Author Topic: Fish loss (Read 3263 times)

livetogarden · « **on:** February 17, 2011, 12:57:44 PM »

:'( We've had a very cold winter......really cold temps and a couple blizzards that brought lots of ice. We had a bubbler and a deicer in the pond. Yesterday it finally started thawing enough that I could actually see the water. Apparently the harsh winter was too much for our fish to stay protected. I found 5 dead fish of different sizes yesterday and more today. Some of these were 7 and 8 years old. :'( :'( I'm hoping some of them made it but have yet to see any live ones.

livetogarden · « **Reply #1 on:** February 17, 2011, 01:19:52 PM »

Just came in from retrieving more dead bodies. Scooped out 18 today. I'm pretty sure this was a total loss, have yet to see anything alive. This is so sad.....guess I'll be buying new fishies once spring gets here. I have given lots away for free on CL, hopefully someone will be kind and I can find free ones.

trish · « **Reply #2 on:** February 17, 2011, 01:25:33 PM »

I'm sorry for your loss. Did your pond totally freeze over even with the aerator and deicer in?

livetogarden · « **Reply #3 on:** February 17, 2011, 01:46:25 PM »

I'm guessing. There were days when all we could see was snow on the surface. So I'm guessing even with our double attempts to keep a hole it wasn't successful.

SueSTx · « **Reply #4 on:** February 17, 2011, 02:18:41 PM »

There were days at a time when I had no hole in my lily tanks and I only lost a few of last summers fry. I wouldn't write things off yet.

I had 6" to 8" of total ice cover for days at a time.

Pondering · « **Reply #5 on:** February 17, 2011, 03:00:23 PM »

Awwww i'm sorry to hear about your little guys too. :'(

I'm still iced over so i can't see any fish yet, but i made sure our aerator was always visable (hence another use for our firepit screen and cover). I was out there today picking out dead leaves from where it has started to thaw on top, but didn't see any movement... i think they are all in the cave. $:-\$ At night i watch for a big orange glow to pass in front of the lights, i'll take any sign i can get that they are ok.

How deep is your pond?

livetogarden · « **Reply #6 on:** February 17, 2011, 03:08:10 PM »

Our pond is 2 1/2 feet deep. We have had winters where it was hard to keep an opening in the top of the surface but this is the first year we have actually had any loss. Apparently the bubbler was working all season because as soon as the ice thawed we saw the bubbles still bubbling away.

Indiana Karen · « **Reply #7 on:** February 17, 2011, 03:09:40 PM »

So sorry about your fish :'( ..........it's always nerve wracking waiting for the ice to thaw to see if everyone is OK, I still have ice on mine.

tranquility · « **Reply #8 on:** February 17, 2011, 04:51:37 PM »

Soo sorry for your loss....It was a harsh winter for many....(((huggs))) to you--I know that is an awful feeling....we've lost a pond full before due to lightening--I cried the whole time I was netting them out....
Lawanna

Kittyzee · « **Reply #9 on:** February 17, 2011, 07:16:33 PM »

Oh no, I'm so sorry Cath. Today my pond is ice free for the first time in months. DH cleaned the pump filter; it was so clogged with debris. I don't see any losses unless someone is laying on the bottom. It has been a rough winter with solid ice and snow, but the stock tank deicer has been a life saver for me to keep a spot open without much effort except to plug it in. It surely is a mystery after a long, hard winter to find that your fish are gone, or that they have survived. I don't know how any of them make it thru. :'(

Zoe · « **Reply #10 on:** February 18, 2011, 05:26:27 AM »

This time last year I was going through the very same thing. It was heart breaking. I know the weather had a great deal to do with all of my losses. I live on the gulf coast of texas. This year I made sure the ponds were vaccumed out and salted for the winter. So far so good. I know your weather conditions are far worse than anything we go through down here. I am sorry for your losses. This forum helped me so much last year. Besides the kind words the knowledge was so helpful.

Zoe

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #11 on:** February 18, 2011, 11:20:12 AM »

I'm so sorry the weather has caused so much havoc with your fishes. I couldn't imagine how difficult it is for them to survive the cold to begin with... There may be a reason for all the loss but I'm not knowledgeable enough to figure the water parameters business.

Last early Spring I had a water problem where I thought I would lose all my fish. After much worry and talking to experts the water came around. My Koi have not forgiven me especially since I haven't fed them all winter.

On the up side, the excitement of getting new fish is happiness.

tootsie · « **Reply #12 on:** February 18, 2011, 10:09:46 PM »

So sorry to hear of your fish loss

I had that happen to many of my fishes too :'( Our power went out so the heating disk was out

We ran back to the pond and started drilling holes with the auger. Seemed like it took forever to get power back! This winter has been a bad one too! Lots of ice and more than 15 inches of snow

When you are ready to go out and get more fishes you will feel happy again

Tootsie

Julles · « **Reply #13 on:** February 21, 2011, 08:08:29 AM »

I'm so sorry to hear this happened.

I, too, would like to understand better. After all, fish live in natural ponds and lakes in the same climate, and survive the winters. Does it have to do with oxygen? temperature? toxins?

Zoe, why did you salt your pond for winter?

Cath, when you get your new fish, be sure the water quality is good before introducing any new ones. Maybe start out with a few 22c feeders from PetSmart, and be sure they thrive, before stocking up with pretty goldies and koi.

Zoe · « **Reply #14 on:** February 21, 2011, 08:16:42 AM »

Julles

Nelson's suggested it last winter when I lost all my fish. I got a salt meter and made sure that I followed their instructions. So far so good.

Cindy (Zoe)

karen J · « **Reply #15 on:** February 21, 2011, 09:36:52 AM »

I'm sorry. That is a huge amount to lose, but don't give up hope yet. Maybe some babies survived.

I'm expecting a lot of losses too, as one of my deicers got flipped over by the wind and tripped the GFCI so that both deicers got shut off. We also lost a pump. Most of the snow from the big storm is gone but we're expecting more tonight. I haven't been able to see anything yet. Not a good winter.

tootsie · « **Reply #16 on:** February 21, 2011, 10:07:30 AM »

Hi Karen,
Did you get last nights storm? Between that and the howling wind snow is heavy and deep. Fortunately we have an 8 wheeler so we can ride down to the pond often to get those holes drilled:) I know there are little springs of water that shoot up from the clay bottom! Perhaps there are just too many bullheads down there, sucking of the oxygen?
Tootsie

Michiponder · « **Reply #17 on:** February 21, 2011, 04:00:01 PM »

Sorry to hear of your fish losses. One thing I do keep fish loss low in winter is to strip the pond down for cleaning in the Fall instead of the spring like most people. Cutting back all the plants and removing organic matter before winter helps me a lot because there is not as much material rotting and using up O2. This cuts down on the toxic gases too. Most people in my area here in MI that do not do this and let thier ponds go into winter dirty have major dieoffs of thier fish by thier 3rd winter if they last that long. I know it is not popular to get into a cold pond in the fall. Unfortunatly planted ponds with rock bottoms are not the best habitat for fish in cold areas. While salt will help thicken the slime coat on your fish so they can withstand poorer water quality it can stunt or kill many types of plants too so be cautious. Another thing that I have done in years past is to float a black styrofoam box upside down over the bubbler or heater. Even if the heater goes out it can take a longtime for the water to freeze under it. Blasting the crud out of the rocks and off the bottom with a hose in fall is a big help too. Hope your setback does not make you want to give up on fish and you have better luck next time.

Mikel

crazyfishlady · « **Reply #18 on:** February 21, 2011, 07:14:45 PM »

I share your loss. My daughter just called to say that 25 of my koi and goldfish are frozen as well on the surface of my pond. She said the deicer is still working. I think during the warm spell last week they came up through the deicer hole and got trapped above the ice when the temperatures dropped. I believe that happened one year to Esther's fish. I'm at least thankful for the years I had with them and was able to watch them grow and mature. But, I'm most thankful that I'm not there to see them. My grandchildren want to have a funeral and bury them when we can dig the ground.

bunny56lbc · « **Reply #19 on:** February 22, 2011, 06:18:03 PM »

So sorry for you're loss , I live in z6 & we've had our share of snow & ice . I keep a plastic covering over the ponds that have fish in them , now I don't lose
any of my babies .

bonnie

livetogarden · « **Reply #20 on:** February 22, 2011, 08:29:47 PM »

I kept hoping to find some live ones but I don't think that's going to happen. Every day we find more on the surface and have yet to see any live ones. Bummer!! :'(
To give you a sense of how bad parts of our winter were....we always trim our plants down in the fall and drop them to the bottom of the pond and had done that and I also place a box over my deicer if it gets really cold,,,had done that too. Guess there was just no protecting them this year.
Oh well....sad but it is what it is. The bright side is DH knows I enjoy watching my fish so much this spring we are going out to buy bigs ones rather than have to wait for small ones to grow.

crazyfishlady · « **Reply #21 on:** February 23, 2011, 05:55:16 AM »

Bonnie--Excuse my ignorance, but how would plastic help?

Cath--Where are you getting your fish; Kloubec?

I too cut everything back and netted the pond just like every other year. I have never lost a fish, except to predators, over the winter.

bunny56lbc · « **Reply #22 on:** February 23, 2011, 06:28:56 PM »

Quote from: crazyfishlady on February 23, 2011, 05:55:16 AM

Bonnie--Excuse my ignorance, but how would plastic help?

when the sun shines or even when it's cloudy out , the plastic holds warmer air under it which keeps the water from freezing.
I've done this for 4-5 years now with no ice on my ponds.

I hope this answer's you're question...bonnie

I'm going to try & add a picture....I have a hard time posting pictures in AP ..

tranquility · « **Reply #23 on:** February 23, 2011, 08:29:57 PM »

Yes a cover goes along way in protecting your fish....It creates a greenhouse effect..the water in a pond can act as a heat sink and can actually hold alot of that heat in thru out the night.....but, if you get lots of snow you have to build it to hold up....and Yes make sure the pond goes into winter clean...the very best thing in really cold places is to set up a tank and filtration and bring them indoors...alot of the serious koi people do this but, you have to have a really good set up or you'll end up with dead fish due to poor water quality...
Lawanna