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  • Results 1 to 18 of 18

    Thread: Koi and pond problems

    1. #1
      samurvi is offline Junior Member
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      Koi and pond problems

      It's been record breaking temperatures in bay area for last 3 days. All of a sudden fish in my pond have been lethargic. One koi in particular is just sticking near the waterfall and not swimming around much. Couple of others are also near the waterfall but have been occasionally moving around but also flashing. I also have few gold fish and all of them are looking fine.

      I did the water tests and all levels including ammonia, nitrate, nitrite are looking fine. The only thing I don't know is oxygen level which is likely low due to high temperatures.

      I am not sure what i should be doing. Weather is supposed to cool down in couple of days. Should i just let nature heal this or should i be doing something immediately to avert further damage to the koi. I have tried replacing water and adding pond salt. Not sure if this could be due to any parasites. Please advise.

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    2. #2
      John Doe is offline Member
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      A few questions that can help us give you an accurate answer. What is your actual water temp? What is the temp of the water you have been replacing with? How much water have you been changing? What is the approximate size (gallons) of your pond? What is your stocking rate (number of koi and size plus number of goldfish)? Also, flashing isn't something i have noticed with lower oxygen levels, that seems more parasitic in nature. Also, what were your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings?

    3. #3
      samurvi is offline Junior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by John Doe View Post
      A few questions that can help us give you an accurate answer. What is your actual water temp? What is the temp of the water you have been replacing with? How much water have you been changing? What is the approximate size (gallons) of your pond? What is your stocking rate (number of koi and size plus number of goldfish)? Also, flashing isn't something i have noticed with lower oxygen levels, that seems more parasitic in nature. Also, what were your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings?
      It has cooled down this morning. I see some of the fish are looking better now. But couple of kois are still hugging the waterfall. Here is the information:

      Pond Water temperature: 60 deg (morning)
      Replacement water temperature: Unfortunately, I don't know how much was the tap water temperature. However, I am guessing it should be close to 60 (Pond water must have been higher then).
      Size of pond: 2000 Gallons
      Changed water: 5%
      Fish population: 4 14-16 inch Kois, 9 Goldfish
      Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
      Nitrite: 0
      Nitrate: 20 ppm

      I hope this information helps to understand the situation better.

    4. #4
      Asagibottom is offline Senior Member
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      Get that Ph number too... and KH. though can pretty much tell KH is alright.

    5. #5
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      Quote Originally Posted by Asagibottom View Post
      Get that Ph number too... and KH. though can pretty much tell KH is alright.
      I don't have a KH test kit. However, I just did Ph test and it showed 6.0. However, I was not convinced of the result and
      retested after an hour and it shows 7.6 now. I probably had wrong reading in the first case.

      I also see fishing doing better today with temperature dropping down to 70s from over 100 which was persistent for 3 days.

      Do I still need to do something or will the pond fix itself with the temperature changes?
      Last edited by samurvi; 05-29-2020 at 01:50 PM.

    6. #6
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      If the fish are now acting normal, no flashing, or at least rare occasional flashing, then I would say just observe. I would also get the KH test kit. If the KH is low, the pH will swing quite dramatically from very low in early morning to quite high in late afternoon, and that is stressful. Do not add more salt as it limits the choices of parasite treatments. Typically we recommend water changes of at least 10% per week. Keep us informed.
      Zone 7 A/B
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      Richard

    7. #7
      samurvi is offline Junior Member
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      Update: Kois seem to be eating well now and are more mobile. That is an improvement as they seems disinterested in food the previous day and weren't moving at all. They still seem stressed with at least one staying near the waterfall most of the times. They are still showing some jerky movements and flashing occasionally.
      Tested PH again in the evening and there isn't any fluctuation. Weather is cooling down significantly.

      If there isn't a crisis now, what are the things I should be doing? I have ordered ProformC and should be receiving in couple of days. May be the flashing is caused by some parasites?

    8. #8
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      Quote Originally Posted by samurvi View Post
      Update: Kois seem to be eating well now and are more mobile. That is an improvement as they seems disinterested in food the previous day and weren't moving at all. They still seem stressed with at least one staying near the waterfall most of the times. They are still showing some jerky movements and flashing occasionally.
      Tested PH again in the evening and there isn't any fluctuation. Weather is cooling down significantly.

      If there isn't a crisis now, what are the things I should be doing? I have ordered ProformC and should be receiving in couple of days. May be the flashing is caused by some parasites?
      If you're considering a "shotgun" treatment with the ProformC I'd also get a package of Fluke-M
      to go ahead and treat with it too along with the last ProformC treatment.
      --Steve



      Koiphen 2021 Koi Person of the Year!

    9. #9
      ademink's Avatar
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      Do you have any additional aeration besides the waterfall?
      Andrea
      Koi Health Care Committee Member

    10. #10
      samurvi is offline Junior Member
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      @Ademink- I did not have additional aeration device earlier other than traditional 3 step waterfall. I thought the pond oxygen level was probably low due to excessive heat and hence
      bought and installed one. After installing the aerators, It has been couple of days now and all fish are completely normal now. The only thing i have been noticing after installing
      aerators is that has triggered a lot of froth in the water.

      I haven't done any treatments for the ponds since It was installed and thought it would be good to do it now given the issues seen last week.
      I have treated the pond with NOX-ICH for 2 days and will be starting the Proform-C treatment tomorrow.

      I got a KH test kit over the weekend as well and it came to 71. I believe this is on the lower side. Since i am doing the treatments now, not sure If i should
      be doing anything to take care of this.

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    11. #11
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      Check the tap water for KH to see if the required 25% water changes will increase the KH or not. KH is consumed constantly by the bio bacteria, so it is quite feasible that your water changes will increase the KH. If not, then increase the KH with the use of baking soda. There is a calculator at the top of the page that will assist you in determining the amount of baking soda. With a KH of 71, I would increase with half the amount needed to bring the KH value up 50ppm, and then the next day add that amount again, and keep an eye on it with the water changes to try to maintain a value of 150 for now.

      The large amount of froth is an indication of too much dissolve organics in the water, and increased water changes will remove them. If there has been a spawn, that will cause very heavy froth, and increased water changes are most beneficial.
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      Richard

    12. #12
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      Just checked KH again (evening): It showed only 53. Tap water showed KH of 125. I will look at recommendation on adding Baking soda.
      Also, is it safe to add Baking soda while I am treating the pond with ProformC and Nox-ICH? Wondering if I should wait till treatment is completed
      or it doesn't matter.

      Thanks to everyone and Richard and Andrea in particular. Your advise has been immensely helpful.
      Overall, forum is also a life saver for many rookies like me. Appreciate everyone's help!

    13. #13
      trapper is offline Senior Member
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      I would bring the KH up now..

    14. #14
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      Bring the KH up is not dependent on the state of the treatment for parasites. I would add the baking soda in the afternoon as the pH will be highest at that time and the impact on the pH by the baking soda will be very low.
      Zone 7 A/B
      Keep your words sweet. You never know when you may have to eat them.
      Richard

    15. #15
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      We are out in Brentwood where it hits 100 on a regular basis through the summer months. Buddy, your fish are gasping for air. Need more oxygen in the water for the hot days.

    16. #16
      samurvi is offline Junior Member
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      Unfortunately, I am back to the same problem now (:

      It is record breaking temperature again at about 103F. This time though I do have aerators with 2 airstones pumping oxygen for last 5 days.
      I still see Kois crowding around the waterfall and saw one of them jumping out of water as well once.
      Here are water parameters:

      Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
      Nitrite: 0 ppm
      PH: 8.0 (morning), 7.8 (late afternoon)
      KH: 53.7( 3 drops)
      Water temperate: 78 F
      Water is clean with not much algae and was treated with Nox-ich as per my previous posts.

      Other than KH, i don't see any major issue with water. However, even that is not causing any major PH fluctuations.

      Pond itself is about 2000 gallons with depth of 3 feet. Is it just too hot for KOIs with water not being too deep?
      One difference I see from last week is that all of them are eating food while they weren't last week.

      I am not sure what should I be doing if anything other than just wait for weather to become colder which is expected tomorrow.
      Last edited by samurvi; 06-03-2020 at 08:26 PM.

    17. #17
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      If you haven't completed the treatment with the Proform C, do so. If you have not treated with Fluke M or Prazi, do so. Get the KH up to at least 7 drops as soon as possible. If the fish are hanging head up in the waterfall area, they are having problems getting enough oxygen. That is rarely due to insufficient oxygen in the pond, but most likely due to issues with the gills. This can be due to parasites, ammonia burns, pH burns, but all of these will cause increased slime coat on the gills making oxygen transfer more difficult.
      Zone 7 A/B
      Keep your words sweet. You never know when you may have to eat them.
      Richard

    18. #18
      samurvi is offline Junior Member
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      Update:

      I had the pond contractor come in for regular maintenance which wasn't done for few years now. It seems the bottom drain was completely plugged up. After this, the water is looking much more clean up. In the process, about 50% water was changed. KH is now up to 5 drops (it was 3 earlier). All the fish are looking normal now.
      I still haven't added baking soda yet as KH is still lower. I will do that soon.

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