gemma_florida asked:
He got them out of the pond last night and put them in a separate tub, they are lying on their sides, still breathing, at the bottom of the tub – what could be wrong, they can’t seem to get themselves upright?
It already has AN AIR PUMP IN IT
Both the pond and the tub have air pumps
The pond is well established with other fish in (they all have enough room, not cramped together), but it’s just these two that seem to have something wrong. They look dead but are occasionally breathing
He got them out of the pond last night and put them in a separate tub, they are lying on their sides, still breathing, at the bottom of the tub – what could be wrong, they can’t seem to get themselves upright?
It already has AN AIR PUMP IN IT
Both the pond and the tub have air pumps
The pond is well established with other fish in (they all have enough room, not cramped together), but it’s just these two that seem to have something wrong. They look dead but are occasionally breathing
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Their swim bladders could be at fault, but i would check the pond aeriation is ok first.PUT AN AIR PUMP IN TO AERIATE THE WATER.
I think that we need some more info before we can give a good answer. Did he take ALL of the fish from the pond and put them in the tub or did he just take out those two fish ? and if that’s the case why only those two ?.
Other questions – did he fill the tub with water from the pond ? – Was water the same temperature in the pond and tub ? – What was the recent weather ? any storms ?
Those koi do sound to be in big trouble and at the moment I’d only say make sure that you have lots of oxygen in the water…and pray
Have you checked the water quality and temperature? A sudden change in the temperature of the water might cause these symptoms – they could be in shock. Equally the ph value of the water needs to be between 7.0 and 8.0. Kits are readily available at local pet shops/garden centres.
Also did you de-chlorinate the water before you put the carp in?
Can you put the carp back in the pond and see how they are? If they are ok again then the problem is your water quality.
I hope they get better.
koi can lie on the bottom of the pond if the temperature has dropped but do tend to self right them selves once ajusted.
if it is not the temperature then the best thing for you to do is contact a fish specialist, Try this numbers they are the best in koi and will be able to help you. (0115) 939 79 26 they are called Japanese Water Gardens.
did he use pond water to fill tub or tap water and did not treat water first.
They are dying from lack of oxygen in the water…an air pump is NOT enough to do any good..it is the surface area that absorbs oxygen….remove 1/2 the water immediately and replace with dechlor added to water…get them back into their pond or aquarium immediately..you are going to loose all these fish very quickly if you do not!
The number one cause of lay-over is stress. The stress can come from a variety of sources – super cooling the water (if you are running a waterfall or fountain and are having extreme temperature swings, common in the fall), ammonia poisoning (very possible in a small container), nitrogen build-up, parasitic infestation, etc., etc.
The first thing to do is check your water parameters. Your ammonia and nitrites should be at zero, and your nitrates less than 20 ppm. If your water does not reflect these parameters, do a 30-50% water change DAILY until they do – then keep an eye on them very closely after that. If your fish perk up after the water changes, you’ll know this was the problem.
If you are experiencing large differences between daytime and nighttime temperatures, or even from day to day during unsettled fall weather, turn your waterfall and/or fountain off. The fastest way to cool off a hot cup of coffee is to pour it from cup to cup, in a thin stream, at great height. A large body of water tends to insulate itself – if you allow a thin stream of the water to be penetrated by much cooler air, the entire temperature of the pond will drop rapidly, and this is very stressful to fish.
Once you have done these two things, treat for parasites. I like to treat with both Pro-Form C (essentially formalin) and Praziquantel simultaneously, then add aquarium or pond salt to .3% (.6% if you don’t have plants or don’t care if they die or turn yellow). The salt helps with the production of slime coat so that the parasites can be shed more easily, and the combination of the Pro-Form C and the Prazi (make sure you get the good, powdered stuff – not the fake liquid) will kill about 99% of the parasite types known (Pro-Form will kill most everything but flukes, and the Prazi is killer for treating the flukes!). You may also want to feed a medicated food for awhile, like Medikoi, just to give their immune systems a boost in case the stress has allowed a bacterial infection to get a foothold.
I also agree that the two sick fish should be returned to the pond, and the entire pond treated, as whatever is affecting these two is almost certainly to be affecting the rest of the population. It is just a matter of time before the others start showing symptoms….
Here is an EXCELLENT website on the general care and keeping of koi: It is maintained by a veterinarian specializing in koi and goldfish.
Hope this helps – good luck!