I am so sorry about your fish :(

My question is why leaving the hose running in your pond would kill the fish? I've done what you did (leave the hose running) and my fish were OK.

I have well water. Would that make a difference?

Yes, I'm on city water, and it's cholorinated well above the tolerance level for fish. It's fine when I add some (10-20%) but it has to immediately (or during) also have dechlorinator added to eliminate the toxic reaction the fish have.

By watering for 2 hours I essentially did a 100% water change with zero dechlorination.

OMG. I am so sorry to hear this. I have read about it happening a number of times in this forum. It is so easy to forget that a hose is running (or something is simmering on the stove).

I have had the opposite problem of having something go wrong with the hose system ( hose breaking or skippy filter plugged and overflowed, emptying the pond). I now have the pump plugged into a low water shut off gizmo. I think there is a high water hose shut off gizmo, but don't know if it would help you for protection in the future.

My thoughts are with you.

Anne

What a bummer. This happens far too often with disastrous results. I have heard of people running the water all night before remembering. I would purchase a timer for your hose or if you are interested PM me and I can direct you to a supplier for a de-chlorinator that is good for 10,000 gallons that attaches to your hose. I use it for topping off my small ponds.

G.B. I'm sorry you lost so many fish. Its even worse to feel guilty about it but that could happen to any of us.

Vigoro makes a sweet little water timer that you screw on between your faucet and the hose. You just twist it like an egg timer and go away sure that it will turn itself off at the time you have set.
I accidentally wasted a lot of water before I found this wonderful little device at H/Depo. Min

Sorry about your fish loss!

It happened to me quite a few times (luckly I have well water so no fish loss) untill I got a hose timer from home depot/lowes. The timer is about $10-$20, it goes between the faucet and hose, you have to set the times to turn on the hose. It's really easy to use.

You can give it a try.

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. That's really rough. I know a lot of other people have done the same thing, so you're not alone, but knowing that doesn't offer any comfort. How is the black goldfish doing? Any improvement?

The black goldfish has apparently survived. He seems a bit 'shocked' and is in constant hiding. I'm sure it's just a function of the gills having to repair themselves.

I am so sorry. Probably easier said than done, but try not to be too hard on yourself.

~dianne

hi
I'll bet there's not a fish keeper in the world who has not done that. I even managed to do it once with an auto timer lol. The spring mal funtioned. You can get the timers in wind up or electic with or without batteries depending on how fancy you want to get. You can get the electrics with multiple runs that also turn on as well as off. Wonderful for just plain watering. They cost more than the wind up of course but not only prevent wasting water they also can prevent a disaster. UNLESS the spring fails lol Good luck with your survivors !!! gary

I'm very sorry for your loss. This is a very common accident. Don't beat yourself up too badly. Many people do this. I don't have enough chlorine in our water to be a problem but I've left the hose on way too long. I left the drip system on my hanging baskets on overnight two days ago.

Sorry for your loss...we have a melnor timer on our hose
for that very reason. We use it all the time.

Black goldfish didn't make it. He was floating near the edge of the pond. Mouth was moving (barely), but the body was rigid, like it had rigor-mortis. Fins and tail couldn't move, and it was glassy eyed.

I pulled it out of the water, and it stopped opening its mouth after a minute or so.

Well, I'll just have an empty pond until Friday. Then I'll get some more and start again.

I am so sorry your black fish didn't make it. It is hard starting over. I did so this spring. I miss my old fish, but I am enjoying the new fish.

Boy, I'm glad I don't do things like that ---------- very often
Peace & blessings

I wonder if all chlorination is not created equal. Occasionally, I add 10-20% Lake Erie water to my pond due to evaporation. I do not use dechlor. The goldfish actually swim up to the hose as it fills the pond. Nobody dies. I never have green water, I never test, rarely fertilize anything and I have minimal filtration. I have no idea what I am doing "right" but it seems I have achieved the optimum balance which requires no summer maintenance. Of course scooping the leaves out in the spring is another issue.

Sorry for your fish loss. City water sucks. Does this mean you will have to recycle your pond again before you put new fish in? Mine has been treated for both chlorine and chloramines and with the huge amount of rain we've had this spring I think they must be putting more in as the water from the tap smells. I like Prime for treating my water but have a settling chamber that I use for water changes and none of the water goes into the pond until its been treated. Have come close to overflowing the chamber though as it takes a long time to refill 300 gals.

I've been monitoring the water post-accident, and things seem to be doing fine. PH is 7.5, ammonia is undetectable, nitrates are undetectable, looks good.

Water is good for new fish tomorrow. I'll post some pictures of them when I get them.

Sorry about your black fish!

Busy getting your new fish settled in? :)

Btw, sorry for what happened.