Still Puzzled about Nitrites

Ahhhh.....I am so sorry for your loss. I have a 1 1/2 yr. old friendly
goldfish i wouldn't take money for, so i understand. Time will heal
you. And like you wanted, maybe you can learn and prevent it from
happening again. Last year i had thousands of tadpoles that i killed
trying to save. It took months to stop feeling guilty. This year i am
leaving well enough alone and will watch for stressed fish, then i'll
bring them in or something.





On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 06:38:23 -0500, "SueAndHerZoo"
wrote:

Hi. If you recall I wrote about a week ago with my koi hiding and
dying.
Some of you suggested nitrite poisoning, which made sense, and when I
tested
the water, the nitrites were high. I have been doing water changes,
adding
salt, firing up the pump and filter, added 2 more airstones, etc. and
the
water tests fine now. Unfortunately, I lost 4 of my very large,
"been with
me from the start" koi. I still break down and cry a lot,
especially when
I'm out working on the pond, and most people think I'm nuts, but I
knew
people here could relate - they were my "babies", I raised them from
only a
couple of inches long, they ate out of my hand, followed me around
the pond,
etc. Of course a part of it is the guilt - I feel as if I killed
them or
let them down.

But anyway, sorry for the venting, here are my real questions: why
is it I
still have quite a few small fish and koi fry that survived, and only
the
big ones didn't make it? I thought it would be the other way around
with
nitrite poisoning. And secondly, I still need to know WHY I had a
nitrite
problem this winter - it's never happened before. It would be
easier to
deal with this and prevent it from ever happening again if I knew
WHAT I was
dealing with. Thanks for letting me vent - nice to know there's a
place
where I can cry over fish and not feel like a fool.
Sue

Boy can I relate to THAT! I took two of the large koi and tried to "save"
them by putting them in a huge tub with 2/3 pond water and 1/3 tap water,
but of course I conditioned the tap water first, removed chlorine, etc. I
then added some salt and hoped I could miraculously heal them in this
hospital tub. Of course when they died I fel the horrible guilt as if I had
killed them trying to save them . . . I'll never know if they would have
made it had I left them alone. I, too, am going to leave well enough alone
from now on and do all I can WITHOUT disturbing the balance of things. The
change might be enough to push them over the edge. Of course, had they
died in the pond, I'd always wonder if I could have saved them by putting
them in a tub, etc. Guilt. What a useless, but powerful emotion.
Sue
"jammer" wrote in message
...


Ahhhh.....I am so sorry for your loss. I have a 1 1/2 yr. old friendly
goldfish i wouldn't take money for, so i understand. Time will heal
you. And like you wanted, maybe you can learn and prevent it from
happening again. Last year i had thousands of tadpoles that i killed
trying to save. It took months to stop feeling guilty. This year i am
leaving well enough alone and will watch for stressed fish, then i'll
bring them in or something.





On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 06:38:23 -0500, "SueAndHerZoo"
wrote:

Hi. If you recall I wrote about a week ago with my koi hiding and
dying.
Some of you suggested nitrite poisoning, which made sense, and when I
tested
the water, the nitrites were high. I have been doing water changes,
adding
salt, firing up the pump and filter, added 2 more airstones, etc. and
the
water tests fine now. Unfortunately, I lost 4 of my very large,
"been with
me from the start" koi. I still break down and cry a lot,
especially when
I'm out working on the pond, and most people think I'm nuts, but I
knew
people here could relate - they were my "babies", I raised them from
only a
couple of inches long, they ate out of my hand, followed me around
the pond,
etc. Of course a part of it is the guilt - I feel as if I killed
them or
let them down.

But anyway, sorry for the venting, here are my real questions: why
is it I
still have quite a few small fish and koi fry that survived, and only
the
big ones didn't make it? I thought it would be the other way around
with
nitrite poisoning. And secondly, I still need to know WHY I had a
nitrite
problem this winter - it's never happened before. It would be
easier to
deal with this and prevent it from ever happening again if I knew
WHAT I was
dealing with. Thanks for letting me vent - nice to know there's a
place
where I can cry over fish and not feel like a fool.
Sue

Boy can I relate to THAT! I took two of the large koi and tried to "save"
them by putting them in a huge tub with 2/3 pond water and 1/3 tap water,
but of course I conditioned the tap water first, removed chlorine, etc. I
then added some salt and hoped I could miraculously heal them in this
hospital tub. Of course when they died I fel the horrible guilt as if I had
killed them trying to save them . . . I'll never know if they would have
made it had I left them alone. I, too, am going to leave well enough alone
from now on and do all I can WITHOUT disturbing the balance of things. The
change might be enough to push them over the edge. Of course, had they
died in the pond, I'd always wonder if I could have saved them by putting
them in a tub, etc. Guilt. What a useless, but powerful emotion.
Sue
"jammer" wrote in message
...


Ahhhh.....I am so sorry for your loss. I have a 1 1/2 yr. old friendly
goldfish i wouldn't take money for, so i understand. Time will heal
you. And like you wanted, maybe you can learn and prevent it from
happening again. Last year i had thousands of tadpoles that i killed
trying to save. It took months to stop feeling guilty. This year i am
leaving well enough alone and will watch for stressed fish, then i'll
bring them in or something.





On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 06:38:23 -0500, "SueAndHerZoo"
wrote:

Hi. If you recall I wrote about a week ago with my koi hiding and
dying.
Some of you suggested nitrite poisoning, which made sense, and when I
tested
the water, the nitrites were high. I have been doing water changes,
adding
salt, firing up the pump and filter, added 2 more airstones, etc. and
the
water tests fine now. Unfortunately, I lost 4 of my very large,
"been with
me from the start" koi. I still break down and cry a lot,
especially when
I'm out working on the pond, and most people think I'm nuts, but I
knew
people here could relate - they were my "babies", I raised them from
only a
couple of inches long, they ate out of my hand, followed me around
the pond,
etc. Of course a part of it is the guilt - I feel as if I killed
them or
let them down.

But anyway, sorry for the venting, here are my real questions: why
is it I
still have quite a few small fish and koi fry that survived, and only
the
big ones didn't make it? I thought it would be the other way around
with
nitrite poisoning. And secondly, I still need to know WHY I had a
nitrite
problem this winter - it's never happened before. It would be
easier to
deal with this and prevent it from ever happening again if I knew
WHAT I was
dealing with. Thanks for letting me vent - nice to know there's a
place
where I can cry over fish and not feel like a fool.
Sue

Exactly. It was after i removed them that they died. I'll never know.






On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 00:06:59 -0500, "SueAndHerZoo"
wrote:

Boy can I relate to THAT! I took two of the large koi and tried to
"save"
them by putting them in a huge tub with 2/3 pond water and 1/3 tap
water,
but of course I conditioned the tap water first, removed chlorine,
etc. I
then added some salt and hoped I could miraculously heal them in this
hospital tub. Of course when they died I fel the horrible guilt as
if I had
killed them trying to save them . . . I'll never know if they would
have
made it had I left them alone. I, too, am going to leave well enough
alone
from now on and do all I can WITHOUT disturbing the balance of
things. The
change might be enough to push them over the edge. Of course, had
they
died in the pond, I'd always wonder if I could have saved them by
putting
them in a tub, etc. Guilt. What a useless, but powerful emotion.
Sue
"jammer" wrote in message
.. .


Ahhhh.....I am so sorry for your loss. I have a 1 1/2 yr. old
friendly
goldfish i wouldn't take money for, so i understand. Time will heal
you. And like you wanted, maybe you can learn and prevent it from
happening again. Last year i had thousands of tadpoles that i
killed
trying to save. It took months to stop feeling guilty. This year i
am
leaving well enough alone and will watch for stressed fish, then
i'll
bring them in or something.





On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 06:38:23 -0500, "SueAndHerZoo"
wrote:

Hi. If you recall I wrote about a week ago with my koi hiding
and
dying.
Some of you suggested nitrite poisoning, which made sense, and
when I
tested
the water, the nitrites were high. I have been doing water
changes,
adding
salt, firing up the pump and filter, added 2 more airstones, etc.
and
the
water tests fine now. Unfortunately, I lost 4 of my very large,
"been with
me from the start" koi. I still break down and cry a lot,
especially when
I'm out working on the pond, and most people think I'm nuts, but I
knew
people here could relate - they were my "babies", I raised them
from
only a
couple of inches long, they ate out of my hand, followed me around
the pond,
etc. Of course a part of it is the guilt - I feel as if I
killed
them or
let them down.

But anyway, sorry for the venting, here are my real questions:
why
is it I
still have quite a few small fish and koi fry that survived, and
only
the
big ones didn't make it? I thought it would be the other way
around
with
nitrite poisoning. And secondly, I still need to know WHY I had a
nitrite
problem this winter - it's never happened before. It would be
easier to
deal with this and prevent it from ever happening again if I knew
WHAT I was
dealing with. Thanks for letting me vent - nice to know there's
a
place
where I can cry over fish and not feel like a fool.
Sue

Exactly. It was after i removed them that they died. I'll never know.






On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 00:06:59 -0500, "SueAndHerZoo"
wrote:

Boy can I relate to THAT! I took two of the large koi and tried to
"save"
them by putting them in a huge tub with 2/3 pond water and 1/3 tap
water,
but of course I conditioned the tap water first, removed chlorine,
etc. I
then added some salt and hoped I could miraculously heal them in this
hospital tub. Of course when they died I fel the horrible guilt as
if I had
killed them trying to save them . . . I'll never know if they would
have
made it had I left them alone. I, too, am going to leave well enough
alone
from now on and do all I can WITHOUT disturbing the balance of
things. The
change might be enough to push them over the edge. Of course, had
they
died in the pond, I'd always wonder if I could have saved them by
putting
them in a tub, etc. Guilt. What a useless, but powerful emotion.
Sue
"jammer" wrote in message
.. .


Ahhhh.....I am so sorry for your loss. I have a 1 1/2 yr. old
friendly
goldfish i wouldn't take money for, so i understand. Time will heal
you. And like you wanted, maybe you can learn and prevent it from
happening again. Last year i had thousands of tadpoles that i
killed
trying to save. It took months to stop feeling guilty. This year i
am
leaving well enough alone and will watch for stressed fish, then
i'll
bring them in or something.





On Mon, 29 Mar 2004 06:38:23 -0500, "SueAndHerZoo"
wrote:

Hi. If you recall I wrote about a week ago with my koi hiding
and
dying.
Some of you suggested nitrite poisoning, which made sense, and
when I
tested
the water, the nitrites were high. I have been doing water
changes,
adding
salt, firing up the pump and filter, added 2 more airstones, etc.
and
the
water tests fine now. Unfortunately, I lost 4 of my very large,
"been with
me from the start" koi. I still break down and cry a lot,
especially when
I'm out working on the pond, and most people think I'm nuts, but I
knew
people here could relate - they were my "babies", I raised them
from
only a
couple of inches long, they ate out of my hand, followed me around
the pond,
etc. Of course a part of it is the guilt - I feel as if I
killed
them or
let them down.

But anyway, sorry for the venting, here are my real questions:
why
is it I
still have quite a few small fish and koi fry that survived, and
only
the
big ones didn't make it? I thought it would be the other way
around
with
nitrite poisoning. And secondly, I still need to know WHY I had a
nitrite
problem this winter - it's never happened before. It would be
easier to
deal with this and prevent it from ever happening again if I knew
WHAT I was
dealing with. Thanks for letting me vent - nice to know there's
a
place
where I can cry over fish and not feel like a fool.
Sue

lady who sits nearby shouted out "I don't know about her pond, but SHE needs
to get a life - she's actually upset about some of her fish dying!"

Sounds like someone needs to go to sensitivity traning. Sheesh.
You should have heard me threatening K30 this afternoon regarding taking
some of my frog spawn, not to leave it in the car! Shameless Am I.

Just as an added note, the dead fish
did not die in a pretty state. They all had blood in their fins and some
areas of their bodies, and the fins were all frayed and tattered looking.

Usually there is ammonia before nitrite, and the above sounds like serious
ammonia happened. Perhaps by the time you noticed a problem and checked it
the ammonia had converted to Nitrite.

Even a continous low level of ammonia can be stressful, as I found out last
year, when I hit Critical Mass. Now I have plenty of ammonia detoxer on
hand, and started testing my water early on. I've had one test show an
inkling of ammonia after I started the filter, so I treated it, so far so
good now. I have 5 fewer fish than last year at this time, so I should be
good. If I have trouble I've already picked out who gets sold.

Very important to have the treatments handy and fresh test kits, that you
use.
~ jan (Do you know where your water quality is?)

lady who sits nearby shouted out "I don't know about her pond, but SHE needs
to get a life - she's actually upset about some of her fish dying!"

Sounds like someone needs to go to sensitivity traning. Sheesh.
You should have heard me threatening K30 this afternoon regarding taking
some of my frog spawn, not to leave it in the car! Shameless Am I.

Just as an added note, the dead fish
did not die in a pretty state. They all had blood in their fins and some
areas of their bodies, and the fins were all frayed and tattered looking.

Usually there is ammonia before nitrite, and the above sounds like serious
ammonia happened. Perhaps by the time you noticed a problem and checked it
the ammonia had converted to Nitrite.

Even a continous low level of ammonia can be stressful, as I found out last
year, when I hit Critical Mass. Now I have plenty of ammonia detoxer on
hand, and started testing my water early on. I've had one test show an
inkling of ammonia after I started the filter, so I treated it, so far so
good now. I have 5 fewer fish than last year at this time, so I should be
good. If I have trouble I've already picked out who gets sold.

Very important to have the treatments handy and fresh test kits, that you
use.
~ jan (Do you know where your water quality is?)