help dying fish (x-posted to rec.ponds)

"stephen price" wrote in message
...
Our goldfish in our outside fairly large fishpond are dying around 2 per
day
theres around 150 fish about 15 are very adult bout 6in long. they have
been
fed continuously with pond sticks food up till three days ago and I
understand this has been a mistake as I have been told they shouldnt be
fed
in the winter at all unless you use wheatgerm food.Ive been advised to
somehow remove the fish to a tank indoors heated and this will then
encourige the fish to digest the food.

any advice will be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Steve B Price.

How big is your pond? (gallons)
What's the water temperature? (Don't feed below about 55°F)
Where are you located? (Climate)

Gold Fish need about 10 gallons per fish in an aquarium, so they have room
to grow. You could probably get by with 2-3 gallons per inch of fish. That's
a damn big aquarium in any event. It might be more economical to buy a
Rubbermaid stock tank or preformed pond to put in your garage. Some people
also keep indoor ponds in their basements.

You should be able to save the larger ones, but it's doubtful you could save
them all, too costly. Another option would be to SLOWLY warm up the pond
enough to let them digest the food, but it sounds too big for this. If your
ground water is warm enough you could slowly add water to raise the pond
temp. Don't forget to dechlorinate the water if it has chlorine/chloramines
in it. You should not raise the temperature more than a few degrees per day.

If you decide to bring some of the fish inside. The best approach would
probably be to fill the tank/tub with pond water and let it heat up slowly
(no heater) to room temperature. The pond water will also have the bacteria
you need to cycle your tank, so you won't subject your fish to
ammonia/nitrites/nitrates. You won't have to worry about PH shock this way
either.

"stephen price" wrote in message
Our goldfish in our outside fairly large fishpond are dying around 2 per
day theres around 150 fish about 15 are very adult bout 6in long. they have
been fed continuously with pond sticks food up till three days ago and I
understand this has been a mistake as I have been told they shouldnt be
fed in the winter at all unless you use wheatgerm food.Ive been advised to
somehow remove the fish to a tank indoors heated and this will then
encourige the fish to digest the food.
Thanks in advance.
Steve B Price.

More than likely you've polluted the water with uneaten food. Perform water
tests. If you don't have them, do a water change of 25% using an Amquell
type product, EVEN if you do not have chloramines in your water. This will
detox any ammonia in the pond, that a water change could make worst if not
detoxed with an ammonia detoxing chemical. (Of course this is unnecessary
if you have water tests and can type up the numbers for us, we can give
better advice.) ~ 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

Just like to say thanks to you all for advise.

Had the water tested and was found to be OK.

Still losing 2 fish per day but been told if the bigger fish start to die
then bring them to an indoor tank heated but how do you catch them, the pond
measures 7mts x 3mts.

also was advised to turn off the fountain.

thanks again

steve




"Bill Stock" wrote in message
...

"stephen price" wrote in message
...
Our goldfish in our outside fairly large fishpond are dying around 2 per
day
theres around 150 fish about 15 are very adult bout 6in long. they have
been
fed continuously with pond sticks food up till three days ago and I
understand this has been a mistake as I have been told they shouldnt be
fed
in the winter at all unless you use wheatgerm food.Ive been advised to
somehow remove the fish to a tank indoors heated and this will then
encourige the fish to digest the food.

any advice will be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Steve B Price.

How big is your pond? (gallons)
What's the water temperature? (Don't feed below about 55°F)
Where are you located? (Climate)

Gold Fish need about 10 gallons per fish in an aquarium, so they have room
to grow. You could probably get by with 2-3 gallons per inch of fish.
That's
a damn big aquarium in any event. It might be more economical to buy a
Rubbermaid stock tank or preformed pond to put in your garage. Some people
also keep indoor ponds in their basements.

You should be able to save the larger ones, but it's doubtful you could
save
them all, too costly. Another option would be to SLOWLY warm up the pond
enough to let them digest the food, but it sounds too big for this. If
your
ground water is warm enough you could slowly add water to raise the pond
temp. Don't forget to dechlorinate the water if it has
chlorine/chloramines
in it. You should not raise the temperature more than a few degrees per
day.

If you decide to bring some of the fish inside. The best approach would
probably be to fill the tank/tub with pond water and let it heat up slowly
(no heater) to room temperature. The pond water will also have the
bacteria
you need to cycle your tank, so you won't subject your fish to
ammonia/nitrites/nitrates. You won't have to worry about PH shock this way
either.

"stephen price" wrote in message
...
Just like to say thanks to you all for advise.

Had the water tested and was found to be OK.

Still losing 2 fish per day but been told if the bigger fish start to die
then bring them to an indoor tank heated but how do you catch them, the
pond
measures 7mts x 3mts.

also was advised to turn off the fountain.

thanks again

steve

The fountain cools the pond, as it exposes the water to the cool air.

It makes it easier to catch the fish if you partially drain the pond, less
area to cover. It also helps to remove all the hiding places if possible. I
just use a pair of nets, one in front to herd and one behind to catch. But
it sounds like your pond is deeper than mine, so you either need a big net
or your hip waders.