is not oxygen is Parasites agrr or maybe pH?? Oh noo

[skarol98]

I recently change of pond filter to a 3 in 1 and aparently my pond is not getting enough oxygen because all my test on the water are perfect but my fishies keep diying.  what can I do should I get a individual pump and a pitter would a fountain pump will work? what should i do?should i buy and aerator? and if so what is that! I was just reading online but you guys are the experts! Thanks
Karol

[SueSTx]

The fish folks are gonna want to know how big the pond is, what size of a pump do you use and the test results.

I have a large fish load in a small tank with no troubles.  (Knock on wood)  I have tanks with fish and lilies with no filters or pumps.  I simply vacuum and do regular water changes.  I keep my plant load down to about 60% coverage in the heat of the summer.

I haven't a clue what your problem is unless a neighbor has been spraying or something of that nature. 

[perplexed ponder]

Karol, I am no expert, but since no one has responded yet, I will try to help. First, are the fishies gasping at the surface of the pond?
Are you sure there isn't another cause? Could also be parasitic, toxins leaching from surrounding yard, have any chemicals been used near the pond? even is sprayed from a ways off, the air can carry it to the pond
If you think it is oxygen, you can disturb the surface of the pond to get more oxygen. an aerator will do that with an airstone. You can get a small one from an aquarium shop (buy the biggest one they have for a fish tank) or if you have a pond store near you, you can pick one up for a pond along with the tubing and the air stone. You can get help at either store for waht you need. You can also put a hose on a spray nozzle and let it spray the surface. Of course you will have to watch for chlorine and the pond level, but it's a short fix. Hope some of this helps. I'm sure others will chime in and have other ideas for you!

[Kat]

Just a couple of quick fix for oxygen ideas:  Go to the store & get yourself a stong air pump with at least 2 outlets for airstones.  You'll need to protect it from rain but if your fish stop gasping at the surface then you'll know for sure you need more oxygen.  Or like you've said, run another spitter or place like a 300 gallon pump near the surface & let it bubble up creating a lot of flow/splashing (this works even better than a regular aquarium air pump).  Hopefully it is not chemicals from a neighbor.

[tweetybaby2005]

Karol,
For a pinch and quick fix, you can go to Wal Mart and buy an aquarium air pump.  Get the biggest one.  Grab some tubing and air stones while you are there.  Plug in the pump, connect the tubing and air stones, and drop the air stones down into the pond.

For long term solution, please provide some info about your pond.  The pond size, fish load, types of filter, etc. will help us troubleshoot your issue.  Are the fish gasping for air on top of the water?  Any signs of sickness?

HTH

Kuan

[tranquility]

Spring time and all water parameters are showing good...I say parasites...Spring time and parasites go hand in hand...And in the spring time the water should still be cool enough to be holding plenty of oxygen..You can find some one to do a scrape and scope or you can do what they refer to as a shot gun treatment...Get on line and find Karl Shoeler at Koivalley-He has a website--he has helped me out a bunch of times when I'm having pond problems....
Lawanna

[frogman3]

I second parasites as the reason for your fish dieing. Have you noticed anything unusual about the dead or sick fish? Of course most parasites are undetectable with the human eye.

[skarol98]

what kind of parasite? I might be able to do that my self.  But dont parasites will kill them slowly? mine die within days
thanks
Karol

[perplexed ponder]

Parasites are difficult to treat. It is hard to figure out exactly what type it is unless you actually 'get lucky" and see something. I had anchor worms, I could actually see a white stinglike thing sticking out of my fish. I caught it and pulled it with tweezers, then looked under a mocroscope and could actually see if was a lving organism. Looked up photos on the web to identify. The anchor worm leaves the host immediately after death and latches onto another fish. Then it starts all over again. I was losing a fish every other day or so. It was wierd. We caught and treated all fish in a hospital pond that we could cover so the dogs/birds/frogs could not get intot the toxic chemical. We did save most of our fish, but it was a long, tedious process that lasted about a month and it was not cheap. Parasites can come into your pond from just about anywhere, plants, birds that fly in like ducks that paddle around the water,frogs, whatever.

I also agree with the poster (?) who said it could be a neighbor that has been spraying. It's springtime, and everyone starts to get thier lawns sprayed. If there is any wind, those chmicals can be carried quite a ways. I use NO chemicals in our backyard.

[frogman3]

Are you saying all the fish are dead within days of adding them? What type of fish? How many gallons is your pond? When did you build this pond? Have you been raising fish in this pond in the past?

[tranquility]

about the only thing you can see with the naked eye is fish louse, ich spots, or anchor worms...as frogman has stated it would be helpful to know if these are new fish-a new pond and gallons of the pond...If a new pond--did you use declor in the pond....chlorine will cause death and gasping at the top...ammonia and nitrites can cause death and burn their gills and skin if this is a new pond that is cycling...if this is a pond that has been estiblished I'm still going with parasites...If you have an established pond and have added new fish--I'm still going with parasites....what do the fish look like before they are dying-sores,sandpaper skin,notched noses? have you seen any flashing(rubbing thier backs on the liner or rocks), breaching(coming up gulping air and blowing bubbles thru their gills), or any clamped down fish sitting on the bottom and not moving much? I'd also like to have water parimeter numbers-Ph,nitrite,nitrate, and ammonia....
Lawanna

[SueSTx]

Is this adorable little box the pond that you are having trouble with?  I remember it from last year.

[tranquility]

Okay--if this is the pond---and you changed filters(meaning got rid of the old and put a new one in)....Then please test the water...Ammonia,ph, and nitrites for sure are the three critical ones...if you don't have a testing kit then most aquarium shops will test it for you....if your test is 0 on the ammonia and nitrite then I'm saying parasite....If you have added a new filter and it is cycling--on a heavy fish load that can be deadly....So test and let us know the results--We all are just taking shots in the dark until we are able to rule out water issues...
Lawanna

[skarol98]

yea I been testing my water almos daily myself in petsmat and in a pond shop they all agree on my numbers nitarte 0:nitrite 0, amonia 0:hardness is about 25, alkalinity 0 or 40 , pH 5.5 everithing is very low! yes that is the pond that I'm talking about I did it last september all my fish live until march when me been stupid did a big water change and manage to kill every single one and after that I havent been able to keep a single fish! Like 3 weeks after they all die I change to the new filter, and still nothing! I did see some like white skin like flesh coming off of one of the fish so I do think is parasite, yesterday I put some salt 1 cup, and I repeated today and I'm thinking on doing it tomorrow to finish the 3 cup for the 300 gallons that is my pond.  if all those guys die should I  empty it and do what? because I have done it and it didnt make a different how do I get rid of the paracite if there  is no more fish?? another question would those parasites leave on my water lillies? because just to add some oxygen I bought one this weekend.  And yes they do swim slown and at the top. Im so frustrated and sad! Because last year when I first sent it up I didnt have any problem and non of my fishies die

[skarol98]

Ok so the two I had just die what do I need to do to get  rid of the parasites?

[skarol98]

so know that Im almost convince about parasites. what should I do I have a water  lilly and rocks on the bottom of the pond! should I take everithing out and use 5% blean on my pond to kill the parasites? how can a ckeck if the pond is completly bleach free before I try to do anything with living things? what about my filter shuould I just cleane it and let it dry out or should I use bleach on it too! Im so sad I dont know what to do HELP please help  :'(

[SueSTx]

 :'(  I feel so sad for you.  If we were closer I'd offer you choice of my pond grade young'ns. 

I don't know what to do, but if you use declor after bleach it should neutralize the bleach.  If you kill off the bacteria in your filter, it will be like starting all over with a new pond.  Take things slow and let your water "age" a little before adding fish. 

I have added fish to a new tank before without troubles, so I fell you might need a new source for fish.

[Zoe]

This happened to me last year.  I was so confused.  The weather had been crazy and my pond seemed fine. Then all of a sudden my fish began to die one by one. Within a week I had lost all of them.  They also had a white fleshy film on them that looked like it was peeling off. I took all my lilies out and repotted before adding them back in. I cleaned out the pond and salted.  After a week or two we added two fish and they survived. Then later we added the lilies back in. We cleaned the filters also before starting the pond back up.  I too could not figure out what was going on.
Everyone here was so helpful! 

Cindy

[skarol98]

Thanks Cindy! So how dod you clean it? Did you empty it completly? Do you scrub all tge walls? Did you use anything else to clean it with or just salt? Im going to work in that today ! Im very confused as well I cant even sleep all I do is check this to see what people recomend so so frustrating Thanks for your help

[Zoe]

I drained it completely and vacuumed out all the crud, I did not scrub the liner but let it sort of dry out and then wash in down. I only used salt after I filled it.  I cleaned the filters and like I said I repotted everything. I hope it all works out.

[Windwalker7]

Your ph is 5.5 ???

[Windwalker7]

If all your fish died after the big water change and now any new fish also die when intoduced to the water, has me thinking its the water.

Your ph is 5.5. i consider that really low but I'm no expert.

Consider this. Your ph is 5.5. Possibly your new fish came from water with a ph somewhere around 8. You put these new fish in water with a much lower ph. Presto!!! wouldn't that be like having a ph crash?

[Windwalker7]

Here


http://www.pondcrisis.com/a_ph.html

[cindy]

pH 5.5 everithing is very low!  With a little rain, you had a ph crash.  That kills the filters and the fish.

If your ammonia is 0, add a cup of baking soda, the little yellow box.

Get a kh (total alkalinity) test kit.

Rain is acid.  Acid eats your ph and then looks to the kh for a refill.  If there is no kh or TA, the ph     drops and crashes.

[tranquility]

pH 5.5 everithing is very low!  With a little rain, you had a ph crash.  That kills the filters and the fish.

If your ammonia is 0, add a cup of baking soda, the little yellow box.

Get a kh (total alkalinity) test kit.

Rain is acid.  Acid eats your ph and then looks to the kh for a refill.  If there is no kh or TA, the ph     drops and crashes.

Yes to what Cindy said....I saw the ph last night---I knew it was too low for koi but, didn't know about goldies so I asked a very knowledgeable pond mentor who confirmed the ph was too low...So I hope your able to fix this and save the rest of you fish...And I'm soo sorry for assuming parasites since we are in the Spring--I dropped the ball on this one--I should have asked you about your test results first--then we could have had them on the mend by now....I would say to add the baking soda a little at a time--retest the ph and do this untill it reaches that magic 7....
Lawanna

This was his response-

Yes Lawanna, she needs to adminster some baking soda ASAP to raise the PH up to atleast neutral (7). Then she needs frequent water changes or a filter return that runs over crushed oyster shell.
thanks for caring

[cindy]

Windwalker caught it. 

We are getting alot of rain and the rain is eating our ph, check often and have baking soda ready.

[frogman3]

I would if it were me want to ID the source of the cause of the Low PH readings. It could be rain but you should also test your water supply for low PH and KH Just let the water sit for 24 hours before doing so. Here is a decient article that explains enough to help you solve your problem. That low of a PH will burn the fish and cause the skin to peel as the article states. Good luck. http://www.ponddoc.com/WhatsUpDoc/WaterQuality/pHSwing.htm

[tranquility]

Thanks Cindy! So how dod you clean it? Did you empty it completely? Do you scrub all tge walls? Did you use anything else to clean it with or just salt? Im going to work in that today ! Im very confused as well I cant even sleep all I do is check this to see what people recomend so so frustrating Thanks for your help

Just in case you have to deal with parasites at some point--No don't empty the pond and scrub the walls that does nothing--because the parasites would already be on the fish and when you added the fish back you'd only get them back in the water....and scrubbing the walls clean will lead to problems too like green water and that algae does play a role in filtration....if you ever get parasites they make products to kill parasites that you add to the pond...but, remember that some products can't be used with salt...And salt has lost its effect on most parasites.....
Lawanna

[Zoe]

I did not say to scrub the walls. I only offered the advice because this happened to me last year. My fish had the white fleshy film on them also.  I had lost all of my fish and was not adding old fish back in.  Salting the pond did work for me... This is why asking for help is good.  There are so many pond people that can help. All we want in the end is for our fish to be healthy and happy.

[skarol98]

Long long day for me I work on my pond for over 10hrs! I took everything out rocks lillies filter everithing! I drain almost all the water( as much as I could) the I add like 3 caps of bleach and some more water, i scrub all the walls and fill the pond back and i let it over fill to take as much water out as posible(to rinse it good) and I had my rock on a plastic container i bleach them and rince them good almost one by one(lots of work)and I add them, then I took all that water out, and put new clean water. I add the declor, i add the salt and something to incrase my pH, and put my filter back (just clean the filter no bleach just water) and we should see. Im going to check my water tomorrow again and I hope it improves. The baking soda how much should I add for 300 gals if  I need for pH ? Thanks you all for the suppor ideas and offers . You all rock!