Joy,
Glad you have some help from your family. I remember what trying to walk on ice was like. Don't want to see it ever again. Take care and get well soon.
Carolyn,
I'm down to one sick tank. Lost about 30 small fish. Big ones are still going on in oldest pond which has all been cleaned out and restarted. Fish from show also died. At least I was able to brind my old ones back home and then treat them for swim bladder.
I'm still working with a fish biologist at Acquatic Eco. Systems and have bought all my meds etc. from them. Hoping the oldest pond will survive now. Have 5 fair size goldfish and 4 ugly koi in sick tank even tho goldfish have never acted sick so when other 2 ponds are refilled they will go into largest one (if they live). Bought good bacteria in small pre-measured packets and proper tape to mend hole we found in newer larger pond. Trying to cover all basis before refill. I'm not fretting over fish anymore. I'll do the best I can by them and thats it. For what I have spent so far I could buy a whole pond full of koi. Theres a limit to all things.
Maybe I'll look to some fancy goldfish when I refill both ponds. Mary has been so gracious and says she has more fish for me that have been in quaranteen their whole life. Sick tank now is always ready to set up between both ponds. Even biologist told me not to spend more than is practical cause sometimes new fish ends up being cheaper. This company does lake and pond restorations in Thirland and all over the world. There are about 30 some biologist working there and the warehouse is very large. They sponsored all the show tanks at koi show and had a beautiful booth there containing a built in acquarium with bautiful fish in it. Mary went on Sun. so I'm sure she saw it also.
Will keep on keeping on.
Bonnie
Start up!
Bonnie sorry to hear about your loss. I went through hell with my fish the first year and they all died but one. The lesson I learned is this and everyone should write it down and have this on hand.
PRO-FORM C with PRAZI (mix prazi in tiny amount of vodka to mix and then add to pro-form mixture. This is the one and only treatment that you should always have on hand no matter what. There is very little good information out there on how to treat fish and far and few vets who understand it as well. REMEMBER to wear gloves-toxic to humans and it also stains so don't mix/pour it on nice beautiful patio pavers and similar. I treat my fish with this every spring and nearly every fall. In two weeks my pond will be cleaned out and all fish go into the hospital tank and get three consecutive days of treatment like this will heavy aeration in tank. Water is changed out before next treatment. Last fall was the first time I did not treat them because of complications with weather and a unscheduled trip. Everything has been good with the fish with the exception of that very first year. Some of the fish had "sleeping sickness" over winter so I am sure something is ailing them but there isn't anything drastic or serious.
I do not use salt or anything else in my tank or pond. I do add beneficial bacteria but nothing else. I hardly take any water evaluations either. I do change the water out every 10 days or so by about 20-50%. But I am not so intense about playing around with the water and the fish are really thriving. If I buy a new fish I will put it into the hospital tank and add another fish from my pond to the tank as well (to cross expose the new fish to "germs" of the school as well as to keep it company). New fish and existing both get three consecutive days of treatment with heavy aeration. If I feel something is not right with new fish I will hold it longer in the tank and will wait a week and re-treat them again. This way I can control new infections and get the new fish onboard with the rest of the family.
So you can buy that gorgeous fish at the show just make sure you treat them "right". Holding a fish 5 weeks in a tank is hardly necessary when you can "clean them up in three days". One funny thing I want to mention is that my little dog who is forever playing in the stream caught "fish lice" on the tips of his ears. The vet said it was genetic and wanted me to treat with special medicines which I tried but did not work. I took a scrape and looked under the scope and recognised fish lice. I don't usually treat my pets for lice and bugs cause I don't get deer in the yard but now I use the typical stuff that you apply to their back of the neck area and this keeps the fish lice off his ears. A form of Prazi is in that stuff - so I am told. if you want more details and the contact person who steered me this way let me know. I am on vacation now but return in a 8 days.
Bonnie: Carolyn and M. Merry both know me and helped me when I went through all my fish issues and can vouch for my understanding of koi fish illness. Before you treat your fish check to see if goldfish can use pro-form C - I don't have any and don't want to cause you problems.
I dosed my pond with Proform-C after treating with prazi last spring. Did initial then maintenance doses most of the summer. Everyone (fish wise - koi and goldies) were fine -- well, except for the new ones I got. Hopefully I still have two of the original 7. Will know in a few weeks.
Linda - so good to hear from you. Dont' hear from you often enough. Have a great vacation.
MaryS. - let us know how your fish are doing. Should be soon I would think.
Yes. It's getting frustrating. The days are clear blue skies but the temp just doesn't seem to want to rise. It is usually 17F or so in the morning and hold there through around noon. the sensor is on the west side of the building in the shade so not really accurate. The rock around the north end is soaking up the sun and melting fast. Woody, dumb dog, is determinded to walk on the pond and his paw prints are darker than the surrounds indicating he is getting down to wet. Because it is darker the sun will act on those prints faster. Part of me wants to just jump in the middle (which believe me) would crash all the ice to bits. I weigh a good deal more than Woody who is 10#. Lots of algae growing around the deicers. Too much glare and reflection on the water parts to see inside the pond. Guess I could go back to going out after dark with a flashlight. lol. Good thing my growing plants and babies are distracting me or I would go nuts with the waiting. Well, nuttier.
I have to do something else so today I am fertilizing all my plants.
Only 1 sick tank left. When other ponds are refilled and water balanced I will put goldfish and 2 koi back in. Oldest pond seems to have leveled out and no large pretty fish dead in there. Once 2 newest ponds are taken care of fish returned I'm taking at least a 2 day leave of absence. Time to head to my friends ranch and just relax. Got 2 dump trucks of mulch to spread buti t can wait. I've had it.
Have a good weekend all.
Bonnie
Did yard work at my church all day came home tired. Filled 2 ponds yesterday. Today one has leaked down almost to the bottom. Pumped the rest out after removing fish. Husb. found 1 inch long jagged cut probably from those rodks I used to have in there. Dried it good with hair dryer and put silicone and tmorrow will put another patch on it. That will make 3 patches so far.
Oh well it all has to get straightened out sometime. Can't say we don't try hard.
Bonnie
Better to find it now instead of after filling it, getting the water stabalized, and putting fish back in. I cleaned my filters this week, and topped the one little pond off with fresh water. Went to the store, came back and the neighbors cat snagged 3 of them out. Theyre very docile and hang out at the surface when they hear or see anything by the ponds. My cats could care less about them, but the neighbor adopted a stray and it's been wreaking havoc in my yard! All 3 of them were blues... blah....
No way to inform the neighbor what those fish cost and to request reimbursement. That would seriously p--- me off. You know, it wouldn't improve relations, but a live trap for cats and trips to the pound where getting them back costs money might do the trick. Better their pocket than yours. And it isn't the money, it's the principal.
M Mary,
Did have pond filled and fish back in it. Oh well I've got good at pumping out ponds and netting out fish.
Charlie put new patch on. Sooner or later we'll get everything straight or buy a new liner.
Oberon,
I'm with you on putting up with cats. We have a cure I won't mention. My husb. loves cats and people used to drop them off in front the house and we got up to 14. I put a stop to that personally. My yard smelled worse than a ceptic tank. Our cows smell better.
M Mary,
At least inform your neighbor. If they are responsible folks they would offer to pay for the fish. Made me feel worse when you said they were blue. Our whole place is under fence and we keep our animals in and keep others out. Makes for good neighbor relations. I know that doesn't work with cats but when they start disappearing neighbors are more inclined to keep track of them. Remember when Apopka John got bit by one well I would have put a stop to that quickly plus made the owner pay medical expences. Thats going too far. His finger was swollen for a long time and he couldn't even use it. It all goes back to the same old thing. People who want pets need to realize the responsibility that goes with owning them.
Sorry M Mary.
Bonnie
Amen Bonnie.
I actually bought a HaveAHeart trap. My kitties lounge by the ponds all day and don't even chase the squirrels that are right next to them. The neighbors adoptee grabs the fish (they're smaller 6 inchers) and dumps them on the deck to bake. Doesn't eat them, doesn't kill them, just catches them for fun and leaves them to bake in the sun. GRRRR....
Time to eliminate kitty from my yard!
This is a neighbor I've not gotten along with since she moved in. Therefore, I'm already admitting that I'm going to remove kitty under the radar on the down-low....
Shhhhhhh. I'll never tell. Ask not -- tell not...
Winter is back.I',m slowly getting better....still on heavy duty meds.It's not a good idea to take any chances on falling when you are 83.I hate to think what it woud be like if I'd had a fracture.Hope I can sleep tonight without being wakened by pain .It will be a week tomorrow since I fell.
Oh boy, Joy. You really must have hit hard. No broken bones? Probably just strained every muscle and ligament in your body. I am scared to death of falling for the same reason. Take care and take your meds.
I am afraid of falling too. You must have hit quite hard Joy. Take it easy and feel better.
Well, the pond ice is melting and yielding up its secrets. The kohaku 'surfaced' today -- I saw a corpse a few days ago but couldn't be sure who it was because I couldn't get it out. Today I got it and for sure identified it. Only one koi left to find from last summer's koi purchase and that is the gold one. I don't see how he could survive if none of the others did. In fairness two fairly large gold fish died also. I guess I will stick with Homer and Jester, my two mutt koi (assuming they have made it through as they have for several years now) and the gold fish I have left. They are growing and do enjoy them also. If the weather holds, the pond will be ice free in another week or so. But the falls have two feet of snow so we won't start the big pumps and filters yet.
Saw the doctor today...recoveing from the injury is coming along fine ....but.....now I have a purple puffer and antibiotics again.I have a blue and orange puffer too!! The ice is out of the pond but water is very murky.I called the Garden Gate fellows to come and clean it but they haven't arrived yet.We have had heavy wind storms and a lot of stuff got blown into the water.Nothing is blooming in the garden yet.I usually have crocus by now.I see that Cosco have bags of trillium in some of their stores.I've asked DIL to get some if the local store has them.JOY
I would love to get some trillium but can't find them up here. Will make another search when the starts come in to Mill and Feed.
Well the fellows from GardenGate arrived yesterday. The pond is cleaned out and the little fountain running.I'll get a picture in the AM.I am still miserable ....my legs and feet are swollen and cramping plus the pain on my hip is still present. At the moment I'm relatively pain free.My son provides my breakfast and lunch.I cook my own dinner.He takes my dirty dishes over to his place and puts them through his DW.He brings them back and puts them away.I haven't needed to have a caregiver.I'll be glad when Spring really arrives and I can sit out in the garden.I've been trying to germinate Lotus seeds.They require a good deal of heat.I'll keep you posted. I usually put seeds in the oven with only the light for heat.This year I' successfully baked 3 seeds by turning on the real heat.There will be no oven It will take longer but no baked lotus!! Cheers JOY
Here is the clean pond.It's never been up and running so early before.
Joy
It looks great!
And Joy, you will be up and running soon yourself. Spring will make you feel better.
Have a blessed Easter.
Bonnie