Dianne,

I can't really give you advice on what to do. I'll leave that up to people who know more than I in the sick fish department.

But I sure do know how easy it is to get attached to wet pets and be concerned about them when something is wrong! I'm sorry Missy is having a problem right now and will send her some "healing vibes".

Anne

A good test kit containing everything you usually need for pond use will run around $25 to $35 but it doesn't contain a salinity test. It doesn't test for parasites. Otherwise it is a good investment. I'm not sure why you would need a salinity test if you can judge the water volume even close when you add salt. If you really need to test use a hydrometer that measures specific gravity of a sample. It can run $5 to $10.

I would look for evidence of parasites other than ick as well as disease.

Good luck.

Thanks Anne and Sleepless. I buried Missy the Sarasa Comet. I don't know all that much about pond fish diseases, but comparing to a write up on GAB boards, the only thing I saw was indications of Ich.

I did do a significant water change (more than 25% less than 50%), took out the plants, cleaned out various muck and salted for disease.

Now, my questions are two part - when can I put my lilies back in and should I be 'buffering' the pond with some crushed coral? Everything I read about salt being bad for lilies is why I'm wanting to test my salinity levels. I know that salt doesn't evaporate, but I'm unclear on how long to leave the water salty before I do water changes.

The 3 remaining are looking and acting normally. I can't see any indications of Ich (not that I can see them all the upclose and personal like). Oh, and I definitely have at least one small gray fry swimming around in the pond. Still can't believe my crew of feeder fish is old enough to spawn.

~dianne

Hi, Dianne. Ick is a parasite, not a disease. You can do a 10% to 20% water change after a few days. Then repeat to reduce salt levels the next day and the next. That should reduce the salt enough to put the lilies back. After that, weekly changes for a month will complete the job.

Buffering is always a good idea. It prevents PH swings that can harm fish and plants. The material can vary. Crushed coral is fairly cheap and lasts.

I started my pond with a crop of the same feeder fish. One died over the first night, one or two here and there that first summer. Some grew into very beautiful long tailed wonders. All got moved indoors that first winter 3 years back.

Next spring I kept the "pretty" ones in the tank. I lost a few more when the tank crashed and I learned what gravel vacuuming was all about. Predators got a few more.

I still have 4 left. The ugliest one I call "droopsy" cause she looks like she has it (she's fine) and I'm keeping them all inside where they are safest.

We can get attached to any fish.

Hi
have kept fish in ponds and aquariums for over 50 years and still find it very difficult to treat any kind of malady. Your best bet particularly with a pond is to do lots of water changes particularly in a small pond.
If you don't know exactly the volume of your pond you often do more harm than good . Have kept mostly tropical fish mostly livebearers and have never used salt. WAY too much risk with most FW species ,especially for a "general" treatment.
it is possible your fish died from the stress of spawning ??. They very first thing to do is check your replacement water.. design a maintemence schedule around those parameters . Don't get into the trap of trying to manage the chemistry.For a pond it's a losing battle .
Good lucjk !! gary

Hi Gary,

I found minnows in the pond yesterday and all the other fish seem just fine. So I am wondering more if it could have been spawning. I read up on goldfish spawning and still can not believe these are old enough. I got them in April.

I use the pnd water to water tomatoes and other potted veggies, so water changes are a few times a week. I was thinking I might need to compare the ph of rain water to our city water. I've been using more rain water for changes as it is finally raining here.

I read horton's fish birth control advice. May need to do something like that! How long does roe live out of water?

~dianne

dianne
I originally built my above ground pool to store rainwater. Downspouts from roof run into the pool underground. Makes for an almost self cleaning water garden.. Had a complete wipeout of the tropicals in 08 due to the cold so replaced with "feeder goldfish thinking they would be wiped out by the herons as happened when I started the setup in 82. WRONGlol They jumped from 7 to well over a hundred within a yearlol. If the herons are taking some sure not noticable . I'm experimenting with
American flagfish as a method of "birth control" as I decided not to heat the pond over winter so tropicals are out. So far seem to be working though i thing the adults are eating the spawn and fry anyway.lol
Funny story!! Friend used Peacock bass which wiped out the whole population of GF ,Now it's overrun with bass lol
Isn't ponding an adventure?? lol gary

Hi, Diane.

I'm Sharon in Winter Springs. I wouldn't try treating a pond for a sick fish. I'd take the fish out and treat it in a tank. Unfortunately, as healthy as pond fish usually are, by the time you realize a fish is sick, they are usually too far gone to save. I just had that happen to me. I didn't know she was sick until she spit out a pea. While she was dying in my hospital tank, I began to think of all sorts of symptoms I should have noticed sooner.

I'd do a few large (50%) water changes to get rid of the salt and get the water really clean. Get lots of garden watering done. A cup of salt in 300 gallons of water is a pretty low dose of salt, so as long as you do regular water changes, rather than just topping off, your routine water changes should take care of the salt.

Hi Sharon! We are practically next door neighbors :)

And yes, I've come to the realization that treating a water garden pond is a bit silly. .27c goldfish vs 27.00$ tropical lily. OK, a bit of poetic license as I did not buy the $27 tropical lily at the local garden center.

Spit out a pea??? Really and truly?

I've changed my water over several times and put the lilies back in. They seem fine. The green smoke is getting ready to bloom and I'm thrilled.

I've finally seen what I believe is an egg laden fish in my pond. I watched her closely while taking a break and she seemed pretty fat and full of eggs. And slow and sluggish. That was 3 days ago, and I've not seen her since.

~dianne