Hi group

"richdeer3pondsupplies.com" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Apr 28, 9:19 am, "jthread" wrote:
Hello:

I lost 3 Koi in my pond over the winter. Two were new from Petco and a
large
one that was there when we bought the house last October. We've been
learning how to maintain the pond mostly through error. Right now we have
about 7 gold fish that seem really healthy. The filter works well and I'm
doing 25% water changes every two weeks now.

After the two small koi died I did an Ich treatment for 3 days that
claimed
to remove almost all parasites. But it failed to save my large Koi.

I went to clean the filter today and I noticed a large number of small
worms. Deep red about 1/2" x 1/32". In other word "very small". I've seen
them before but it looks as though they are growing in number.

I live in Austin TX. Are these worms normal? Can they harm fish? I can
provide pictures if need be.

Thanks

Jim

The worms are actually a good sign! The midge flies will only lay eggs
which turn into the red worms in well balanced water conditions. don't
worry about getting rid of them. Your fish will eagerly eat them. Yuck
to me but they love them. Did you add salt to your pond to help the
fish recover from the ick? Use pond salt only or non-iodine sea salt 1
lb to 100 gallons. Remember to always use dechlorinated water or pond
water to clean your filters. You can also use a garden hose chlorine
filter on your hose to use some pressure to clean the filter media.
Let me know if you'd like more details on any of this. Going to go
play with my fishes, Gail

The gold fish don't seem to have Ich. The koi are dead.

Thanks for the info on the worms and yes I was cleaning the filter with the
garden hose.

I knew those guys were eating something.

Jim