Unhappy Koi  - 12/12/06
Hi guys
<A and I>
I tried not to have to bug you with questions, but I've been going through the forums for hours, and my eyes are going seriously fuzzy!
<I prescribe Sulfa drugs... oh, wait, not for your fishes, for you... Okay, perhaps a nice Merlot>
My silver Koi, whom I've had for about 3 years, is looking distinctly unhappy. He has been hiding behind a potted plant for the past 2 days and refusing to eat. When I approach him with my hand, he darts away really fast, swims right around the pond and lands right back in his hidey-hole.
<... perhaps a predator...>
I took him out today to have a good look at him, and I can't say that there is anything visibly wrong, but then I'm no great expert. I THOUGHT there were tiny pinprick holes on his 'forehead', but on closer inspection they seem to be too uniform to be nasties, they look more like they are part of his ...'design'? Oof, this is frustrating!
<Is likely part of this fish's lateralis system...>
Ok, some background.
Johannesburg, South Africa. Summer rainfall. It is now pretty much mid-summer...yup, swimming pool Christmas parties!
<You lucky pugs! It's so called in San Diego, I've had to put on long sleeve tee shirts!>
3 year old 500 litre concrete pond, above ground.
<Oooh, this is quite small...>
4 Koi, 3 of which are the same age, I've had them for roughly 3 years,  bought them when they were about 10 cm long, and are now about 25 cm- 30 cm long. The last Koi I've had for about a year, so he's smaller. (He replaced a jumper.)
<Yes, happens>
2 Shubunkins, about 15 cm long. I had a third, but he developed dropsy and died, about a year ago.
3 goldfish, roughly the same. One has what look like cancerous growths, hard bulges,
<Perhaps "carp pox"...>
but seems happy enough. One was bought gold, but rapidly lost his colour and is now a creamy colour.
<Nothing problematical there>
He has spongy orangy-pink growths on the joint between his body and his front fins. (Please excuse the ignorance of fishy anatomy terms.) I was told by a supposed Koi expert that this is common in goldfish and nothing to worry about.
<Likely not>
1 fantail, about 10 cm long. He too has the spongy bits on the joint, which he developed about 1 and a half years after the goldfish.
I originally had another 5 baby fantails, but they apparently came sick from the shop, as 4 of them rapidly developed swim bladder disease and died within days of purchase. The 5th lasted a couple of years, until the survivor started tormenting him and seemed to nibble his fins to shreds, and then he too, died.
1 baby hatched in the tank, looks half Koi and half goldfish!
<Is a definite possibilities... do "cross">
He's about 8 cm long already, he's been growing really fast.
Please note that 'he' denotes either sex, as I have NO idea how to sex fish!
<Can be done... with practice, close observation, seasonal changes... see WWM re>
Ok, so last week I had done a 1/3 water change, which I do fairly regularly, every few weeks when the water starts looking dirty. I try to vacuum the bottom too with the end of the syphon hose, which works quite well. I added 1 kg of salt, which I don't normally do, I usually just add chlorine remover. Today, out of panic, I did a 50% water change. I also went to the pet store and they gave me a parasite medicine, 'Parasite Clear' by Pond Medic, which contains Methylene Blue.
<Very safe>
The container reads that it also treats fungal infections and is effective in eradicating roundworm.
<Mmm, dubious re this last claim>
I added 30 ml. They also recommended that I add another 1/2 kg of salt to replace what I'd removed. (By the way, they came down on me from a dizzy height for doing a 50% water change!)
<Better to limit these to no more than 25% or so>
I dislike adding medicines, much as I dislike taking medicines myself!
<Good>
My filter is a simple sponge filter which I rinse out every 3 days or so in summer because of algae build up, and every 5 to 6 days or so in winter.
<Mmm... I'd take care here... There is an inherent problem here with environmental vacillation due to the small size/volume and above-ground location of this pond... This env. stress is manifest in the viral expressions on your goldfishes...>
Speaking of which, I occasionally will treat the pond with an algae killer when it gets too bad.
<Not a good idea...>
I do realize that my Koi are getting a bit big for that pond, and am doing my feminine bit to persuade the man to fork out the money to build a bigger pond for them. (Nag nag nag.)
<You really should give these Koi away then... this system is too small for all you list, most especially the Koi>
Whew! Sorry for the novel, but I really need help here, my heart is aching for the poor fish!
<Translate this caring into action... on your fish charges behalf... Move the Koi, add bio-filtration...>
And before you ask, no, I'm afraid I've never tested the water.
<You should>
(Bad bad fish Mommy!)
Sigh! A friend moved into a house that had an abandoned  little plastic pond FULL of goldfish that had not even been fed for 2 years, and NO pump or anything, and they were happily breeding and living until the neighbours cat discovered them. Why can't it always be so simple!
In urgent anticipation
Irene
<Can be... with planning, knowledge, patience... Bob Fenner>

Goldfish pond problems  1/5/07
Hi,
I have about 9 goldfish in an outdoor pond which is about 650 gallons.  My problem fish are 7-9 inches long and about 5 years old.   
One has had problems with balance for almost 2 years.  He swims upside down and now his head is a normal size and his body is bloated and the scales are protruding from his body.  The second problem fish lies on the floor of the pond and is very thin.  I have treated the irritated side with "bio-bandage" and that has improved its appearance.
<Mmm>
  The third fish is really puffed up and lies at the floor.  Its scales are not really distended.
<Also a clue... environmental trouble... dropsical conditions...>
We have eyedropper fed Epsom salts
<? Into your fish?>
and anti bacteria medicated fish food to all three.  We   have tried dosing with peas but they spit them out once released.   
What other things might I try?
Thanks.
Char Cardey
<Mmm, likely fixing the environment itself... no mention of your filtration, maintenance procedures, water quality testing, foods uses... Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/pdenvdisfaqs.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Goldfish (mysterious pond deaths)
Hi, I don't know if this is a place where I can perhaps get some answers or direction.
I have a small lined pond in my back yard appx. 25' x 10' and 2-1/2' deep appx.
I have some mosquito fish, salamanders, a few little frogs and some gold fish. The largest one appx. ". Around mid summer I noticed they were staying in the deeper areas and not as active. I spoke with a pet shop owner and she thought perhaps I needed to feed them.
<Mmm, actually... more likely there is/was a "temperature issue"... too hot to eat, even move... or some other chemical reaction/s going on due to the elevated water heat... possibly a predator scaring them even>
I have submerged plants, etc. and thought they would be getting enough. As soon as I started feeding them, they became active again swimming around, etc. This went on for almost 3 weeks and then one evening I found 3 of the 11 fish dead. One large one and two smaller ones. 
<Good clues... size not a factor here>
Two things came to mind. One, I had been testing a new hose and inadvertently sprayed the pond with a very potent spray. It was quick and short but since I found the fish dead the next day I felt the shock of the hose had hit them directly. 
<Good observation... but not likely... unless the hose was contaminated with a toxin... if it was a "garden hose" for human use it was fine>
The other possibility was that there is a wild cherry tree nearby and leaves had been getting into the pond much as we try to keep them out.
<Ahh...>
All went fine and two days later another fish, a yellow gold fish appx. 6" died. We tried to dissect the fish but did not really know what we were looking for. I have him in the frig hoping to find a place that can help figure this out.
<Not so easily done... better to have the fish "chilled" for a short while (days), not frozen...>
He was light yellow and I noticed just a couple of scales missing - quite minute, no injuries but just a few areas with red veining. I read this could be stress.
<Yes>
I also now have read that cherry foliage is toxic. Could this have killed them?
<Possibly... you might devise a test (in aquarium/s... with boiled water and leaves, boiled water w/o leaves...) to see>
We panicked and cut the tree down. I think there are leaves still on the bottom of pond. Could this have killed the fish? Anything I can put in the pond to counteract?
<Might be a good idea to net out as much of this leaf litter, maybe siphon it out (if you can) and slowly (drip like) replace the water with new. Otherwise there are dechloraminating products like Amquel, general curatives like Res-Q... that could be tried.>
Is it that it creates ammonia? or is it the ingestion?
<Not likely either>
Or do you have any other ideas? 
<Many. Please read through the maintenance sections posted here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/Pond%20Sub%20Web.htm>
Could the fact that these fish were not fed for the first year of their lives and now they were have caused them to die?
<Not much chance of this... much more likely water chemistry related.>
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Olga S Dongvillo
<Please do read through the Pond section of our site, re-contact me if you have further questions, concerns. If it were my pond I would remove the overburden (the unconsolidated material on the bottom) as much as practical (not advised to dump the system, or try to remove all) and slowly refill it... Do look into water quality test kits, keep a small journal of tests, activity in the pond. Bob Fenner>

Albino Catfish - Ich?
My friend has a pond that I frequent to about every weekend.  Last weekend I caught a 10 lb Albino (which are heavily stocked in this pond) and notice that there were, what looked like, blisters on it's skin.  Quite large at that.  Some averaging the size of a quarter in numbers of 5 or 6 on the body.  
Is this Ich or some other form of infection/parasite?  If so, how can we attempt to treat this?
<Not ich... and from the description of the symptoms, not likely a parasite either, but some sort of reaction to water quality issues... I would test the water for pH, alkaline reserve, nitrates, ammonia... and at the very least, execute a series of small (ten percent) per day water changes while siphoning what you can from the bottom, removing leaf litter, cleaning the filters... and adding back a cup of salt per hundred gallons of changed out water... do this NOW. Bob Fenner>
Thanks,
Joe Hamner

New Pond 7/4/05
Hi
<Hello there>
I have come across your goldfish help pages - very fascinating.
I have a new pond, set up a few weeks ago.  It holds 250 gallons, and 7 fish.  5 comets and 2 Shubunkins.  The smallest fish, a red shubunkin has a white blob on it's tail.  Presumably fungus. The pond originally was stocked with 5 comets.  1 died on the first day of introduction, found floating.  After a few days I bought 2 more comets, and then another few days later, 2 Shubunkins.  One more of the original comets died a few days ago, after growing a white fungus like blob on its mouth.
<... but what is/are the root causes of these "blobs?">
This fish sank to the bottom, I fished it out, and examined it before disposal.  Now my smallest shubunkin, about 3 inches long, has a white blob on its tail.  I am treating (the whole pond) with "Protozin" which states on the box  - used for the control of all protozoan and fungal infections.  This treatment is to be used on days 1, 2 and 3, and then day 6.  It is now day 3, and the white blob is still there.  I will continue the treatment, but do you think it is working? and is there anything else it could be?
<All sorts... most likely environmental... water quality...>
and is there anything else I could do?
<Yes... check water chemistry, seek to understand cycling... improve>
I don't want to lose all my fish.  I am new to this game and have never kept fish before.  Oh, and by the way, I have observed newts, frogs and a toad in my pond, could these be presenting any danger, are they beneficial or harmful?
<The frog may prove to be predaceous...>
Before installation of my pond, the area was a swampy mess, where there were frogs and newts.  They are now in my pond.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Wendy
<Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/biopdfilters.htm
and the linked files above where you lead yourself. Bob Fenner>
Oops.  I got the pond size wrong.  500 litres.  Approx 100 gallons.
<All the more reason to be careful re filtration, maintenance and water quality. Bob Fenner>

Koi dying with no physical signs 6/29/05
Hi
<Hello there>
I have been searching your site for possible causes for the death of my fish. I have lost one a day for the last seven days. The pond is new (about 6500 litres). I left the pond for a couple of weeks before putting the fish (15 small Koi up to 7") into it. The filter and fountain were running for the entire period since the pond was filled.
I had read quite a few of your responses to other owners with similar problems (fish dying with no outward signs). The fish that have died became loaners, not feeding and began swimming at a very shallow depth and would die within 24 to 48 hours of showing these symptoms. Whilst reading one of your replies about possible deaths caused by poisoning by weed killers/pesticides etc.
<Or the system just not being cycled... the root cause here is almost assuredly environmental>
it suddenly dawned on me that my pond design may actually be poisoning my fish. The pond is part dug and part raised and lined (not a problem). However the top edge of the pond was finished with 6" wide decking timbers. I realized, whilst reading your replies, they were made from tanalised timber (for those who may make the same mistake as me but are unaware of what tanalised timbers are, they are timbers treated with cyanide). I have made a presumption that when it is raining the cyanide is possibly getting into the water (not 100% but I think it is a strong possibility). Of course I immediately went out and took these timbers off my pond and will drain it first thing in the morning.
<Yikes!>
Could you please let me know your views on this? If you think I am right then I hope this information may help others who have made (or might make) a similar oversight to mine!!
Ps. Great site!!!
Regards
Stephen Robbins
<You are correct in that treated lumber can be real trouble... A sample of the water might be taken to a quality assurance or college laboratory for analysis... Perhaps the timber can be sealed with something making it impervious to water... like polyurethane... Or it can be moved, the pond modified such that water that does come in contact does not wash into the basin. I wish you well. Bob Fenner>

Pond goldfish 8/7/05
We have an established pond with a small trickle feature to keep the water moving, one of the gold fish has developed what look like blisters or ulcers on top of its head. They are about 1-1.5mm across and do not appear to be irritating it nor do any of the other fish have them. Any ideas please?
<Ah, yes... these are very likely what are called "pre-nuptial tubercles"... males get such bumps on their heads this time of year>
we have separated it but it has had to go into a small tank so we don't want to leave it there too long.
Cheers
<No worries. Please see these files: http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&cof=BGC:%23FFFFFF%3BT:%23000000%3BLC:%230000CC%3BVLC:%230000CC%3BALC:%230000CC%3BGALT:%23008000%3BGFNT:%23000000%3BGIMP:%23000000%3BDIV:%230000CC%3BLBGC:%23FFFFFF%3B&sitesearch=wetwebmedia.com&q=pre-nuptial+tubercles&spell=1
Bob Fenner>

Sick Koi 8/11/05
I have a number of Koi and other assorted fish in a 1500 gall pond. one of the Koi did become slight misshape with a bulge growing on one side, and  for a number of weeks it also had trouble swimming and had to work fairly hard to prevent itself from sinking. It also  spent a lot of time resting on a ledge within the pond obviously to save energy.
<Not good... something likely is wrong with your water quality... system>
The other Koi seemed to gently nudge it to keep it going. recently  it has lost the bulge and swimming ok but has  now  lost a lot of weight. its eyes also seem to be protruding. I am concerned that when winter comes it won't have enough weight to survive
<Me too>
Have you any suggestions please
thank you
Graham Denham
<Yes... check your water quality... be diligent re cleaning your filter before cooler weather prevails... maybe have someone come by who also keeps ponds and have them do an on-site going over of your set-up... Most importantly, please peruse our pond Subweb: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/Pond%20Sub%20Web.htm
re set-up, nutrition, disease... It may be that the one fish is/was a "time bomb", that it had a genetic, developmental predisposition to a tumorous growth... but it may be that there is something awry with the system itself. Bob Fenner>

My neighbours Golden Orfe... toxic, env. situation 8/20/05
Hi, please can you help.  My neighbour has a pond with aprox 7 goldfish and 2 golden Orfe.  The 2 Orfe have lost their colour and are just lying on their back at the bottom of the pond.  They have been off their food for the last week. The only thing they have changed in the pond recently is that they have replaced the foam in the filtration system with upholstery foam (thoroughly washed beforehand).  Could it just be that or do you think there is some other cause.
Thanks
Jacky / John
<There is something environmentally amiss here... I would test the water for what they have kits for, and start some consecutive (daily) large water changes... fifteen/twenty percent... with the new water slowly re-added, perhaps sprayed in the air to aid in aeration, removing sanitizer. If the fishes look very bad, I would remove them entirely to another container, new water, provide biological filtration... Bob Fenner>