Question about sick pond goldfish... Mmm, and Pond Circ., Filtr., Maint.    8/7/06
Hi - I could not find the answer to my question on your web site and hope you can help.
   <Will try>
  We have a natural outside pond. It is under shade all day and has much foliage around it but none in it other than the occasional foliage which drops in from around the pond.  The pond measures aprox. 26 ft by 14 ft by 4 ft deep.  It is always clear and is fed from the runoff of our spring box.
<How nice!>
The water is constant circulating and has a pipe in the middle of the pond to control overflow.
<Mmm, I would "sleeve" this... put a pipe over this one, notched at the bottom... to "force" "old water" and silt from the bottom rather than venting newer water from the surface>
  There is a dirt bottom and a layer of leaves.  Also at the bottom is a very small spring which additionally feeds the pond.
<Great>
    I am not sure how old the pond is, we have lived here 5 years and it was here when we bought the home.  The only upkeep is the removal of leaves every 2 years or so.    The current gold fish we have in the pond have been there 3 years.  We originally had five.
<No reproduction? Odd...>
Just this past year, around the beginning of spring we lost one fish and now, recently, a second.    The goldfish both measured about 6 to 8 inches long.   Prior to dying, they both became lethargic
and kept themselves close to the edge of the pond.  Resting themselves there and not swimming around at all.   They also lost many of their scales and where the scales were, there was "fuzz".  
   <Perhaps... secondary... decomposition>
  We are worried there may be a disease or parasite in the pond.
<Mmm, not likely... or at least not likely a primary cause/source of mortality here. Much more likely is some sort of environmental complaint... most easily addressed with the added "sleeve" over your standpipe mentioned above...>
  We are also concerned that the problem may be at the source spring.
<Mmm, yes... and/or some bit of decomposition in the "overburden"... the unconsolidated "ooze" at the bottom... again, best addressed with the sleeve, periodic increased (over)flow from rain...>
  This is concerning because we use the water from this spring for our home use.  It is a separate spring box pumped to our home but the overflow from this spring feeds the pond.  
   <Mmm... Am sure you have particulate and chemical treatment to make this safe, potable... If it were me/mine, I would make use of a reverse osmosis device for potable uses... adding a "booster" pump for need pressure if required...>>
  Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.   Thank you.   
  J.M.
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Pond Vacuuming, Water changes   7/31/06
Hi there,
This is a fantastic site.  You guys were really helpful helping me combat the Ick in my pond, and figuring out how I might top it off  
without extreme temperature fluctuations.
<Ah, good>
I will be getting a drip nozzle for my hose.  Now I have a couple more questions that I can't find answers to in the articles.
Here's what I have:
1200 gal. pond.
In its second summer.
3 large goldfish (6-8")  and 2 smaller Koi. 2-3"
Several water lilies, water hyacinths, water lettuce, and a couple other plants.  Frogs and turtles have found their way into it so I  
figure it's pretty healthy.
<Likely so>
I have a pressurized filter and a waterfall filter.
My water tests very well daily in all areas.
After the Ick spots fell off, I realized some of those "spots" must have been the beginning of something else, because now
they are "bumps" and some have 1/2 inch "threads" extruding from them.
<... Lernaea...>
I'm assuming it's a parasite.  
<Yes... Likely "Anchorworm"... should be treated... with DTHP or Dimilin... See WWM re these terms...>
The fish, however, seem happy, behave normally, don't scratch (yet) and eat well.
I purchased Jungle's  Parasite Guard, which recommends a 25% water change before putting it in.
Here's where I'm confused.  What exactly constitutes a Pond water change?
<Some percentage of the volume removed, replaced with new>
And how often am I supposed to do them.  
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/pdmaint.htm
and the linked files above>
Do I vacuum water out with the Pond-o-Vac 2  I bought?  
<Likely this is just a vac-tool for removing trash... better to vent "bad water" along with sediment...>
I've only used it once because it only seemed to stir mud/silt/dirt up and make the water dirtier.  The pond's only in its second summer,
so how much muck could be in there?
<Little to a bunch...>
And what exactly constitutes "muck"?
<Oooohhh, good question... can be little more than accumulated "dust" dirt that is blown in... but usually leaves, algal accumulation, unconsolidated wastes...>
And how is it different than regular decomposed leaves, etc.
<Mmm... more nutrient-laden, denser...>  
I put netting over in the fall.   How much dirt and silt am I trying to get out off the sides and bottom?
<Mmm, about half to 90 percent or so... a bit at a time, during the warm/er months...>
I read that some was beneficial "algae" (it's not green)  and helps balance the pond.  
<Yes>
My pond water is not supposed to look like aquarium water, right?
<Correct. "Cleanliness is not sterility">
Also, if I change 25% of the water,  how do I keep from creating another 3-5 degree fluctuation in temperature and not stress the  
fish?  
<Do on warm days... see WWM re... and drip/refill the system down the falls...>
I don't want to wait too long before treating them for the parasite.  Can you please advise?   Thanks.    --Judy
<Use the search tool on WWM for the chemical and organism names listed above. Much to relate re cautionary, related data. Bob Fenner>

Water changes - I love em! Very nice pond article by Spike   6/8/06
Hi,
<Hello there>
FYI, I wrote the attached article which ran in KOI USA not too long ago.  I love water changes for fish health.  So we're certainly on the
same page here.
Best,
Spike
<Very nice! Spike, is there a place I/we might link to your article so folks could see/gain by reading? Would you like to sell it to WWM (non-exclusive use) for posting? BobF>

Re: Water changes - I love em!   6/8/06
Hi Bob,
<Spikester>
I gave it to a good friend in England and he posted it on his site.  I suspect he would let you link to it.
<Oh, certainly... it is "the web" after all...>
I'd want nothing for it.
<I salute you>
  If Duncan Griffiths (site owner) allows it, you can link to it for free or just post it on your site (credit to KOI USA as a reprint or however
that's done).  I'll CC Duncan so he's in the loop.
Best,
Spike
See: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/duncan.griffiths/Water%20changes.pdf
<Will gladly do both... would post as well if I knew how to get around the Adobe .pdf issue. Do you have a non .pdf copy to post/share? BobF>

Re: Water changes - I love em!   6/9/06
hi guys
sorry about the tardy reply i was gonna answer but lost my connection last night
yes  by all means  link to the article,.....  link to it here
http://www.koiquest.co.uk/Water%20changes.pdf
koiquest site and forum is by far the master site now  www.koiquest.co.uk
and www.koiquest.co.uk/forum
cheers
dunc
<Thanks much. Bob Fenner>
Re: Winter Water Changes/ pond?
Hello Mr. Fenner,
Thanks for your advice in the past (see below e-mail), and for the
continuous content that is added to your web-site.
<You're welcome>
One thing that I never followed up with, was your last piece of advice
on the below e-mail about doing water changes in the warmer months.
Recently, I've looked in my little barrel pond, and noticed lots of
bio waste in the bottom of the pond. Living in San Jose, California,
the water hasn't gotten much colder than 46 degrees, and it's normally
around 50 these days, with a +/- 6 degree difference. Why wouldn't one
perform water changes in the winter (okay, unless the pond was frozen).
<Hard on the animals, other life there when their metabolisms are impugned... some possibility of gas-embolism "disease": emphysematosis... A very good idea to store the to-be-used new water outside for a week or so before use... to outgas, allow sanitizer to dissipate>
Are there pros and cons to doing this? I currently have 2 comets, 2
shubunkin,
and 1 small koi, all in the 3" - 4" category. For the most part they are
active,
and I'm not feeding, unless the temperature warms up past 52 degrees, and
stays
in that range for a few days at a time. If I do feed, it is wheat-germ
pellets.
Thanks again.
Calvin Nieh
<Bob Fenner>

Pond Water Changes
Help! I have a small fiberglass pond in the back yard. The fish seem to be getting some type of scale/algae/spots on them? I realize this isn't very clear as to what the problem is but I am not sure myself, we have been fighting an algae problem and are thinking this is how this played into the problem. If we go in and remove the fish, clean out the tank...how do we put the fish back in the water without putting the old water into the tank and w/o sending the fish into shock? Any suggestions? Thank you in advance for any advice.
Holly
<Please do read through the "Pond Index" on our site: www.WetWebMedia.com concerning maintenance and algae control... your pond may be such a small size that it would be better to only change about half at any given time to avoid shocking the livestock (and system itself) You might benefit from addition of non-iodized salt (a few teaspoons a day for a week) to help your fish and hurt the algae... Do you have any test gear for measuring water quality in your pond? Bob Fenner>