midnightwolf

hi everyone in case you didnt know i have a nice 90g pond in my backyard with what was 7 goldfish but they are dying 1 by 1, we now only have 3!!! i checked the water and these are my results using an API freshwatewr master test kit.

nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
ammonia: 0
pH: 7.4

its all normal and my fish dont show signs of being sick but they still die. what should i do all i have to move them into is a stocked 55g tank and a 10g with 2 minnows in it. should i move them into the 10g they are about 6 in long but one of them is only 2in. another thing is they dont eat only the tiny one does could that be why they are dying, please help me.

please help before another one dies

MissMTS

I am so sorry you have lost so many of your goldies How long has the pond been established? How long have the goldfish been in the pond? How old is your test kit? Does your pond have plants in it? Does it have a pump or a filter? You really shouldn't be getting a nitrate reading of zero. If you can answer those questions for me, I can help you pinpoint what is wrong.

Lucy

I'm really sorry about your goldfish
Not much info to go on.
Being that it's outside could some kind of contaminate have been introduced to the pond?
3 6" goldies wouldn't last long in a 10g, I'm afraid.
If you want to move them a huge Rubbermaid tote might do the trick.

midnightwolf

the pond has been established for about 4 months and the fish were just introduced about a month ago. my test kit is only about 5 months old and works great and yes my pond has plants in it wich is why the nitrate is at 0. we have a filter type thing thet carries the clean water into a small waterfall. hope thei helps you. oh and Lucy we dont use pesticieds but our neiboors do so maybe the rain we had a few days ago could have carried it into our pond but other than that i really dont know. if i use a large bin or somthing as a quarentine for them would it need a filter because i dont have the time or money to buy one.

Lucy

You'd have to add at the very minimum an airstone and treat it like an uncycled tank, daily water changes.

midnightwolf

well then i will see if my mom can take me to petco tomorrow so i can get an airstone

Lucy

Remember, that's only going to be a temp. fix for a few days.

gremlin

I would actually recommend leaving the fish in the pond and doing a good water change. The rain could very well have washed something into the pond. Are you sure the fish are not eating? What are you feeding them? Is there moss in the pond or on the plants that they could be eating? Do you have any pics of the setup? What is the water temperature?

midnightwolf

i feed them goldfish flakes but i come back later in the day and none are gone, yes ther is algae in the pond that they could possibly be eating. i will get a pic as soon as i can but im not sure of the temp. we dont have a heater.

gremlin

You don't need a heater for goldfish. I would suggest not using the flake food. They are probably eating the algae and so are not super hungry. The flake food would disintegrate and cause an ammonia spike that could be bothering the fish. I would recommend a floating pellet instead of the flakes. The pellets don't disintegrate as fast and they float just under the surface of the water so the goldies aren't gulping as much air when they suck in the food. I don't have to feed my goldies at all since they eat the algae. I give them pellets every so often just as a treat. They have learned that when people are over the pond, they might get some goodies. It is fun for the little kids that come by to be able to feed the fishies and watch them come up for a treat. In the early morning, the goldies will all line up along the water's edge to munch on the moss growing along the edge of the pond.

midnightwolf

at first we feed them pellets and they ate those but our neiboors dog always runs through our backyard and got into their food and we havnt had time to get more, oh and another fish died today the white one so now we only have the 6in orange one and the white and orange 2 in one should i move them into my 10g and preform a WC every few days?

gremlin

Since they are used to the pellets, they may not know the flakes are food. They won't survive in the 10 gallon. If you feel that you must move them, then I would suggest a very large rubbermaid tub with a filter and airstone and daily water changes. Do the fish act normal? Can you tell if there is any fungus or parasites or red gills or red veins or anything? Pics of the pond and of the fish would help to see if there is anything wrong. You said the neighbor's dog gets in your yard - could the dog be getting in the pond and injuring the fish?

Sharkitty

Are you sure they are dying in the pond and not being eaten? That's where our pond fish go - into the mouths of blue heron, king fishers, hawks, and racoons . . .

ABCDemily

I'm no expert with ponds. Maybe some chemicals leached in from the garden? Pesticides, herbicides etc. I'd check to see what was used recently. Ant killer can be a bit nasty as well, as far as I know. Just check around, ask family to see what chemicals were used in the garden. Sorry about your goldie loss

midnightwolf

yes the fish act very normal and i cant find anything wrong with them no white spots or red gills or anything my camera isnt working but i will get pics soon. oh and the dog hasnt got into the pond or any other preditors because we have a net over the pond.

gremlin

Are you finding the dead fish or are they disappearing? I still think something may have washed in with the rain...the smaller ponds are prone to more problems from "toxic rain" than the larger ones. If it hasn't rained for a while and then we get a good rain storm, I usually do a 50% (or more) water change just to get the dirty rain water out of the pond. I will also sometimes add a dose of melafix just to give the fish a boost.

midnightwolf

we find the fish nothing is eating them i will do a water change tomorrow.

gremlin

Did the water look kind of cloudy after the rain?

cerianthus

Good possibility that some kind of contaminants somehow found its way into pond or maybe, just maybe high temp during daytime, especially shallow pond regardless of volume of water?

midnightwolf

yes the pond is always muddy after rain and my pond is about 3 ft deep so i dont think the temp. has anything to do with it.

gremlin

Being muddy after a rain tells me that something probably got washed in - some type of chemical or smog out of the air or something...Doing a major water change (at least 75% with a water conditioner such as Prime) after a rainstorm, especially if it hasn't rained for a while, should keep this situation from happening again. Did you do a water change yet? Are you still losing fish?

midnightwolf

well the fish just kept dying even after the WC so i moved the 2 remaining ones into my 10g and they are doing great feeding them goldfish flakes and doing a WC every couple of days.