Trees and Koi Ponds

[hippo]

Evening Folks

Like a couple of others on the forum , I have an issue with my fish being lethargic , not eating and flashing .

After checking for just about every impurity I can think of , and repeatedly scraping , nothing has yet been found .

I`m scratching my head trying to come up with an answer , so I`m wondering if anyone has had problems with surrounding trees , causing sickness to their fish .

We have several large trees planted on neighbouring properties , including Oak , Hawthorn , Elder and Sycamore , which always seem to be dropping something into the pond , which isn`t covered . With the high winds we had today , there was quite a tot of leaves and pollen going in .

Anybody had any problems , which might cause such behaviour ?

[Frimley Koi keeper]

Not 100% sure but I seem to remember reading recently that acorns are harmful to some animals? I did find a list of potentially harmful plants showing what part of them was an issue.

[davethefish1]

Evening Folks

Like a couple of others on the forum , I have an issue with my fish being lethargic , not eating and flashing .

After checking for just about every impurity I can think of , and repeatedly scraping , nothing has yet been found .

I`m scratching my head trying to come up with an answer , so I`m wondering if anyone has had problems with surrounding trees , causing sickness to their fish .

We have several large trees planted on neighbouring properties , including Oak , Hawthorn , Elder and Sycamore , which always seem to be dropping something into the pond , which isn`t covered . With the high winds we had today , there was quite a tot of leaves and pollen going in .

Anybody had any problems , which might cause such behaviour ?

if you suspect contamination,
you could try putting a bag of pelletised carbon in your filters.

i usually put a bag in the top of the shower a week or so after finishing any treatments,
to mop up any residual chemicals....

[Frimley Koi keeper]

if you suspect contamination,
you could try putting a bag of pelletised carbon in your filters.

i usually put a bag in the top of the shower a week or so after finishing any treatments,
to mop up any residual chemicals....

Hopefully this isn't a stupid question Dave! How long do you leave it there? It doesn't dissolve into the water surely?

[Frimley Koi keeper]

Not the list I was looking for Colin but it does mention oak as a poisonous tree.

Take a look at this site

https://pondinformer.com/plants-toxic-to-pond-fish/

[davethefish1]

Hopefully this isn't a stupid question Dave! How long do you leave it there? It doesn't dissolve into the water surely?

i tend to leave it in about a week or so, as once i take it out i bin it. but i only use 2 or 3 kgs in a fine mesh bag.
you only need the 'cheap stuff' not the carbon you use in a big blue that mesh is too fine.
its just normal aquarium grade carbon...
it doesn't dissolve, you just have to give it a good rinse before using it to get rid of any carbon dust.

[Frimley Koi keeper]

Just found this which has a list of plants and there is also a link to search for something specific too Colin

https://www.rhs.org.uk/prevention-pr...-garden-plants

[Frimley Koi keeper]

i tend to leave it in about a week or so, as once i take it out i bin it. but i only use 2 or 3 kgs in a fine mesh bag.
you only need the 'cheap stuff' not the carbon you use in a big blue that mesh is too fine.
its just normal aquarium grade carbon...
it doesn't dissolve, you just have to give it a good rinse before using it to get rid of any carbon dust.

Nice one Dave

[hippo]

Just found this which has a list of plants and there is also a link to search for something specific too Colin

https://www.rhs.org.uk/prevention-pr...-garden-plants

Cheers Frim - I noticed Elder appears on the list , and we have one in an adjoining garden . Yesterday was very windy , and we had loads of pollen blow into the pond , from it , so could be worth looking at .

We also get oak leaves blowing in during the autumn . We also have a couple of other plants , which are listed , such as Ewe and Helleborum , but cant think that anything from them would find its way into the pond , but definitely worth thinking about .

I`ve been trying to find specific anecdotal evidence , to try and link my issues to such environmental factors , but not found a lot , so far . Most evidence points to parasites or incoming water , but I`ll keep looking

[Ajm]

A message to Paula at Lincolnshire fish health may be able to shine some light on this and she has different de toxins to deal with alsorts ?

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[hippo]

A message to Paula at Lincolnshire fish health may be able to shine some light on this and she has different de toxins to deal with alsorts ?

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

Thanks Jonathan ,

I spoke to Paula , last week . She was very helpful , and gave me plenty of good advice

. The upshot of it was to try and rule out as many things as I can , before going down the route of testing for environmental factors . As she explained , it can be quite difficult and expensive to test for such things , as there isn`t a test which covers a multitude of potential contaminants - they have to be tested for individually .

I`m confident I`ve ruled out Ammonia , Nitrite , Nitrate , Chlorine , Chloramine , P.H. swings . I`m waiting on a test kit for heavy metals and I`ve got a friend coming round tomorrow to do some more scrapes , for me , in case I`ve missed something .

If all comes back negative , I`ll speak to Paula again to see what tests she recommends

[RS2OOO]

If all comes back negative , I`ll speak to Paula again to see what tests she recommends

Also try and do a large water change - making sure your dechlorinator cartridges are in good working order.

Paula will most likely recommend her Pond Detox Formula.

[hippo]

Also try and do a large water change - making sure your dechlorinator cartridges are in good working order.

Paula will most likely recommend her Pond Detox Formula.

Cheers Steve . I ordered a small tub of the Detox , which turned up today . Did you get any good results , when you tried it ? I`m thinking of adding some to the pellets , as recommended . I`ll wait until Ive done a metals check before I add it to the pond .

[RS2OOO]

Cheers Steve . I ordered a small tub of the Detox , which turned up today . Did you get any good results , when you tried it ? I`m thinking of adding some to the pellets , as recommended . I`ll wait until Ive done a metals check before I add it to the pond .

Sorry mate I missed this post.

To be honest I really don't know what turned things around in my pond.

Used seachem detoxifier initially while waiting for Paula's PDF to arrive.
4 days after using the seachem the koi started recovering and that same day I added the PDF and the recovery continued.

May or may not have been helped by either of them but if nothing else it did give piece of mind that I'd done everything possible to ensure water was the best I could get it.

Used PDF a few years back when koi were spitting food out that Paula suggested was digestion issues and each time I added it the spitting stopped within 24 hours.

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[hippo]

Sorry mate I missed this post.

To be honest I really don't know what turned things around in my pond.

Used seachem detoxifier initially while waiting for Paula's PDF to arrive.
4 days after using the seachem the koi started recovering and that same day I added the PDF and the recovery continued.

May or may not have been helped by either of them but if nothing else it did give piece of mind that I'd done everything possible to ensure water was the best I could get it.

Used PDF a few years back when koi were spitting food out that Paula suggested was digestion issues and each time I added it the spitting stopped within 24 hours.

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Good to hear you had a result with it , and hopefully your fish are on the mend !

I tried a few doses of PDF , but in my case it doesnt seem to have made much difference . Koi are still quite lethargic , flashing and spitting food .

Ive tried testing for metals , but the test kits don`t measure low enough - so cant completely rule it out . I`m not convinced its that anyway , as Ive been running RO , which should remove them , and also spoke to lots of people in the area , and no-ones had an issue .

The only thing I can think of , is that its a parasite issue , which I haven`t managed to spot .(possibly gill flukes) I`m going to treat with Lernex , this week , and see if that makes a difference . I`ll let you know how I get on .