Black marks have appeared on goldfish. One has died, others have the marks!!

Hi
This morning one of our goldfish was dead. Other than 2 black marks on
his head he seemed quite normal.
Our pond is a garden pond about 6 x 4 x 4. It contains about 40
goldfish and apart from cleaning and feeding the pond is left very
much alone. The pond has been going for about 10 years with no serious
problems. The thing that worries me now is that 2 other fish have
black marks although they look quite healthy. I know I have seen
discoloration before on the fish so I'm not sure if the black marks
are related to the death of the fish.
Any help much appreciated.
Thanks.

wrote in message
...
Hi
This morning one of our goldfish was dead. Other than 2 black marks on
his head he seemed quite normal.
Our pond is a garden pond about 6 x 4 x 4. It contains about 40
goldfish and apart from cleaning and feeding the pond is left very
much alone.

Cleaning? You didn't say how many gallons your pond is but it sounds
overcrowded to me. You need to allow 15 to 20 gallons per goldfish and have
decent filtration/aeration. What is the PH and hardness of the water? What
are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings?

The pond has been going for about 10 years with no serious
problems. The thing that worries me now is that 2 other fish have
black marks although they look quite healthy. I know I have seen
discoloration before on the fish so I'm not sure if the black marks
are related to the death of the fish.
Any help much appreciated.
Thanks.

--
KL....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
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http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/d...#BLACK%20SPOTS


wrote:

Hi
This morning one of our goldfish was dead. Other than 2 black marks on
his head he seemed quite normal.
Our pond is a garden pond about 6 x 4 x 4. It contains about 40
goldfish and apart from cleaning and feeding the pond is left very
much alone. The pond has been going for about 10 years with no serious
problems. The thing that worries me now is that 2 other fish have
black marks although they look quite healthy. I know I have seen
discoloration before on the fish so I'm not sure if the black marks
are related to the death of the fish.
Any help much appreciated.
Thanks.



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Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

I recollect black marks developing being a sympyom of an ammoni-x burn
you might want to check the NO2, NO3, NH3 and NH4 readings. Surf those
and take appropriate action




--
sean mckinney

They may have suffered some trauma. I had two fantails that got stuck in
the plants and almost died. They showed those black marks for several
months, but the fish were fine. Of course the trauma they suffered likely
could have resulted in oxygen deprivation. I am just saying that it might
not be a matter of your water quality. They could have gotten stuck in a
plant pot or a rock or sucked up to the pump or something. good luck with
them.
"sean mckinney" wrote in message
...

I recollect black marks developing being a sympyom of an ammoni-x burn
you might want to check the NO2, NO3, NH3 and NH4 readings. Surf those
and take appropriate action




--
sean mckinney

Just like to say thank you to all who offered help. It would seem that
the fish died of natural causes. This is borne out by the fact that no
other fish seem poorly or have died and they seem happy enough. I've
taken on board some of the suggestions in this thread especially the
one concerning over crowding.
Thanks again.