cleaned? How?:

Carbon added? How much? When last changed?:

Aeration? Waterfalls? Bubblers?
Venturies?:

Water Temp?

pH?:

KH?:

Ammonia (ppm or mg/l):

Nitrite (ppm or mg/l):

Nitrate (ppm or mg/l):

Water Color, cloudiness, odor?:

Water changes? (% of pond volume and how often):

Additives used (water conditioners etc):

Tests done by self or another?:

Weather (what's it been like lately?):

Medications used?:

What Zone or Country of residence?:

~ jan

------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

black is almost always toxic water, like if they sat down on mulm that
had a lot of H2S coming out. is the pond clean on the bottom?
black spots are a sign of disease transmitted by snails.
If you got em right away take a look at the gills. dark gills = toxic
water.
Ingrid

On Thu, 10 May 2007 06:32:32 CST, John
wrote:

Just found 2 dead goldfish in my pond - black discolouring on their
undersides.
Can anyone help diagnose and say whether I need to do anything to the
pond please?

Soil/silt on bottom of pond - cleaned out last year. Water still
cloudy from extracting leaves, blanket weed etc.
Does it need cleaning out regularly - some fishponds seem to go on for
ever without cleaning.
Lots of pondweed plants etc.

John


On May 11, 4:43 pm, wrote:
black is almost always toxic water, like if they sat down on mulm that
had a lot of H2S coming out. is the pond clean on the bottom?
black spots are a sign of disease transmitted by snails.
If you got em right away take a look at the gills. dark gills = toxic
water.
Ingrid

On Thu, 10 May 2007 06:32:32 CST, John



wrote:
Just found 2 dead goldfish in my pond - black discolouring on their
undersides.
Can anyone help diagnose and say whether I need to do anything to the
pond please?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On May 11, 9:57 am, ~ jan wrote:
On Thu, 10 May 2007 06:32:32 CST, John
wrote:

Just found 2 dead goldfish in my pond - black discolouring on their
undersides.
Can anyone help diagnose and say whether I need to do anything to the
pond please?

Sick Fish or Sick Pond Form

Please describe your problem, including fish characteristics, like;
whirling, flashing, gasping at surface, wounds, etc.:

Pond Size in Gallons? (litres*.26=US Gallons): 250 GALLONS

Water Source (Well, Irrigation, City?) CITY - SOME FLUORIDE
If City how is water treated?: =

Time in Operation? 6 YEARS BUT TOPPED UP FREQUENTLY
(How old is the pond/water?):

Liner type? (EPDM,PVC,RUBBER,Cement/Concrete etc): RUBBER

Fish Population?
Type? Size? QTY, Time in Pond: GOLDFISH - ONLY 4 OR 5 - NOW 2 OR 3

Food? Type and Frequency of feedings.: PELLETS USUALLY DAILY BUT FEW DAYS MISSED DUE TO ABSENCE

Pump Type, IN/OUT of pond, GPH etc NONE
(Describe your filtration system as well as possible):

Prefilter media type? Last cleaned?: NONE

Filter is BIO or Mechanical? Last cleaned? How?: NONE

Carbon added? How much? When last changed?: NO

Aeration? Waterfalls? Bubblers? NO
Venturies?:

Water Temp? 60f

pH?: unknown

KH?:

Ammonia (ppm or mg/l):

Nitrite (ppm or mg/l):

Nitrate (ppm or mg/l):

Water Color, cloudiness, odor?: cloudy

Water changes? (% of pond volume and how often): TOP UP MONTHLY

Additives used (water conditioners etc): CONDITIONER OCCASIONALLY

Tests done by self or another?: NONE

Weather (what's it been like lately?): WARM (70F) UNTIL WEEK BEFORE THEY DIED THEN 60F

Medications used?: NO

What Zone or Country of residence?: UNITED KINGDOM

~ jan

------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington StatePonds:www.jjspond.us

Thanks for spending time on this. It is only a small garden feature
pond.

On May 11, 9:57 am, ~ jan wrote:
On Thu, 10 May 2007 06:32:32 CST, John
wrote:

Just found 2 dead goldfish in my pond - black discolouring on their
undersides.
Can anyone help diagnose and say whether I need to do anything to the
pond please?

Sick Fish or Sick Pond Form

Please describe your problem, including fish characteristics, like;
whirling, flashing, gasping at surface, wounds, etc.:

Pond Size in Gallons? (litres*.26=US Gallons): 250

Water Source (Well, Irrigation, City?) CITY
If City how is water treated?: =

Time in Operation? 6 YEARS
(How old is the pond/water?):

Liner type? (EPDM,PVC,RUBBER,Cement/Concrete etc):RUBBER

Fish Population?
Type? Size? QTY, Time in Pond: NOW ONLY 2 OR 3 GOLDFISH!

Food? Type and Frequency of feedings.: PELLETS DAILY USUALLY

Pump Type, IN/OUT of pond, GPH etc NONE TO ALL BELOW
(Describe your filtration system as well as possible):

Prefilter media type? Last cleaned?:

Filter is BIO or Mechanical? Last cleaned? How?:

Carbon added? How much? When last changed?:

Aeration? Waterfalls? Bubblers?
Venturies?:

Water Temp? 60F

pH?: NOT KNOWN - SHALL I CHECK?

KH?: NOT KNOWN TO ALL BELOW

Ammonia (ppm or mg/l):

Nitrite (ppm or mg/l):

Nitrate (ppm or mg/l):

Water Color, cloudiness, odor?:CLOUDY - NO ODOUR

Water changes? (% of pond volume and how often): MONTHLY TOP UP

Additives used (water conditioners etc): CONDITIONER OCCASIONALLY

Tests done by self or another?:NONE

Weather (what's it been like lately?):70F THEN DOWN TO 60F A WEEK AGO

Medications used?:NO

What Zone or Country of residence?:UK

~ jan

------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington StatePonds:www.jjspond.us

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME ON THIS. IT IS ONLY A SMALL GARDEN FEATURE

JOHN

Soil/silt on bottom of pond - cleaned out last year. Water still
cloudy from extracting leaves, blanket weed etc.
Does it need cleaning out regularly - some fishponds seem to go on for
ever without cleaning.
Lots of pondweed plants etc.
John

Thank you for filling out the sick fish form, that explains a lot. Ingrid
hit the nail on the head, dirt bottom, bad water conditions.

I don't know which man-made ponds go on forever.... usually when not
maintained, cleaned bottom, refreshed water, things start to die in 3-5
years depending on fish load. The bottom needs to be cleaned every fall
minimum, and water should be partially removed and new added 20%
minimum/month.

On a pond that small, you might want to try a wet/dry vac to suck out the
muck (if you have one). They won't cloud up the water as much which release
H2S into the water, toxic for the fish. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

In article ,
~ jan wrote:

Soil/silt on bottom of pond - cleaned out last year. Water still
cloudy from extracting leaves, blanket weed etc.
Does it need cleaning out regularly - some fishponds seem to go on for
ever without cleaning.
Lots of pondweed plants etc.
John

Thank you for filling out the sick fish form, that explains a lot. Ingrid
hit the nail on the head, dirt bottom, bad water conditions.

I don't know which man-made ponds go on forever.... usually when not
maintained, cleaned bottom, refreshed water, things start to die in 3-5
years depending on fish load. The bottom needs to be cleaned every fall
minimum, and water should be partially removed and new added 20%
minimum/month.

On a pond that small, you might want to try a wet/dry vac to suck out the
muck (if you have one). They won't cloud up the water as much which release
H2S into the water, toxic for the fish. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

Wet/dry vac has been my new best pond maintenance tool thanks to this
group. Cheap at Home Depot (or other). Only concern is keeping fish away
from being sucked it, but they generally scurry to other end of pond.
I also put it down to the bottom before switching it on, and turn it off
before i bring it up.

--
To reply by email, remove the word "space"

in nature the only ponds that "live forever" have a river running thru
them. all other ponds silt up, become a swamp and eventually good
rich bottom land for farming.
our little ponds need to be cleaned out OR, there needs to be a strong
pump that removes the mulm and deposits it into a veggie filter. a
pond that collects a lot of leaves wont keep up even with a veggie
filter. we have a smallish pond under the window at our dacha and it
has to be totally cleaned out every spring. Ingrid

On Sun, 13 May 2007 10:19:28 CST, John
wrote:
Soil/silt on bottom of pond - cleaned out last year. Water still
cloudy from extracting leaves, blanket weed etc.
Does it need cleaning out regularly - some fishponds seem to go on for
ever without cleaning.
Lots of pondweed plants etc.

Thanks to all.
It seems that the wet/dry vac is the best option - just scooping out
the muck would presumably stir up all the poisons and kill the fish?

John

yep. what the "pros" do when they come to clean the big ponds at the
dacha is fill a holding tank with the "first" water out of the pond,
drain it with their big pumps until the fish are almost flopping, net
the fish, frogs, etc. move everything out. then they start with
buckets and plastic shovels to remove the muck. they end up with
brooms on the bottom, altho they dont do the sides and dont "rinse"
either. running the water back in is the slowest. they do this when
the temp of the pond water is @55o, which is the temp of the water out
of the well so there is no thermal shock to the fish. Ingrid

On Tue, 15 May 2007 06:54:10 CST, John
wrote:
- just scooping out
the muck would presumably stir up all the poisons and kill the fish?

John

"John" wrote:

Thanks to all.
It seems that the wet/dry vac is the best option - just scooping out
the muck would presumably stir up all the poisons and kill the fish?

John


Hi John,

Here is a link to another vacuum method:

http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondpage4.html

The rig is shown in the bottom two photos. I built one and have been very
satisfied.




San Diego Joe
4,000 - 5,000 Gallons.
Koi, Goldfish, and RES named Colombo.