Salting the pond
 

Hi ponders
My pond is little more than a puddle when compared to some of the ones that
I have seen belonging to you pond stalwarts. 6'x5'x2.5'x6 if my maths are
correct = 450 gall. The pond is quite heavily planted and the water is
crystal clear. The pump feeding the waterfall changes the pond twice an hour
at least. Problem number 1 is that I have a comet with a large ulcer just to
the side of the dorsal fin. I have been told by the shop to treat the pond
with equal parts of Malachite Green and Formaldehyde which I'm currently
doing. Three treatments to date. I can't catch the little blighter to treat
him personally. The fish seem happy enough, even the Comet which is still
eating. The ulcer appears not to be growing. But, and it's a nasty little
but, I might be seeing signs on a couple of other fish of something similar
starting up. A couple of my goldfish have the odd missing scale on their
sides which look a little bloody. Activity has been high in the pond
recently though with one poor female being harassed by upto three males at
once. These three gladiators may have damaged each other in their quest for
her attentions. Can any one advise me? I have been told that salting the
pond will reduce stress in the fish but what sort of salt do I use and what
quantity. I suppose that's question 2. Also ponders, I'll slip this in as
question 3, what do you treat the pond with if you observe what is best
described as a whitish fungus on the side of a fish. The overly worked
female (when she shows herself) may just be showing signs of that following
the pummelling she's been getting from the males. I see that I have
concentrated on treating the pond rather than the fish but the planting
makes it very difficult to net anything other than hyacinths. I guess the
word I'm looking for is HELP!

Malcolm.........

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Malcolm Holmes
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