We had a storm come through last night and it apparently knocked out the pump in the Koi pond. When I went out to check today I noticed that the majority of my fish were dead. We have had some really high temperatures the past few days and the koi had not been eating right but I thought it was just because of the heat and various deer drinking from the pond perhaps scaring them. Now I think it was stress due to low oxygen. I guess the pump was ready to go and had not been working like it should for the past couple of days and when it stopped completely it was too much for my poor fish. I feel so guilty! Got a larger pump and hopefully the few hardy ones that made it through the night will be OK. I do have a small waterfall and two filters in that pond to keep the water quality up. It is a round stock tank that is about eight feet across.
Disaster in the Koi pond
So sorry to hear that! Oxygen is always a big problem in summer, I always worry about a pump going out :(
tetlytuna.....I would recommend a submersable pump for your next one..... I think I've had one of "every problem possible" in the past. Because of that, I also learned to keep the submersable pump off the bottom by about 12 inches (like on a cement block) I've had tubes fall off before, so if your pond drains, it still keeps one foot of water off the bottom to keep the fish alive until you can take immediate action.
I'm so sorry for your loss, I've certainly been there and done that.....
The repacement pump I purchased is rated for a 1200 pond and is a 630gph. The waterfall I have probably drops the water about a foot more or less above the pond surface. My pond is a small one, probably around 400 gallons. I have one submersible filter and one above ground filter, the above ground filter is supposed to be able to handle my sized pond by itself. The subersible is a few years old and I do not remember what it was rated for. I had not thought about putting the submersibles on blocks! It is too dark to see right now, but that will be the first thing I do tomorrow. I fed the couple of fish that survived tonight but nobody showed up for dinner. :^( On the positive side though one of the survivors was mizzou, the black and gold that I revived after he jumped out of the pond a while back.
So sorry to hear of your loss as well... this ponding thing is not for the faint of heart! Glad you were able to save some of them. A lesson to us all to watch closely daily....
Brenda
Gee, that must hurt losing your koi. You say you have a 400 gal pond. How many koi lived in that space? Maybe too many fish for the size? Lack of oxygen must have suffocated them but can this happen if the pump is out for such a short time? The heat can't do it either as lots of ponds are warm in this heat.
But whatever, sorry for the loss.
fred
I had ten which would have been too many to keep in there indefinately. They were babies and less than 8". I had been planning on moving them to a larger space next year.
Oh, babies. That's different. I guess they are also a bit more at risk being so young.
BTW my babies which I saw and didn't see but who were very good at hiding back in April, are now of a pretty good size. It's amazing how fast they grow. I now have a quite a population. All I need now is to be able to see them all. :-)
Fred
I have kept up with the progress of your pond Fred. I am glad to see the new system is already working so well. Next year when everything has settled and filled in it will truly be a sight to behold!
So sorry to hear of your loss too :( I am glad my pond is a natural one with clay bottom and DEEP 12-14ft. I know one day I looked ou and my very pretty Koi, the largest one of the bunch was laying on the far side of the slope! All I saw from the window was something orange and white!! I ran so fast I don't even rememer my feet touching the ground, but sure enought there lay my koi, with it's tail chewed off and laying in front of his head :( It must have happend not too long before I saw him, as his eyes were still clear, how awful that was to find him that way :(
I've had herons snack on my koi before (rather large ones at that) After I started asking about herons/ponds/etc, many people responded saying that after the herons are full, they will still stab at fish just for fun and sport....
Don't you know, the next week, my HUGE yellow butterfly koi (must have been a good 22 inches) was pierced right through the side of his gill plate. As much as I tried to keep him alive for the next month with antibiotics and medicated food, extra salt, etc...he still ended up with septocimia (you could see it travel in a red streak from his wound farther and farther down his side) I was heartbroken.
Found a 2nd fish with 2 perfect V's down both side of it's body, like a heron had tried to pick it up, but it was too slippery. That one survived.
I wouldn't feed the fish for a couple days. Adding the food and their poo after eating just makes the water quality worse until the bacteria can catch up again.
Lana
Thank you Lana, I had been feeding in the evening. No one is showing up for dinner. I think I will wait a few days and try again. It was concerning me that the survivors were not eating. This gives me an explanation.
So sorry for your loss. Strange how we get attached to fish. Hope all is well very soon. I also have a water trough for a pond and the torrential rains we are having concerns me that it will run over. I have had to bail water out once.
Yes, we do see them as our pets :) Seems each one takes on a whole different personality! Some are show offs, some are shy, a few are so much more playful than the rest!I was at the pond planting iris, I turned around and look what was perching near me, ACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
Well geezzzzzzz, wrong one!
Toosie; is that King-fisher? You must live by a large water body. I'm too, a King fisher has flown straight into my glass window once and got itself knocked out silly. I afraid the bird was dead. But the thing was knocked unconcious, then awaken and flew off. Haven't seen him since. lol
Crystal; Herons are more often found around lake side areas. If you live in town away from any large water body. I don't think they are a problem. I've a small Koi pond, with a few water plants and bogs plants. I keep cast Iron Aligators on the pond's edge to deter Herons. My pets too they also help keep them away from the immediate area.
This message was edited Aug 3, 2007 9:16 PM
Hi Lily,
Yes, I think thats what the varment is :( Hey, your aligators are wonderful :) Where on earth did you get them??? Are they heavy?
Tootsie
They're made of Iron, thus a little heavy, a few pounds I guess. I found them from an "odds and ends store" locally, and they've all kind of odd things. lol. Yep, the shipping is what going to cost us. It reminded me I found some carved rock from out West. When I took it to UPS to ship it home -- it couldn't be done! Well it could if I were to give up a month of my mortgage. lol.
OHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :( I know it's just AWFUL how much we have to pay for postal services :( I will just have to take a peek around and see what I can find! Maybe a LARGER THAN LIFE KING KONG, LOL
There ya go!!! LOL.