bandita
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Since the last time I posted, I've upgraded to a 450 gal pond for my 2 kois, algae eater, and corey catfish. Kois are about 10". They moved to their pond several months ago, and have been doing great. I use a water conditioner.
I came home from vacation, and water was really dirty. Yesterday, I decided to completely clean it. Sides and bottom were caked in algae, and I scrubbed it all off. By the time the water got low enough where I could catch the fish, water was VERY dirty. I put clean water in a storage tub and put the fish there. By the time I finished cleaning the pond and filling it with water, it was already about 2am. All the fish still seemed to do fine in the tub, so I decided to wait in the morning to transfer them back to the pond (so that I can view/monitor them clearly). Next morning, about 7:30am, I find my fancytail koi dying at the bottom of the tub! Looks like he's gasping for air. I immediately put all the fish back in the pond, since I have the waterfall on and water conditioner. The only thing I can think of is that I had no aerator on in the tub. I didn't think that would be an issue, since it's outside, and I figured that if they get low on air, they'd gulp from the surface, and this was just temporary.
The other fish seem fine, but the dying one laid at the bottom of the pond, which is about 2 feet deep. I wen to check the height of the pond at about 8:10am, and found him at the top (mouth just below the surface of the water). At least he's right-side up, instead of lying on his side at the bottom. Does this mean he's getting better, or is he getting closer to dying?
I also found that the water temp of the tub was 74 degrees, and the pond is 78. Is this considered to be a drastic change? When I do these water changes, I normally sit them in a little pail of water in the pond, so that the change will be gradual, but I acted in panic this morning. I wanted to get the fish back to their normal water condition (but much cleaner) asap. What's my best course of action to try to save my fish? The others still seem good.
I came home from vacation, and water was really dirty. Yesterday, I decided to completely clean it. Sides and bottom were caked in algae, and I scrubbed it all off. By the time the water got low enough where I could catch the fish, water was VERY dirty. I put clean water in a storage tub and put the fish there. By the time I finished cleaning the pond and filling it with water, it was already about 2am. All the fish still seemed to do fine in the tub, so I decided to wait in the morning to transfer them back to the pond (so that I can view/monitor them clearly). Next morning, about 7:30am, I find my fancytail koi dying at the bottom of the tub! Looks like he's gasping for air. I immediately put all the fish back in the pond, since I have the waterfall on and water conditioner. The only thing I can think of is that I had no aerator on in the tub. I didn't think that would be an issue, since it's outside, and I figured that if they get low on air, they'd gulp from the surface, and this was just temporary.
The other fish seem fine, but the dying one laid at the bottom of the pond, which is about 2 feet deep. I wen to check the height of the pond at about 8:10am, and found him at the top (mouth just below the surface of the water). At least he's right-side up, instead of lying on his side at the bottom. Does this mean he's getting better, or is he getting closer to dying?
I also found that the water temp of the tub was 74 degrees, and the pond is 78. Is this considered to be a drastic change? When I do these water changes, I normally sit them in a little pail of water in the pond, so that the change will be gradual, but I acted in panic this morning. I wanted to get the fish back to their normal water condition (but much cleaner) asap. What's my best course of action to try to save my fish? The others still seem good.