Each spring I seem to have trouble with sick fish. One of my koi has some pinkish tinged skin and looks kind of dumpy although she did eat some today. (first light feed of the spring.)
I have several dormant plants in the pond. My question is would it be advisable to add salt and do a partial water change now to help my fish and would it bother the plants? I could take the plants out if necessary but it wouldn't be easy.
I ordered my new UV light bulbs and they should be here by Thursday (3 days from now) and am thinking they will help.
I would appreciate any input. Thanks. Helen
sick fish
Hi Helen,
Over the years I have had good luck with Proform-C. I think Carolyn uses Microblift-PL. There are a lot of choices on the market but I stick to what I've had experience with. It is a pain to do water changes between ea. application but hey if it works that's what counts. I did 90% water change first day, 25% second day and third day. For my size pond took 3 1/4 ozs. per 1,000 gals. I need to be more faithful with monthly treatment of a clarifier, parasite inhibitor etc. I just ordered some summer blend, sludge remover and medzyme. Hoping to keep those parasite buggers out of the pond.
Forgot to mention you can't use salt while treating with Proform-C but when it wears off I am going to salt the pond. Already did smaller pond.
If your fish gets to looking worse I would take it out of pond and quaranteen it alone and treat with a bacteria fighter like melafix or pimafix. I am well acquainted with setting up sick tanks.
Be sure to cover them with screen or something to keep them from jumping out. Lost some that way also. Wouldn't hurt to treat your whole pond to help all the fish from getting sick. I had to treat whole pond as fish in there are so big I had no place to put just a few of them. I have 2 sick tanks. Rubbermaid from Tractor Supply. 1 is just 30 gals. Other is 150 gals.
Sure come in handy. I put aeration into them plus filter on side like you see on a large aquarium. It's effort but sometimes you just have to try to nurse them back to health or bury them. I wish you luck with treating them.
Bonnie
Thank you so much for this great information. I found Microblift PL at a near by store and will get it in the water today. I will change out some water and flush the filter too. Its time to get the pond up and running again. I think next year I will do more maintenance during the winter, something I don't usually bother with and I am now paying the price.
Helen
You may also want to consider salting the pond to restore fishes clime coat. I use regular plain old water softner salt NO ADDITIVES. Comes in blue bag from Walmart or places like Tractor Supply also probably Lowe's or Home D. I used to just throw some in, now I know better. I dissolve it in a 5 gal. bucket and then pour in around pond edges. Wish I could remember amount per gals but I forget so put that on here as question. Merry Mary will answer or look it up on your PC. Don't over due it as it will kill plants.
Helpful site KoiCrisis.com or Aqua Meds.com. Aqua has lots of good info. I've been ponding for 6 years and still have a lot to learn so I research all the time.
Bonnie
Thanks Bonnie for the good advise. I did a 1/3 water change and use Microblift-PL. I got some Paracide Green too but haven't used it yet. Not sure if I should put it on top of the Microblift. My new UV bulbs are suppose to be delivered tomorrow so that should help. The fish are more irritated at this point than in a crisis.
Maybe you need to call where you got Microblift from and check before adding anything else. Sometimes directions on containers aren't too specific.
I have UV clarifiers on both ponds and they sure do a good job. When adding some water treatments you have to turn UV off so it doesn't kill good bacteria. Containers usually tell you that if necessary.
I've been all afternoon netting up leaves out of both ponds. Now I see the oaks are starting to bloom and those little wormy things will also fall into ponds. Oh well keeps me busy.
Good luck with your pond an fish.
Oh Bonnie....the oak blossoms are the worst! They just gunk up the filters!!
I've ordered a sludge remover and have a pond vac. so maybe I can keep it in good shape.
I try.
It's really time for me to move on to getting pool prepped for painting which is no small task. It's wonderful to not be bored. LOL
Pool emptied. 20X40 and 10 feet to 3 1/2 feet. It's very old so it's hard to maintain a decent surface. Thank God it's screened.
Try to upload pic.
I bought one of the floating skimmers, to see if it can help keep up with the mess. We'll see if it works! You just plug it in, and put it where you need it most. One corner seems to get more of the mess, so I'll let it float around there.
Merry Mary, I got these: http://www.amazon.com/Floating-Pond-Skimmer-1100-GPH/dp/B00BKP8Q46/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1393425307&sr=8-3&keywords=pond+skimmers
I had to take out the little filter because it caused it to clog too quickly but it works really well without it and it gathers leaves etc that float in the pond. I recommend them but check what size you are ordering because I got one and decided to get another and realized I payed the same amount for a much smaller one the first time I bought.
Bonnie are the pictures of your swimming pool? turned into a pond? Thats huge! I suppose you could take a dip into it even if its been converted to a koi pond. But maybe not a good idea? What a lot of water. Yikes. Must be fun and keep you busy for sure. ^_^
That's the one I just got! (but on ebay they were $56 with free shipping)
I'm hoping it will just eliminate half of what sinks to the bottom. I don't mind dumping the basket every morning when I feed the fish, I think it's a good trade over the full pond clean out!
:)
Helen, pictures are of the pool emptied waiting to be pressure washed. If it gives me a lot more trouble it may become a fish pond or a large planter. My husb. has always wanted to fill it with dirt as he has no interest in swimming in it.
Mary,
Please let me know your opinion of the floating skimmer. I have looked at them due to the heavy load of leaves I have. Both ponds have in ground skimmers which block up very fast and have to be dipped at least twice a day away from the entrance. Charlie put hardware cloth across both of them cause fish were going in and couldn't get out but it does let some leaves go inside. When I was skimmer baskets filtration pads they are loaded with leaves.
Any help would be worth the investment.
Thanks for all your info.
Helen
How is your fish doing? Is he feeling any better?
The fish are doing better after I dosed the with Paracide Green. I left town and haven't dose them again but will later this week. I also think the water change and Microblift-PL helped perk them up. I got my UV lights and need to get them in the pond too. I think they are all going to make it without problem. Thanks for asking. ^_^
So glad to hear that Helen.
I have my uv lights on order, but haven't received them yet. I think it is going to be a bit before I need them ^_^
Good news Helen about ;your pond and fish. I have put in summer blend and today sludge remover so maybe we are all on our way to healthy ponds and fish. My water is testing out good and hope yours is too.
I'm sure you will see a difference in water clarity using a UV. They are great. One of my bulbs just gave out before the year was up but I had a backup on hand so put it in right away.
Carolyn & Merry Mary recommended them to me so got them on both ponds.
Carolyn I am hoping for an early spring for you. Your winter has really been rough.
Happy ponding all. Bonnie
Any feed back on the floating skimmer? I have a large Mesquite tree over my pond. It's a mess for about 3 months a year. This sounds too good to be true!
Hi Fish,
Good to hear from you again. I checked out the size of the "bowl" on them and for as many leaves as I have don't think it would be much help. I'd have to dump it every few minutes.
Hope your well and happy.
Bonnie
They do work well, but are small, so yes, you will have to dump the collection bin quite often. I do it every morning when I walk around with my coffee, and possibly once again in the evening when I feed my fish. It's not at all hard to do, but during the part of the season where you have tons of leaf drop, you'll have to stay on top of it. But then, I guess it's doing what it's supposed to do, eh? :)
The Mesquite leaves are about 1/4 inch so it sounds like it would work for me. I can see if you were dealing with larger leaves it may not work as well. I just bought a new Oase pond vac 4. The one I had for 10 years finally gave out. It would be nice to catch the leaves before they sink to the bottom :(
Thousands of tiny leaves stuck to the bottom in algae is a bummer, even with a spiffy new vacuum.
Thank you for the feed back!
I have two floating skimmers as described above. They work great, even for big leaves. I took the small foam filter out of the bottom because it would clog quickly and was messy to clean. I suppose another filter pad could be configured that would be easier to clean and allow more flow.
I took my foam filter out as well. It clogged to easily for a "skimmer".
Fish,
Thats the kind of pond vac. I bought this year. Works great on dirt but my leaves don't suck up very much. They are oak. I net lots off from the top and bottom. Oh well they have to stop dropping sometime. I only have 1 empty elec. outlet left out by pond. Can only run couple of things at a time without triping a breaker and UV and pump have to be on all the time. They get first choice. I'm lucky to not have piles of sludge on the bottom. I get lots of dirt but it vacs right up. Now I have the ponds on a regular regimen of summer blend and I can see clearer right to the bottoms which is best if you want to watch your fish. To me they are restful to watch especially the big ones in larger pond. They move so slow its funny they even eat slow. Smaller ones in old pond eat like pigs and have their own feeding frenzy.
I'll bet floating skimmer would work really well with your small leaves.
I've been vac. ponds every time I clean the filtration pieces which is usually once a month. I don't let the leaves stay on the bottom very long though cause they would decay into mud. Very little algae on rocks but the Oase will suck that off with small tool. I used to wade in and scrub it off with wire brush. I really wanted vac for leaves but it doesn't do so good at that or else I'm doing someting wrong.
Good luck with yours.
Leaves have eased up a bit at dropping but the oak blooms (look like little catapillars only green) are really making a mess. I go right down inside of skimmers to vacuum them away from pumps. Just put a new pump on old pond and don't want to have to do it again right away. Luckily it came from Pentair Aquatic water Systems so it was still under warranty. Charlie and Jeff drove over picked it up at counter came home and installed right away. I called to have it ready for them. I know they aren't a low price company but their service is good and only an hours ride from home.
MM I know you meant to save me money but that bird netting just didn't work. Spaces to large and leaves went right thru so I am determined that before dropping season next year I will have some finer netting and on a frame to fit ponds. I scoop about 3 times a day to TRY to keep ponds clear of falling leaves. You must be scooping them out too. What a job!
Will try to be better prepared next year.
Bonnie
My skimmer has been in for almost a week. I LOVE it! Just wish I had it a month ago when 100 bajjillion leaves fell in the pond. Next are the fuzzy pollen things, what a mess and then the seed pods. I got the one that is a little larger, I think the basket is 7 inches across. It's strong enough for leaves but it wasn't a problem for minnows or frogs :)
That's great Fish. Nature really throws us some curves to deal with. I'll have to consider a floating skimmer. You sound like you have more stuff dropping than we do.
Meant to tell M. Mary. Charlie found 2 eastern bluebird babies the other day leaving one of his nest boxes. Also, we had 2 new sandhill crane babies for a few days. One has disappeared as usual and 1 is still with us. They swim in the canal and there are gators in there. The circle of life! Can't sing it.
Fishy - I really like having a skimmer too.
Bonnie - if you can put a skimmer in, I would. It would really help you out. We did put ours in after the pond had been in for a couple of years, so you could add one. By the way - that song is now going through my head. ^_^
Bonnie! I've never seen a sand hill crane baby! How cool is that that you have them around your place! I love the adult birds!
Bluebird babies....I'm so glad they found your home to be their home too! I get cardinals, and that's about it, but love them anyway.
I've been dealing with oak blossoms and camphor trees (they drop shell caps off of their new buds) for the past 2 weeks. Empty the skimmers twice a day. Pain in the behind, but it's just what you have to do when you have a pond!
FishKnees...I added the floating skimmer and love how much it does! Such a welcome addition, though I need to put in a bigger one for the new pond. What a help it's been.
Pulled my umbrella palm from the pond and split it in to chunks. They grow so fast.
Carolyn, Charlie put skimmers on both ponds when they were first built and our pumps are down inside of them. Think I need a floating skimmer too.
M. Mary yesterday Charlie was working down in the pasture and the baby sandhill got stuck down in a bull hole so Charlie went to it to lift it out until momma came after him and rescued her baby herself. They are hard to photograph But will try and get you a pic. The parents immediately take baby away when we get near.
Also, where can you buy a larger floating skimmer? All the ones I looked at were just 7" for catch basin. I'd have to clean that out every 1/2 hour. I sure don't envy you having a camphor tree near ponds.
Bonnie - now I get it. I thought you didn't have a skimmer when you were asking for a floating skimmer.
Love to see pics of the crane.
Bonnie, I got both of my floating skimmers off of ebay (which is where I get most of what I own!) I'm also getting my large "in pond" skimmer from ebay, to try to keep ahead of the game!
In both in ground skimmers I have good filtration material in their baskets plus extra on top of that. I try to protect the pumps from cruding up. Pump we just replaced was only 2 yrs. old. I guess they don't have a very long life. It was under warranty so I didn't have to pay for it so I made sure new one had 3 yr. warranty on it also.
Can't put floating skimmer on old pond. No more electrical outlets left but 1 on big pond which goes into use for pumping out to change water and also when I vacuum it. I could run one for a while on larger pond. Maybe that would help some.
I'm taking a break from pressure washing pool again. Paint chips are all over the place. I PW and then pump over and over. Now I'm ready to take shop vac down in and get last bit of water and debris out. It is supposed to rain so I'll be pumping again. Surface has to dry out completely before any paint can go on and remain dry for at least 4 hrs. after. Pool and deck are both getting 2 coats. I keep praying for energy. Climbing in and out of pool wares me out.
Don't think this is going to happen again.
I'll check out floating skimmers on e-bay when I get the chance.
MM, I hope your making progress with your pond on the days it's not raining. Life gets in the way of our hobbies sometimes. You will succeed just keep on keeping on.
Helen
How are your fish doing? Are they feeling better?
Carolyn, my fish seem fine. I dose them several times with medication and so far to good. Thanks for asking.
BTW, I like the way this thread has taken off into different directions. Always interesting.
I have been reading up lately about germinating some lotus seed I have around. My big lotus died last year. I think the pot had gotten too small and my attempts to repot didn't go to well. But no problem. I am just going to look forward and see if I can start some new plants.
Helen
Helen
I saw on the other site where several people were getting lotus seeds to germinate.
Glad your fish are doing well. I have yet to see the condition of mine when I get things going. Seems like it is taking forever!
If you can get a peice of lotus root, instead of seed, it usually goes better. If I split mine this year, I'd be happy to give you some.
Thank you MerryMary. I would love a piece of your lotus. Let me know what I need to do.
Helen
I am having trouble finding a good submersible pump. I purchased one from 123 ponds.com which was defective. It was replaced after a two month discussion. I had to buy a cheap replacement pump in the meantime. I have the same problem with the second pump. Any suggestions.
I have had this pump for years (knock on wood) and it works great. I got nervous as some point and got a spare to keep for back up but so far I haven't have to use the second one.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=5163+5164+20126&pcatid=20126
Update on the fish - I continued to have water quality problems all spring. I left town for about 5 days in May and my house sitter was unable to recognize my fish were suffering. They got much worse when I was gone. Unfortunately two of my biggest fish died within 2 days of my return. My attempts to correct the problems when I got home were futile.
Finally I got my water in good shape so maybe I had too many fish in the pond. I also think I was flushing my filter too often and not letting the good bacteria develop a colony. But now things seem fine and the water is almost crystal clear. Live and learn. Ponding is a fun challenge.