When I went out to feed the fish this evening I noticed that one of the new Koi was missing. Until a few days ago I had not been able to see them at all because of the dreaded "green water" I had installed an inexpensive UV filter and FINALLY the green water was clearing up. Not a day too soon!
I had just started to actually notice the different individuals as I had not really seen them since about a week after I got them this spring. There was one nice looking black and gold one and that was the missing fish. I thought maybe he was hiding under the others or around a pot but could not see him so I went to the other side of the pond for a different angle.
He was laying there on the ground by the edge! Just barely moving the gills. I scooped him up and put him back in the water but he just kind of floated a little and did not move and started to assume that "C" shape. I scooped him up in my hand so the he was upright and very slowly started to move him back and forth in the water in kind of a figure 8 pattern to get some oxygen to those gills. After doing this for a while I released him and he sunk to the bottom and just layed there kind of flat. Scooped him up again and resumed the slow figure 8. After what seemed like a long time he weakly swam out of my hand. When I left an hour or so later (after keeping an anxious eye on him) he was still looking pretty rough but had rejoined the group.
We do have a pet store here that has a lot of fish but not pond type stores. Is there anything I should try to get tomorrow to help him recover that I would be likely to find at a pet store or at somewhere like Wal-Mart?
Fish CPR........
I don't know of anything. They have stuff for stress but I don't think it's that kind of stress. I'd say if he's alive in the AM he will be OK.
Cracker my catfish got a boo-boo the Sunday of my Pond Tour and sported about 1" blue bruise. I can't imagine what he got into but after being kind of sluggish for a week is doing alot better now. It's not a solid bruise today and he is back to his old self.
Jeri
Thanks Jeri! I will check on him in the morning. Hope the little guy is tough enough to bounce back. I am so glad that Cracker is doing OK. I did see the pic you posted and loved him instantly.
A friend of mine cleaned my filter and changed the beads. I was having to backwash twice a day. When he pulled the top off of the filter there was a long white thingy and it was clogged up completely with small beads and algae. We cleaned all that out and put in fresh beads and I'm praying. He also installed a ladys shut off valve that is easy to turn it cost me almost $19.00 but worth every penny.
Jeri
I checked on the fish tonight and the one that jumped out is still alive! It has rejoined the group and is swimming but is hanging out on the fringes. I did not see him come up to snatch any of the fish food with the others, but thought I saw him working on some algea that was growing on the side of the pond later on.
I am glad that your filter is back in working order Jeri. Was the white thing something that had worked loose from the filter and needed to reattached or something?
No it is a big white tube that is inside the filter. It's working great today. Didn't have to back wash. Amazing.
Jeri
tetleytuna, I am mighty impressed with your fish CPR.
jeri11, glad you got that bead filter thing worked out. I've read that bead filtration is the best. Would you use the same brand of bead filtration if you had to do it all over again? If I make any changes I would look very seriously at changing mine over to bead.
I love it!!! What happened was I couldn't find anybody to change the beads for me. I think you change them like every 3 years well I bought the beads and it's probable been 6 years that it wasn't changed. The beads originally were smaller then the new ones I got and they wedged up in the white thingy. These shouldn't do it unless they wear down.
Gerald the man I got to change them is the President of our Pond Society and he said he had never seen one stopped up so bad. Now I have twice the flow as before he cleaned it.
Now I think it's time to change my UV light bulb. LOL!!! Never though with a pond.
Jeri
Jeri
Just an update on my daredevil koi. Seems to have fully recovered and is doing very well. I think that this one deserves a name, so I will call him mizzou due to his black and gold coloring. That is the nickname of the University of Missouri which is based here in Columbia. Black and gold are the school colors. He certainly deserves to be recognized considering his fight for survival.
tetleytuna, I'm not surprised he made it. You know your fish stuff. Does UM have any famous high jumpers?
I do not know about people, but now they have a fish...........LOL