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  1. #1
    Junior Member Rank = Fry Acidid's Avatar
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    OMG ! I think ive killed all my fish

    Where do i start? I just want to warn anyone out there of the importance of proper shut down maintenance when cleaning or renovating a pond.
    About six weeks ago, I decided to make alterations to my pond. I felt the Koi were outgrowing it and the goldfish were becoming too numerous with natural spawning having taken place over the last ten years. My dream was to have a pond that was big enough to cater for a few more select Koi with a surface area large enough to view the fish even when indoors from our conservatory.
    Well I wish I hadn't started the job, Although now complete the incorrect shutting down of the pond and filter prior to works I believe have caused so much contamination that I have ended up killing all but two of my Koi. Sanke, Kohaku, Ogon, Utsuri, and Showa not fantastic fish but over 12 yrs old and all approx. 20". I think not draining down the pond filter properly has caused the water to stagnate, Pseudomonas has then developed and on refilling the pond after the refurb subsequent weeks has shown symptom after symptom. The fish became very unwell, off food, clamped fins sinking to bottom, turning upside down, body and fins reddening (blood red), loss of slime coat, eyes clouding over and the last two now have fin rot !!! you speak of it I have had it in my pond. Strange thing is it has only effected the Koi ? I have Salted the pond to .3% at times I have used formaldehyde, Anti-bacteria, Virasure, Pond Doctor all to no avail. I think the only solution would have been anti biotic shot, but I would be interested to know anyone that has a UK vet at hand willing to inject or provide anti biotics like Baytril or equivalent. The loss of fish at anytime is never a happy one but to lose them all at once is devastating. Now im afraid ill never know if the water is clear of any disease or bacteria. I have changed water and carried out partials for the last two weeks and really want to restock with some small Koi ready for next year. Any advice would be greatly appreciated from you fellow koi keepers.



  2. #2
    This is really sad story - you have all my sympathy for your loved koi lost.

    I am very far from claiming being an expert - you may want to turn to real experts like Feline / Lara or Manky Sanke / Syd for advice, but for sure the starting point needs to be to know what were your water parameters - prior, during and after the pond refurbishment - what was the quality of water your koi were kept at - and how long - main parameters would be Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, KH, GH and pH - together with water temperature at all stages - to start with. Also did you do any scrapes from the fish - and were there any parasites found?

    How long were your filters out of service - completely out of water - or did you kept at least some circulation and aeration in your filters when redoing your pond? As if out of water for anything longer than say one day, the good bacteria simply died out - and if you started feeding right after re-filling your pond, your water parameters would probably show you new pond syndrome step by step - Ammonia peak, followed by Nitrites peak and than slow rise of Nitrates - sign of properly cycled bio-filtration - and if you have not acted accordingly, this new pond syndrome might have been all what lead to your koi loss.

    Is there a chance that some toxic compounds might have leaked into your pond - like fresh concrete, fresh paint, chemically treated wood etc. - as all these might have added up.

    Bottom line - something for sure went fatally wrong - now you should try - step by step to identify, what might have been the root cause behind your loss.

    Before you will look into pond disinfection lets try to identify what was the root cause - otherwise you will be trying to use shotgun approach versus focusing on elimination of the root cause.

    Just my five cents - but again I am not an expert ....
    You get what you pay for - or better - what you make yourself.

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  4. #3
    Junior Member Rank = Fry Acidid's Avatar
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    Many thanks for your speedy reply. I really appreciate it. Unfortunately I do not have data regards water quality before the refurb but suffice to say all my standard checks for ph, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite never intimated on a problem and the water clarity was crystal clear. As I said the koi were about 12 yr old and have always been in good health. I had consultant out when I had lost a couple to try and identify the cause he carried out in depth examination including microscopic, and water tests all proved inconclusive with no pathogens, bacteria or parasites showing up. When do you think it will be safe to add new fish? Filters were out of action for two weeks I left with water in, the fish were kept in temporary lined tank made from 8x4 sheets they seemed perfectly happy although the water did go black as I never had it filtered but aerated. They did continue to feed.
    Last edited by Acidid; 24-10-2018 at 07:37 PM.

  5. #4
    I have found this web resource quite informative and with rational approach to koi keeping - try their koi symptoms diagnosis to narrow down possible root cause:
    https://hanoverkoifarms.com/koi-symptom-diagnosis

    There are many more interesting and helpful articles at their web site.

    Alternatively there are very experienced koi keepers at this forum - always willing to help - maybe someone lives close to you so you can agree on visit and pond inspection - it is impossible to diagnose properly over internet only...

    Let us know what it will lead you to.....

    Good luck!

    Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
    You get what you pay for - or better - what you make yourself.

  6. #5
    I recently asked my vet if they had ever injected koi before, he looked puzzled and said you can't do that.... can you? I told him if I showed him how to do it would he. He was not keen on the idea but was very willing to provide it for me, a few days later a Bottle of baytril arrived and was given to me no problems.

    I did ask them if it was a problem to provide people with it and was told it's up to the vet. I thought It would be difficult to get but he was more than willing to help.

  7. #6
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Hassai koinewbie's Avatar
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    Hi if you closed down your filter for two weeks you've killed all the good bacteria in your system. If you left the water in the filter for two weeks then it must have been rancid & foul & full of VERY bad bacteria. If you then let that into the pond it's no wonder you had these deaths. You also kept feeding them compounding the problems even more as they produced more waste that wasn't being filtered out. If you were locked in a toilet for two weeks & had to eat & sleep in there I bet you'd be ill too.
    Sorry but I can't believe what im reading.

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