Fish ailments & Fish behaviour

[elemental]

Hi,
Is there a thread discussing and showing possible fish ailments?
I have a new pond, with new fish and one has been hovering on the bottom for about a week. He seems to have red patches around his gills - any help or advise please.
Also, I introduced 2 golden orf, we have a 2ft 6 waterfall and for 3 days they have been leaping from base of fall - onto the running water and swimming against the flow. One of them has disappeared altogether today
We originally filled our pond with tap water - could this be connected to the unwell fish?
Thank you in advance
Elemental.

[Naturenutz]

Hi elemental
It could be any number of reasons why your fish are acting like this. If the tap water you used has not been in the pond long this will make the fish jump. I beleive it can be chlorine aswell as other elements in the water that makes them irratated and try to escape. You can get get a water purifier to run your hose through before the water enters the pond. Also is the pond planted ? I think you may need a pond treatment because both fish seem to have signs of irritation . Some treatments cannot be used with planted ponds. Look for raised scales and redness on your fish as a sign of parasites . If the fish is lying on the bottom it could suffer from unlcers . What type of fish is the other fish on the bottom ? the more info you can give on the fish and the pond the better . I believe orfe are very fragile to water treatments aswell.
Regards
vic

[elemental]

Thanks Vic,
The pond is only a couple of weeks old, it is partly planted but I think I need a few more.
The 'ill' fish is a goldfish, we have shubunkins and other goldfish that seem to be doing really well.
I just didnt know about tap water - learning every day.It has been really exciting building it, and I guess we were a little impatient and wanted all the wildlife in there straight away!!
I now know I need to let it get settled and established more.
Thanks for your reply,
Sure I will have new questions soon!
Kay.

[Mick*]

My guess is that the problem is caused by chlorine in the water which burns the gills, this can be sorted by adding chemicals to the water. It also helps to spray water into the pond as this helps to dissipate the chlorine which is a gas.

Water straight from the tap takes anything from 8 to 10 days to naturally dissipate and a fountain would speed up the process.

Another possible problem is with the pond cycling, the fish produces waste which produces ammonia which is then attacked by bacteria and it is turned into nitrite. Nitrite is in turn attacked by other bacteria and turned into nitrate which is much safer.

Ammonia should be kept to less than 1 part per million, nitrites should be kept to less than 5 parts per million and nitrate to less than 40 parts per million.

The problem could also be caused by a parasite brought in by a new fish.

What I usually do when starting a new pond is add friendly bacteria, I have a filter. Then add a single fish at a time to reduce the spike, also feed little (twice a day) as rotten food will only add to the possible problem. Certain plants will help remove nitrate as they use it as food.

You can buy test kits to check ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels, a ph meter or test kit is also a very good idea.

Fish are thought of as being easy to keep as you just put them in water and feed them. I’ve kept fish for many years, inside and out. They are the toughest pet that I’ve ever had as they eat, poo and breathe in the same water.

Once the pond has cycled it will be much easier to keep healthy but I would advise to top up the pond weekly. In the summer you’ll just replace what has naturally been lost to either splashing or evaporation. In colder times you might have to remove some regularly and replace it. The water is good for plants so it’s not wasted.

I hope this helps.

For more information do a google for "pond nitrogen cycle" and "pond water chlorine removal."

[elemental]

Thanks Mick for so much help and info - I have googled ' pond water chlorine removal' and find it really complicated
One site was talking about water filters - some remove chlorine, some chloramine?
I have a filter running, will this remove the chlorine, or will it just balance out over time?
Sorry, a 'newbie' with little experience
I asked the man I purchased the golden orf from - he said they naturally swim upstream, that is probably why they are jumping into the flow.
The other goldfish still has the redness round his gills, a little more active - just hope he isnt suffering. As I said before, all other (12) fish seem really happy .
Thanks for your time and reply,
Keep on learning!

[Naturenutz]

Hi elemental . If you fill your pond with a hose, try to do it with a nozzle on fine spray mode as this dissapates the chlorine as stated. You can buy a unit you can fit on a wall or similar . Ask for one that removes chlorine or ask you stockist for the ideal one for yourset up. you can get extra units that remove other elements of the water as well , like metals etc. You would,nt believe the amount of elements in the water. some of these irritate the fish,get that one too if you like. The units are about 12 inches tall by 5 inches wide,not too
expensive. they contains materials
that the water passes through that extracts the chlorine. You just put the hoze in the top end and have another section of hose coming from the bottom and thats it. You may find them at a koi/fish outlet. Once you pond is settled spray mode with a hose will be fine for topping up the pond in really hot weather and no need for these units. Really you only need them for large water changes. Orfe are a shoaling fish and at least 3 fish are reckomended, more if pond allows. Be very aware about treating your pond with treatments.As i stated before , orfe are very fragile to chemical treatments and they need lots of oxygen and alot of room . Also if you have plants in your pond treatments are not often successful as plants absorb the treatments and negating thier effect on treating the fish aswell as killing some plants. Some treatments wont effect the plants or orfe , but you have to read the instructions carefully . If you ever need to treat afish it may be beneficial to treat the fish out of the pond in a large bowl , depending on the ailment. Salt is a good alround cure to many ailments,but you need to get pond salt not table salt and its best done out of the pond with the fish in a bowl and the correct amount of salt per gallon . you can overdose a fish in salt solution but i have saved a good few of my fish through a salt bath.Flukes are a nasty parasite that can kill . There are two types , skin flukes and gill flukes . its virtually impossible to diagnose your fish without seeing it in my opinion and there are many ailments other that the ones mentioned. What area of the uk are you in elemental ?

[Mick*]

Originally Posted by elemental

Thanks Mick for so much help and info - I have googled ' pond water chlorine removal' and find it really complicated
One site was talking about water filters - some remove chlorine, some chloramine?
I have a filter running, will this remove the chlorine, or will it just balance out over time?
Sorry, a 'newbie' with little experience
I asked the man I purchased the golden orf from - he said they naturally swim upstream, that is probably why they are jumping into the flow.
The other goldfish still has the redness round his gills, a little more active - just hope he isnt suffering. As I said before, all other (12) fish seem really happy .
Thanks for your time and reply,
Keep on learning!

You don't need to filter the chlorine out of the water, you can use chemicals. I'm not trying to push and particular treatment or supplier but check these out for a bit of information then shop around.

Aquasafe:

Aquatics Online UK - Aquarium Supplies, Pond, Pumps, Filters, and liners -Tetra Pond Water Treatments

Fresh Start:

Aquatics Online UK - Aquarium Supplies, Pond, Pumps, Filters, and liners -Interpet Pond Treatments

I've used this type of product and some will be more cost effective than others. You need to know how much to use for the size of your pond. Actually going to a shop and reading the labels will guide you as to how much to use and which product is more cost effective, the purchase price isn’t.

I’ve had some products which recommended a cap of product while others have recommended most of the bottle.

[elemental]

Thanks naturenutz, I live in Hampshire. Thanks Mick.
the water in my pond seems to be sorting itself out - looks like pond water anyway! and all the fish seem fine apart from that one.
I have loads of damsels and one dragonfly so far - just waiting for the frogs to move in.
I have attached a pic of 'Nochs" (the poorly fish - my grandson named him), he does seem to be a bit more active in last couple of days, and actually swimming with the others a bit. Do you think he can recover from this?
Thanks again

Well, tried to attach pic - then saw we cant post our own images? How do you show each other your ponds etc?

[ollyk]

Personally I think you need to join a pond / aquarium forums mate as these folk will have specific experience in this field. Red gills is normally healthy it is brown gills you need to be wary of. Normally I think red streaking under the skin could be blood poisoning.
If the pond is new then maybe adding the fish so early and fast with imature filter media meant ammonia levels are dangerously high. When the Nbacs work clear the ammonia the next problem is Nitrites. I only know all this as I have a tropical tank and the principles are the same.

Try PFK or fishforums.net amongst many others for some top advice!

[froglet]

here is the link .It is the best forum i have ever seen,and there is loads of friendly advice from friendly people.(including myself!!)

Practical Fishkeeping Forum

oh and in case you don't see the other post,if you care about fish,anyone,please help us get the required number of signatures on this petition

Petition to: impose a ban upon giving goldfish as prizes. | Number10.gov.uk

thanks margaret