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Goldfish behavior in outdoor pond
Hi,
I have recently moved into a new place in san diego with an empty fish pond (6 x 4). I filled it up and put a few water plants in it. They did great. Three weeks later, I put in some small comet goldfish. They appear to be doing fine. BUT, I have noticed at times they are at the surface not moving and what appears to be sucking up air. In addition, since I put in the goldfish, there has been airbubbles floating on the surface. I have caught the fish "burping" up these bubbles. Not alot of bubbles, but bubbles that weren't there before I added the fish. I have not done any water treatment nor do I have a water filter. I am trying to do it natural. Are these normal observations? Also, does anyone possibly have insight to the reasoning behind my observations. Thanks alot!! Dan |
The fish could be feeding on insect lavra or they could be starved for oxygen.
Two entirely different situations. How many gallons do you think the pond is and how many fish do you have in? If oxygen is the problem - can you put in a fountain? There are ones that run from a solar panel if electricity is a problem. (Go to froogle.com to find them.) There are air pumps that add more oxygen to the water. Do you know if the city adds chloramines, you can call and ask. They don't gas out like chlorine does. A treatment is needed. Ponds with an assortment of plants and very few fish don't have to be filtered. But garden ponds are rarely understocked. You can test for ammonia and see if the plants are keeping up with the fish waste. Anyway with more information we can track down what's going on. kathy :-) zone 7, SE WA state |
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"Dan" wrote:
Hi, I have recently moved into a new place in san diego with an empty fish pond (6 x 4). I filled it up and put a few water plants in it. They did great. Three weeks later, I put in some small comet goldfish. They appear to be doing fine. BUT, I have noticed at times they are at the surface not moving and what appears to be sucking up air. In addition, since I put in the goldfish, there has been airbubbles floating on the surface. I have caught the fish "burping" up these bubbles. Not alot of bubbles, but bubbles that weren't there before I added the fish. I have not done any water treatment nor do I have a water filter. I am trying to do it natural. Are these normal observations? Also, does anyone possibly have insight to the reasoning behind my observations. Thanks alot!! Dan Hi Dan, Always good to see a new ponder in San Diego. When you added the water did you use dechlorinator? We have chloramines in our water rather than just chlorine, so a dechlor is a must as far as I'm concerned. While chlorine will dissipate over a brief time period, chloramines, for all intents and purposes, does not. The chloramines will inhibit the fish's ability to absorb oxygen through their gills. If you haven't done it, go immediately and buy some. Where in SD are you, maybe I can direct you to a source. San Diego Joe 4,000 - 5,000 Gallons. Goldfish, a RES named Colombo and an Oscar. ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups ---= East/West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =--- |
"Dan" wrote:
Hi, I have recently moved into a new place in san diego with an empty fish pond (6 x 4). I filled it up and put a few water plants in it. They did great. Three weeks later, I put in some small comet goldfish. They appear to be doing fine. BUT, I have noticed at times they are at the surface not moving and what appears to be sucking up air. In addition, since I put in the goldfish, there has been airbubbles floating on the surface. I have caught the fish "burping" up these bubbles. Not alot of bubbles, but bubbles that weren't there before I added the fish. I have not done any water treatment nor do I have a water filter. I am trying to do it natural. Are these normal observations? Also, does anyone possibly have insight to the reasoning behind my observations. Thanks alot!! Dan Hi Dan, Always good to see a new ponder in San Diego. When you added the water did you use dechlorinator? We have chloramines in our water rather than just chlorine, so a dechlor is a must as far as I'm concerned. While chlorine will dissipate over a brief time period, chloramines, for all intents and purposes, does not. The chloramines will inhibit the fish's ability to absorb oxygen through their gills. If you haven't done it, go immediately and buy some. Where in SD are you, maybe I can direct you to a source. San Diego Joe 4,000 - 5,000 Gallons. Goldfish, a RES named Colombo and an Oscar. ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups ---= East/West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =--- |
I have recently moved into a new place in san diego with an empty fish
pond (6 x 4). I filled it up and put a few water plants in it. Three weeks later, I put in some small comet goldfish. They appear to be doing fine. BUT, I have noticed at times they are at the surface not moving and what appears to be sucking up air. I have not done any water treatment nor do I have a water filter. I am trying to do it natural. Are these normal observations? Dan Hi Dan, For a natural pond, one should only add 2 goldfish for your size pond (they will make extras) as there is not enough O2 & bacteria in a new pond to support more. Do not feed. There will be enough in there for them, and you don't want them growing fast or making too many fry that survive. The pond will seek it's own balance, therefore if you put in too many, it will kill them down to what it can support. After 3 weeks I would think chloramines wouldn't be a problem. The chlorine would be gone and the ammonia converted by bacteria and/or used by the plants. ~ jan See my ponds and filter design: http://users.owt.com/jjspond/ ~Keep 'em Wet!~ Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a To e-mail see website |
"~ jan JJsPond.us" wrote:
After 3 weeks I would think chloramines wouldn't be a problem. The chlorine would be gone and the ammonia converted by bacteria and/or used by the plants. ~ jan Hi Jan, Do you have info on that? It has always been my understanding that chloramines don't break down into their component parts without the addition of a chemical that breaks the bond between chlorine and ammonia. San Diego Joe 4,000 - 5,000 Gallons. Goldfish, a RES named Colombo and an Oscar. ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups ---= East/West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =--- |
I found out the there is chloramine in my water. Also, I do have
insect larva floating around, so maybe they are eating them. In this 6 x 4 pond (un sure about the gallons), i have four small comet gold fish, and they seem relatively happy. thanks for the info. i will try chloramine treatment. dan EROSPAM (Ka30P) wrote in message ... The fish could be feeding on insect lavra or they could be starved for oxygen. Two entirely different situations. How many gallons do you think the pond is and how many fish do you have in? If oxygen is the problem - can you put in a fountain? There are ones that run from a solar panel if electricity is a problem. (Go to froogle.com to find them.) There are air pumps that add more oxygen to the water. Do you know if the city adds chloramines, you can call and ask. They don't gas out like chlorine does. A treatment is needed. Ponds with an assortment of plants and very few fish don't have to be filtered. But garden ponds are rarely understocked. You can test for ammonia and see if the plants are keeping up with the fish waste. Anyway with more information we can track down what's going on. kathy :-) zone 7, SE WA state |
After 3 weeks I would think chloramines wouldn't be a problem. The chlorine
would be gone and the ammonia converted by bacteria and/or used by the plants. ~ jan Hi Jan, Do you have info on that? It has always been my understanding that chloramines don't break down into their component parts without the addition of a chemical that breaks the bond between chlorine and ammonia. San Diego Joe My understanding, from stuff posted here and thru my KHA classes, claims have been made that the bond will break when introduced to contaminates in a pond. The chlorine part will spend itself out on them, leaving the ammonia that will be taken care of by a filter, or as mentioned above, bacteria & plants. They only bind the two so that in clean water the chlorine sticks around longer to react to contaminants without gassing off so soon. ~ jan ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~ |
I found out the there is chloramine in my water. Also, I do have
insect larva floating around, so maybe they are eating them. In this 6 x 4 pond (un sure about the gallons), i have four small comet gold fish, and they seem relatively happy. thanks for the info. i will try chloramine treatment. dan You found out by testing it, or someone told you? You can always take a water sample in to most LFS and they will test your water, ammonia, nitrites, pH & KH are important numbers to know. ~ jan ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~ |
"~ jan JJsPond.us" wrote:
I found out the there is chloramine in my water. Also, I do have insect larva floating around, so maybe they are eating them. In this 6 x 4 pond (un sure about the gallons), i have four small comet gold fish, and they seem relatively happy. thanks for the info. i will try chloramine treatment. dan You found out by testing it, or someone told you? You can always take a water sample in to most LFS and they will test your water, ammonia, nitrites, pH & KH are important numbers to know. ~ jan ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~ I called the water department here in San Diego and they told me we use chloramine. San Diego Joe 4,000 - 5,000 Gallons. Goldfish, a RES named Colombo and an Oscar. ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups ---= East/West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =--- |
I found out the there is chloramine in my water.
dan You found out by testing it, or someone told you? You can always take a water sample in to most LFS and they will test your water, ammonia, nitrites, pH & KH are important numbers to know. ~ jan I called the water department here in San Diego and they told me we use chloramine. San Diego Joe I saw that, but since he didn't respond directly, I wasn't sure if he had seen your post. One thing about it, adding the chemicals now, will detox any ammonia, whether from the water or fish, still in there. :o) Dan, you might want to read up on the "nitrogen cycle". This website has a short explanation: http://www.vcnet.com/koi_net/dan.html ignore the part that "bacteria live on gravel". Good bacteria, of which we speak, lives on everything in the pond, and those of us with filters use lighter medias now days. Surface area of the media is the key component for maximum bacteria. Not necessary for size of pond and 4 small goldfish. ~ jan ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~ |
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