Fish And Plants

The Best Koi And Fish Food For Maintaining Healthy Fish

If you have Koi or Gold fish, most likely you work pretty hard at keeping your pond in a good, healthy state. Of course some of this effort is designed to help the pond’s appearance, but the health of your fish is likely a big part of it too.

It’s easy to feel a connection to our fish, and of course, in some cases, we’ve had them for years…possibly even decades. So in this article I’m not going to suggest you’re doing anything wrong or poorly when it comes to your fish…I just wanted to remind everyone that along with a clean, healthy environment, what you feed them will matter a lot too.

Although we could talk about good fish food in depth…and the discussion could take the better part of a book…I’ll try to keep this simple and to the point…while covering the essentials of a good quality Koi food. Ideally the formula should provide support for growth, good color, and a strong immune system.

The key ingredients that are normally touted as important include several types of proteins, good fats, and vitamins and minerals.

The Proteins

If you’ve had Koi around for very long you know they can be robust and versatile diners. In the wild they are actually omnivores, which means they eat all kinds of things. They’ll eat other critters and plants to get by. The protein sources in the food should match this variety, using both animal and plant based sources.

The animal proteins should ideally come from aquaculture sources, because they will closely match what the fish would eat in the wild. Fish meal, krill, and shrimp would all be good to look for, and in fact this animal protein should be first on the list of ingredients. Proteins like this are loaded with good growth factors and other natural elements like amino acids. They’ll help to maintain a healthy, colorful, and vibrant fish.

Plant based proteins are also used and while it wouldn’t be fair to call such ingredients fillers, as they do provide energy for the fish, they should not take precedence over animal proteins. On the whole, look for a fish food that is about 30-40% protein for the best quality food.

The Fats

Fats are another component in fish food, that while not as important as the protein or protein sources, the percentage of crude fat in a formula is worth noting. Young Koi and fish that are going into the fall will benefit from a higher fat content in their food. Adult fish during the spring and summer months would do fine on a lower fat food. Look for fat content anywhere from 3 to 12 percent for younger fish, and 3 to 6 percent for adults.

Vitamins, Minerals, and Immune Enhancers

If you take a daily vitamin or supplement to help you stay healthier, you know where we’re going here. Supplemented food, no matter how good, will never match the wild dining quality, without a little bit of help, so adding a few essential vitamins and minerals will help insure your fish remain healthy.

Amazingly one of the most common ingredients for this is Vitamin C. Vitamins A, B, and K are also really important for overall health. If you don’t see these things listed in the ingredients, it might be a good idea to conclude it’s a low quality food and should be avoided. Most high quality suppliers will show these on the label.

Since color can be so very important for Koi owners you will commonly find several types of enhancers in the food formulas. One of the best, natural sources to look for in the blends, is krill, which is naturally high in Astaxanthin. Spirulina, a blue green algae, is also useful for color enhancement.

Crude Ash

Crude ash should be mentioned, only because you will commonly see this on the ingredients list. Although the fish may derive some minerals for this substance, it’s actually a byproduct of the manufacturing process, and ideally you want to look for the lowest level possible when selecting a good quality food for your fish.

So What Do We Recommend?

Listed below are some of the best Koi food formulas we’ve found online. All of them will supply your fish with a balanced, healthy diet, while being kind to your wallet.

Our favorite is the Dainichi All-Season blend, as it provides an excellent nutritional base, followed by the Hikari Gold. Both of these companies historically have produced premium products for fish health.

All in all, no matter what food you choose on this list, the chances are very good that you’ll be happy with the results.

Predators And Your Pond Fish

By Mark

Some things just like to eat fish.

Take the Grizzly Bear for instance. There’s nothing quite as wild and dynamic as watching a big Kodiak dine on salmon in the Alaskan wilderness. It’s nature at it’s best.

But it’s a different story when the wild, and sometimes not-so-wild creatures start visiting your backyard fish pond. These uninvited guests can cause a lot of havoc on a Koi or Goldfish collection and it’s quite disheartening to see fish disappear, day after day, until there are few, if any left.

Threats can come in all shapes and sizes, however you have my deepest sympathy of all if you do have to fend off the aforementioned big bear. Most of what pond owners in the lower 48 have deal with aren’t quite as large, but they can be just as damaging to fish.

Avian Predators

From the air we can include, primarily migratory wading birds like Herons and Egrets. Ospreys and Eagles, which are birds of prey, generally won’t bother a smaller pond but may take advantage of fish swimming in a lake or river. So let’s focus our attention primarily on the first two birds mentioned.

Both Herons and Egrets are wading birds and while they can handle a bit of depth to the water, they don’t like to go too deep. Herons being larger can likely handle depths of up to a foot to maybe two feet but that would probably be pushing it’s limits. Egrets would be about half that before they start to get really wet. So rule numero uno is to have some depth in the pond if possible.

Depth is good for a small pond and fish in many ways, but suffice it to say, if they can go deeper, they will usually be safer.

Netting of various kinds, as well as fine line, strewn over the pond in a grid pattern has also been shown to be a useful deterrent because the bird’s can’t walk or wade around very easily, and in some cases, they can’t even get much of a foothold in the water. If the line is elevated higher, it may hinder some of their wing flapping during landing and deter them that way as well.

Devices such as flash bulbs, aluminum foil, sprayers, and decoys have historically had mixed reviews but are worth trying. In some cases, for example, decoys may help keep a bird away, but much depends on the time of year that they’re deployed. Although these birds are solitary by nature, at certain times of the year they’ll be about a social as your favorite chatty aunt who likes to go to bingo games on Friday night. Decoys may even draw them in during the breeding season, so beware and test this strategy out before leaving things unattended. Motion sensing sprayers and flashers can also sometimes help. Herons can learn quickly and while most birds may be deterred and agitated enough to leave, some may discover that no harm really comes from all the hubbub and stick around.

Keep in mind, like any other predator, wading birds are opportunists. Make it a little bit tougher in various ways for them to get an easy meal and they may depart, frustrated and hungry.

Land Based Critters

As the years go by and we hear feedback from more pond owners, it’s amazing to listen to their stories of enemy infiltrations. It’s long been known that animals like Raccoons and feral cats can cause some problems. A friend of ours actually found a dead and drowned Raccoon in her plastic lined pond and it was a big fellow too. He apparently went in wading after a fish and couldn’t get out due to the slick side walls.

Other additional intruders include Fox, Mink, and possibly other larger carnivores like Coyote or Black Bears.

Keeping some of these guys out of a pond can be a real challenge. Some are either small enough to get through netting, or big enough to not even notice it or be bothered by it. As with the birds noted above, deterrents may work for awhile but often the critter will adjust to it, or figure out a way around and still get to the fish.

If you’re really game to try something you could put up a small electric fence line around the pond and this might provide enough of a jolt to ward off any interested feeders. Just make sure you don’t get shocked too! In some states and locals, trapping and relocation may be possible but you’ll want to check with your state game officials on that one. In certain parts of the country such activity is deemed illegal and no animals can be harmed, relocated, or dealt with in any way. (I know it’s crazy to hear this but please, don’t shoot the messenger!)

A Good Defense Usually Wins

I’ve heard this applied to winning football games, but the term could also be applied to fish protection. A good defense will be hard to beat.

I mentioned depth being an asset above, but there are other things you can do to help your fish survive an attack. The key is really to provide them with adequate protection, and it could be said that proper training fit’s in here too. First of all, think a little bit like a hunter when you start putting rocks and things around the pond edge. Look for where a fish might be vulnerable and try to incorporate some overhanging flat stones and don’t allow easy wading into the water if possible. Shear drops are good for this, or at least creating a shear drop with surrounding material is helpful.

Protection at the bottom of the pond can come in several forms but one of the most useful and sturdy additions is a koi hut or tunnel. These are normally made out of plastic and they provide a secluded and protected place for fish to hide if they have to. There are times of the year when these devices will help minimize stress, even if you’re not on the immediate menu, and during times of attack, they provide a great hiding place.

Adding desirable surface plants such as floating lilies, or incorporating duckweed and other “coverage” vegetation can provide some natural protective, and concealing cover that fish can use to avoid detection in the first place.

Many fish eating birds, and thankfully many smaller mammals don’t really care for the presence of a larger animal nearby, so if you have an able bodied, hairy member of the family, and by the way, I’m talking about the canine variety and not your spouse’s burly and bald cousin, the very presence of having a dog nearby will keep a lot of trouble makers at a distance.

Before we go, let’s talk a little bit about fish training and how many people may, inadvertently be setting their fish up for a bad time.

Most of us really like to feed our fish, and we take great pleasure of connecting with our finned friends through hand feeding. I’m not going to stand here and tell you not to do it, but I will remind you that this type of “training” may come at a cost. Fish are wary at first, until they are taught otherwise, and when they are rewarded for coming to the surface and feeding from the hand, it’s not unusual for them to come up, lured through the Pavlovian response, and end up as the meal instead!

So if you really want to protect your fish, don’t make feeding a spectacle. Keep it as low key as possible and don’t train them to feed from the hand. Ideally you want a fish to move away from some unknown thing a long the shore line…the curious one’s may not last long.

When all is said and done, there are many things you could try to keep your fish safe. The types of predation will vary a lot and in some cases, they can be very hard to stop outright. Setting up deterrents of any kind (keep it legal) may be helpful and are worth trying, but perhaps the best options you’ll have will be in, on, and immediately around the pond. Anything you can do to make life just a little bit harder for an opportunistic thief will be a step in the right direction.

Do you have personal experience, and more importantly success in protecting your fish from predators? Please share your thoughts below…

Floating Plants: A contribution to your Pond

By Mark

There are many water plants that will play important roles in the health and wellbeing of your pond. One of the major players is going to be floating plants. Floating pond plants play many roles that help with maintenance, but contribute to the health of the wildlife surrounding your pond.

Nitrates and phosphates are the nutrients in water that cause the most algae growth in your pond. Floating plants constantly absorb these nutrients. Thus, helping clear up or prevent murky water. The roots of floating pond plants also prove a great place for fish and frogs to lay their eggs. This not only protects the eggs, but keeps the eggs from taking over the visible areas of your pond. Floating pond plants keep your pond cool which will also help keep algae away. To have proper balance achieved you may need up to 60% of the surface area of your pond. That may seem like a lot, but you can get many different kinds of floating plants so you can not only achieve a balanced ecosystem for your pond, but a beautiful landscape feature for you to enjoy.

Water Lilies

Water lilies are among the group of hardy pond plants that many people enjoy. You don’t have to worry too much about babysitting your water lilies once you’ve got them floating in your pond. The only way to truly ruin one would be if it got frozen solid! As long you are making sure to prune off dead flowers and leaves, and your lilies are getting 6-8 hours of direct sunlight a day you should have beautiful results.

Most water lilies only bloom during certain hours of the day. The hardiest kind only bloom during the daytime hours. So if you work, and you never see a bloom during the week, no worries, you can look forward to a weekend full of full blooms on your pond!

Another couple of things to remember about water lilies is that they don’t like being splashed. This is something important to know, especially if you have a fountain or some sort of waterfall in your pond. Plant the lilies far away from these water sources to avoid accidently drowning your lilies. Also, make sure to plant your lilies in appropriate depth water. Rule of thumb, the bigger the lily, the deeper the water! But typically 18-30 inches of water should do the trick.

Water lilies are a classic choice that is a great contribution to any water garden as they add beauty, grace, and help achieve a healthy pond.

Water Hyacinth

If you are looking for a floating plant for your pond that is showy and will pop against the surroundings of your pond, water hyacinth is something to take a look at. They have round or oval shiny leaves, the stalk is thick, and the flowers are large and beautiful. The flowers typically are 2-3 inches and bloom a blue or lilac color with a yellow spot on each one. Occasionally (or should I say rarely) you will get white blooms.

Water hyacinth is another one of those hardy pond plants: it can actually survive freezing temperatures. So if you live in a place where you have extreme weather, this plant may serve you well. It does however reproduce a lot, and quickly, so you need to make sure that you keep a close eye on your hyacinth so it does not take over your pond. Making sure that you don’t throw excess hyacinths into the opposite end of your pond or even leaving it on the bank or your pond will help keep your water hyacinth under control.

Water hyacinths are distinguishable plants that provide a unique look to any water garden.

Penny Wart

Penny wart is a floating plant that works as a great filler and looks great when planted in bunches, as it can look scraggly if placed too thin. Be aware that there are many different types of penny wart that work well in certain climates. Some types won’t grow in warm water, but will in cool water. Some are meant to be planted in gravel and not water. If you are planning on ordering online, do some research at your local nursery to find out what type of penny wart would work for you.

Penny wart is a very hardy pond plant that needs minimal attention and not a lot of sunlight when it comes to growth. When it starts growing, it doesn’t stop, so watch it carefully. It can become very invasive and hard to remove.

Water lettuce

Another great floating plant is water lettuce. Sometime people confuse it with water hyacinth, but the leaves are more ribbed and they bloom white flowers. Water lettuce is a beautiful pond plant that covers your pond surface well and produces beautiful flowers for you to enjoy. It is, however, very sensitive to cold water. If the water gets near or below 50 degrees the leaves of your water lettuce are going to start yellowing.

Other than the sensitivity of water temperature, water lettuce is an easy plant to have. Of course, keep and eye on it to make sure it doesn’t start to overtake the surface of your pond. To remove it all you need to do it rake it up from the surface.

Keep up with your floating Plants

Overall, keeping control of the surface of your water by choosing floating plants that work for your environment is going to be the best bet for a healthy pond. Making sure they don’t overgrow is going to be the most important thing you can do when maintaining these plants. Having no sunlight available to your pond can be detrimental to your pond and the wildlife in it. Floating plants will give back to you by helping keep your water clean and the animals in and around your pond in a healthy, natural habitat.

Pond Plants: What You Need To Know

By Mark

Water pond plants are essential to your body of water. They will provide nutrients to your water and help balance the water in you pond. There are all types of plants for all types of ponds, but here are a few plants that you’ll want no matter the type of pond you are building or already may have.

Floating pond plants

Floating pond plants are probably the group of pond plants with the most variety. The benefits of variety are that there will most likely be a floating pond plant that will fit your personal taste. If you look beyond the convenience of having a variety of looks though, these floating plants have many benefits to your pond as well.

Floating pond plants help with algae control and keeping your water clear. They cast shade in your pond which will help prevent algae growth. They also absorb large amounts of nutrients out of the water as they grow. The less nutrients in your water for algae to feed off of, the less algae; the less algae, the clearer the water will be! If you have fish in your pond check out certain types of floating plants like Azolla. These can provide fish with good nutrients to feed off of, which is a nice bonus.

Oxygenating pond plants/Submerged Pond Plants

Having oxygenating pond plants in your pond is going to be essential when it comes to the cleanliness and health of your pond. Oxygenating, as the name would suggest, releases oxygen into your pond. Why is this important? When oxygen is released into your pond it helps maintain the PH levels in your pond naturally. This can also be achieved by putting harmful chemicals into your pond which does nothing to contribute to the overall wellbeing of your plants, wildlife, and water! Maintaining PH levels in your pond keeps your water cleaner and actually helps soften the water as well.

The oxygenating pond plants you are going to want to look at are submerged pond plants. These are completely submerged by water and live in the bottom of your pond. Some examples of these hardy submersible/oxygenating pond plants are rotala, hornwort, or red ludwigia. There are many options of submerged pond plants to choose from, don’t avoid getting some of these kinds of pond plants. These are typically the hardy pond plants you will find and are very important to the overall wellbeing of the environment.

With some general things to look for in pond plants out of the way, here are a few things to think about how you can apply that knowledge to different pond situations you may have.

Wildlife pond plants

If you have a wildlife pond you may have to think about a few different things when it comes to plants for your pond than someone who is putting a water garden in their backyard. You need to keep in mind the variety of animals that your pond will attract, it is important to remember that you should keep your wildlife pond safe for them as well.

When it comes time to plant pond plants in your wildlife pond make sure to choose plants that have that can grow in shallow water, deep water, and of course make sure to have a lot of oxygenating plants in there as well. Giving wildlife a sloped edge to walk down to the pond along with plants that grow in shallow water will help prevent animals from falling into your pond because there is a sudden drop off. Having deep water plants, like water lilies, gives underwater creatures a place for cover and a home for the winter. Oxygenators are, again, important to help keep your pond clean and balanced.

Pond plants and animals

Depending of what kind of pond you have will determine what kind of animals are in and around your pond. Regardless of what kind of animals are around your pond, it is your responsibility to keep the place a safe environment for them to live.

Having the correct pond plants will contribute to the health of the fish and other species of animals that are living in and around the pond. The varieties of plants mentioned above (surface plants, oxygenators, and shallow growing plants) are all essential in keeping a good balanced ecosystem for the wildlife surrounding your pond.

There can be, however, invasive pond plants and animals that can take over and throw off the balance of your pond, thus eventually ruining all of the hard work you put into creating a water garden. These kinds of plants and animals are often introduced to the space by us! We don’t realize that a certain species of fish will eat all of the vegetation, contribute to the mosquito population, or be a threat to other native fish. Why would we think that a beautiful pond plant that looks similar to other common pond plants would suddenly take over the surface of your pond while never contributing to the overall wellbeing and balance of the environment?

Do your research, especially when you are choosing a fish and plants for your pond. You do not want to choose a fish that may eat lots of vegetation, yet gives of harmful nutrients into your water that contributes to algae growth and low oxygen levels in your pond. Be mindful of where you live, what survives best there, and your pond will be a beautifully balanced ecosystem!

Pond plants not only beautify your pond but as you can see; they play an important role in the balance of the water, and wildlife in your pond.

Pond Weed Control And Treatments

By Mark

There are many things that can grow in a large pond or lake. Algae is one of the more common things you’ll find but along with that, or in place of it, a pond weed will take root and sometimes take over a pond or water way. Some of these aquatic weeds can be very invasive and the more well established they become the harder they can be to control. In this article we’ll talk about some of the more common pond weeds one might find across North America and we’ll provide some tips on the best ways to control them.

Cattails And Emergent Plants

By definition, emergent plants grow mostly around a pond, in shallow waters or along the shoreline. For most of us around the U.S. the most common of these would be cattails, reeds, Pennywort, or Bulrush. Because they are usually within easy reach, many people try to remove these manually by using a pond weed rake, or with some heavy equipment and often enough this can help keep them in check for a time.

If a pond owner is unable to physically remove the plants then an aquatic herbicide is likely the best option, and this generally goes for any type of aquatic weed as well. Remove them if you can, treatment if you must. A product called Shore Klear, combined with an activator such as Cide Kick is usually recommended to treat emergent plants. Shore Klear is sprayed directly on the plant and is only good for those that extend above the water’s surface. It doesn’t work well with submerged growth, however it is highly targetable and works well on many emergent pond weeds.

The Pondweed Familly

The term “pondweed” actually represents a species of plants that has over a dozen varieties of pond weeds that can be found in large ponds. A few of the more common plants include Curly Leaf, Large Leaf, Clasping Leaf, and Sago. It’s not as critical to determine the variety since treatments are consistent within the entire family. You’ll know you have a pondweed species when you see fairly long, vine like stems, with leaves branching off of them at different spots. Most leaves are long and slender however this can vary a bit. Sago as an example doesn’t have leaves to speak of, and you may only see very small vine extensions coming off the main stem. This type of plant can sometimes grow in water as deep as ten feet if it is pretty clear and you’ll often see it extending to the surface where it will spread out.

Several broad spectrum aquatic herbicides will work well on pondweeds. Aquathol Super K and Hydrothol are both granular products that can be broadcast over the plant growth and will usually work well to control growth.

Duckweed And Watermeal

Duckweed is one of the more obvious pond weeds since it only floats on the surface of a pond. It’s fast growing and can overtake a large body of water pretty quickly. Free-floating blooms of it will be blown by the wind and may move around the surface of the pond. If you look at duckweed closely you’ll see a somewhat flat, pod-like pellet that has several hair like roots coming off of it. In great numbers they may appear to be a solid mass on the water but they are in fact, individual plants that are pulling their nutrient support directly from the water.

A pond may go without having any issues with duckweed for many years, however the plant can come in, while attached to waterfowl and when conditions are right it will bloom, seemingly out of nowhere.

Watermeal is similar to duckweed however in appearance it’s much smaller in size with what appears to be very fine green grains however once again, when these are dense enough they will cover the surface of a pond.

Physical removal of duckweed is sometimes possible but usually the best course to take is to use some type of herbicide to control the plant. These should ideally be applied early on in the growth, before it becomes widespread on a pond. A product called Sonar, which contains a chemical called fluridone is usually suggested for duckweed control. White Cap is another brand. For a more eco-friendly option a new product on the market called Elemna8 may provide desirable results as well.

Waterlilies Are Good But…

Waterlilies add beauty to any pond that they grow in. No question about that. They also can help provide shade and protection for fish, and work to outcompete unwanted plants like algae. However waterlilies are also really good at growing and they can overtake a pond if they are not managed somewhat.

If you find that waterlilies are getting the upper hand there are several things you can do. Manual removal is an option if they’re not too heavy. Apart from that a product called Navigate can be applied to control them. After blossoms have appeared Shore Klear can be used to good effect.

Invasive Plants Include Hydrilla And Water Hyacinth

Of all the pond weeds that may cause problems for larger ponds, there are several that are so invasive, fast growing, and prolific, that they are now creating a number of issues in various states around the country. Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crasipes) for example is a plant that’s actually native to South America. It’s actually a popular plant to add to small ponds and water gardens, however it infested freshwater areas from the east cost to the west coast and is very troublesome in the southeast U.S. in particular. In many cases a non-native species can harm desirable local species as it chokes them out over time.

Other waters which may be used for irrigation or cooling can become infested and clog up systems or in the case of Hydrilla in Texas, some lakes there have become so heavily burdened that recreation and navigation are being restricted.

It doesn’t take much of the plant to get a foothold and since conditions are often ideal in the southern United States, the plants can grow and spread very quickly. Some control measures include various herbicides but there are also trials underway using biocontrols. M. scutellaris is a small bug native to South American that feeds very specifically on water hyacinth and they may provide a non-chemical way to keep the plants in check.

Where invasive plants are concerned, the best option is to limit their spread by simply not introducing them into the area’s water ecosystem. Small pond and aquarium owners who may benefit from the plant need to make sure they are disposed of properly. If they are removed from the pond or tank, be sure they are dead for about two days before disposing or insure that they come nowhere near a water source of any kind. It has shown the ability to survive in water in trash cans or buckets. They should never be dumped live into a a nearby lake or stream as they wil likely infect the water in short order.

Pond Weed Control Tips

Along with the recommendations that we’ve included for various plants, as a general rule it’s best to attempt the treatment of many pond weeds as early as possible in the growing season. Most species don’t grow well in cold or cooler weather and in many parts of the country that may freeze in the winter, the plants will go away entirely only to return again in the spring. Treating as the plant is just emerging will often allow less use of any chemicals simply because the plant may be more isolated, and they tend to be weaker at that time as well. This also tends to be much safer for fish populations because during any treatment where a rapid die off of plants occur there is the chance of oxygen depletion in the water.

It’s also important to clearly identify what the plant is that you have growing in your pond. Ideally you don’t want to guess and just simply start trying to treat it. Many species require specific types of products for the best control. The University of Florida offers a helpful website for aquatic plant identification as does Texas A & M University. Use these resources if you’re not absolutely sure of what you have growing in your pond or lake.

How To Effectively Deal With Pond Fish Problems

By Mark

A sick pond fish, no matter what kind it is (koi, goldfish, etc) is one of the most disconcerting things that a pond owner will run into. It’s stressful, worrysome, and can make any fish-loving person have some sleepless nights.

For some fish ailments, there isn’t always a simple and easy answer to remedy everything, however we’ll try to break down some proactive steps you can take to improve the situation for your fish and perhaps bring them back to good health and vitality. In a sense this is a useful step by step checklist that you can use anytime you run into problems.

Obviously when you first notice problems you’ll want to review several things and ask some basic questions with an attempt to narrow down the possibilities of what’s really going on with the fish. Is it a widespread issue or is an individual fish affected? What are the symptoms? What’s changed in the pond environment? And if we want to cover, at least at a baseline level, the main culprit in most fish illnesses we would need to ask ourselves one simple question (albeit, there are a variety of answers) and that is “what is it that might be causing stress to the fish?” Finding the answer to that question will often provide clues to the root cause of whatever your fish may be dealing with.

Why is the source of stress our primary focus? Well, according to a number of veterinarians and experts on fish health, stress, regardless of the source, can often hinder the immune system of a fish and make it very susceptible to any number of ailments or diseases. Along with other things like water quality problems in the pond, or injuries and poor nutrition, each component can add up to problems for any kind of pond fish.

Diagnosing The Possible Source Of Stress

Here’s a few things to check to help narrow down what may be causing your fish health issues or could be a main source of stress.

Have the fish been handled or transported recently?
Are the fish experiencing seasonal changes? (mainly coming out of winter)
Are fish over or underfed?
Have you tested the pond water for ammonia levels? (ammonia test strips)
Have you tested the pond water for high nitrites? (five and one test strips)
And what about nitrates? (five and one test strips)
Have you tested pH? (five and one test strips)
Do you suspect low oxygen? (don’t assume a waterfall or small fountain will be enough in deeper ponds in the hot summer months)
Have you checked fish loading? (overstocked ponds often have water quality or health problems)
Is your flow rate through the pond filtration system adequate? (ideally the full gallon volume will circulate about one time per hour or so)
Check your water temperature. (consider that warmer fish are normally healthier and less stressed plus fish medications are often not as effective in colder temperatures)
Inspect for any dangerous places in the pond. (are there any sharp edges on rocks, mechanical devices, etc that may injure a fish?)
How clean is the pond? (a natural pond doesn’t have to be pristine but it should be maintained in a relatively clean condition)

Common Fish Disease Causations

Consider bacterial infections. (it’s important to get an anitbiotic into the fish but only after water quality and other root causations have been addressed)
Also consider fungal infections. (these are common in koi that are stress or debilitated)
Attack parasitic infections if they are suspected.
Consider viral infections. (KHV – koi herpes virus is the most lethal and problematic because it can be spread so quickly and affect many fish in a pond)

Preparation Tips

Be sure to keep pond salt and some simple/common treatments on hand should you need them.
Have quarantine capability.
Use professional resources as needed for diagnosis, evaluation, and treatments if possible.

Consider bacterial infections. (it’s important to get an anitbiotic into the fish but only after water quality and other root causations have been addressed)
Also consider fungal infections. (these are common in koi that are stress or debilitated)
Attack parasitic infections if they are suspected.
Consider viral infections. (KHV – koi herpes virus is the most lethal and problematic because it can be spread so quickly and affect many fish in a pond)
Be sure to keep pond salt and some simple/common treatments on hand should you need them.
Have quarantine capability.
Use professional resources as needed for diagnosis, evaluation, and treatments if possible.

As you can see this is a fairly long checklist so let’s expand on a few of these topics and bring a bit more clarification to why these are important things to check and why they affect fish stress so much.

Fish Handling, Transportation, Seasonal Changes, And Feeding

Fish, like most wildlife, don’t like to be handled all that much. Capture and extraction from the water is, in itself, a traumatic event, as is transportation to a new pond. Touching an holding a fish should be minimal because it can disturb the natural and protective slime coating on their skin which once reduced can make infections easier to take root.

Fish generally prefer warmer water and their immune systems tend to work better in water temperatures in the mid 70’s. As water temps drop and things cool off, fish tend to become more sluggish and their entire system slows down. In good health they can handle these kind of changes and do just fine, however if the immune system is compromised they may not handle things as well. Winterstress is a time of particular concern when the weather is moving from cold to warmer spring weather. As things warm up again, immunity will eventually improve once again.

Many people wonder how much they should be feeding their fish and it’s a good question to ask. As a rule of thumb it’s good to feed fish about as much as they can consume in five minutes time. Feed them slowly so that the food does not sink and go to waste. By maintaining reasonable feeding amounts and scheduling you’ll have the best chance of avoiding water quality problems and maintain healthy fish.

It’s generally hard to overfeed fish and when they aren’t showing any further interested in eating or when the weather cools off below 50 degrees water temperature, then the feeding routine should be slowed or discontinued. Thin fish can often be identified because they will have a very slender body and large head in proportion to the body. Koi that are slow to grow, may be underfed as well.

Testing Your Pond Water

Every pond owner should get familiar with testing the water in their pond on a routine basis. Really only two testing tools are needed for the most part. Ammonia test strips test for ammonia of course, and 5 and 1 test strips will check for nitrites, nitrates, ph, alkalinity, water hardness. These are all useful to know but most important are the ammonia and nitrite readings. Both of these elements can be toxic to fish and cause widespread problems in a pond. They are easily kept in check with beneficial bacteria supplementation and should you find any readings, some partial water changes over a period of several days will usually help to bring readings back into line.

pH readings are useful to know since this reading can affect not only fish health and stress. Ammonia can become more toxic in higher pH ranges and in low pH ponds, there may not be much buffering capacity which can create wide swings throughout the day. Fish would prefer a fairly stable pH reading at or above 7.0 and they can often easily tolerate readings up to 9.0 and a bit beyond it. Some pond treatments and medications may also be affected by pH readings so it’s a good idea to get a reading on it before doing anything.

Low Oxygen And Your Fish

In warmer weather, pond water will not hold dissolved oxygen molecules as well as it can during cooler weather. So when the heat of summer raises the water temperature above 78 degrees, it’s time to keep an eye on the fish to ensure they are not gasping for air, or appearing to be distressed. Many people assume that a waterfall or small fountain will help with oxygen levels and while this is true to a point, if a pond has much depth, it may not help much in the deeper parts of the pond. A small pond aerator may help protect the fish enough to avoid any problems even during hot weather.

An important point to note here as well is that during the summer, algae often can grow well in a small fish pond. People may want to treat this problem directly but in doing so, if they kill the algae off quickly with a chemical, oxygen can be pulled from the water as the plant dies off. It’s therefore important to maintain very good oxygenation during these times to keep your fish safe.

Fish Loading, Pond Filtration, and Pond Cleaning

Too many fish in a pond for it’s size will inevitably cause problems. It always needs to be remembered that small ponds are enclosed systems with a limited amount of water volume and limits on a pond filtration system’s ability to deal with various things in the water. There are several ratios that are mentioned from pond experts in terms of the amount of fish per gallons of water but a very good conservative number would be one inch of fish per ten gallons of pond water. Less is even better, and more can lead to a number of problems with water quality. Fish waste can build up and not be adequately handled which may lead to ammonia spikes, or algae problems due to the high nutrients in the water.

Many people might treat an algae bloom, and this includes green water and string algae, with an algaecide, however this does nothing to address the root cause of it all, which is excess fish waste due to high fish loads. Good pond filtration will help with this of course, and one potential step would be to upgrade or increase the size and capacity of your pond filter. However at some point, you’ll likely reach a threshold where a pond reaches it’s limits and problems can ensue from there.

Speaking of good pond filtration, it’s obviously important that the system be of adequate size and capacity to filter out the gallon volume of the pond, as well as handle an estimated number and size of fish in a pond. It does little good to install a pond filter that’s undersized because they simply won’t help that much. Also it’s critical that the flow or circulation rate of the water be moved in enough volume to allow the entire gallon amount of the pond to pass through the pond filter about once per hour or so. This will insure that the water is being filtered well enough to remain clean, balanced, and healthy.

Normally a cleaner pond is a healthier pond so routine maintenance is a good practice to maintain fish health. Pond vacuums are very popular today and in widespread use and they do help keep sediments, debris, and all kinds of things from building up. Their prices vary widely so it’s worth shopping around to find the best setup for your pond.

Bacterial, Parasitic, and Viral Infections

As bad as the word “infection” might sound, many of these issues can be dealt with fairly easily with the right kind of treatment. It’s important to use as targeted solution as possible but fortunately many conditions can be treated by salt baths, warmth, oral antibiotics, or other medications.

One of the very best diagnosing tools that you’ll find online is at KoiCrisis.com . You can diagnose many issues by behavior or visible signs and there are lab diagnostics available as well. This is about as thorough a resource as you’ll find and it’s run by an experienced veterinarian that can provide sound advice for anyone with a fish in crisis.

Many fish disease is an isolated case with only a single fish being affected. However it’s also not uncommon to see certain ailments cause widespread harm to an entire fish population in a pond. It’s due to cases like this when it’s useful to have the capability to quarantine a sick fish at the earliest signs of trouble. This doesn’t have to be an elaborate set up but you need a way to provide a controlled tank that can hold the fish for a while in comfort. Water temperature can be more easily managed, and medications can be more easily administered to a single fish in a confined space. Prudent use of a fish quarantine station may end up being the best tool to keep the vast majority of your koi or gold fish safe.

This article is quite lengthy but it’s hard to provide a summary of everything that needs to be considered when you have a fish that’s showing signs of distress. There is a lot that you’ll want to consider and evaluate when you try to pinpoint where the source of a problem may lie. Doing so however is the best approach to take to end the problem quickly and restore your fish to excellent health. We hope this information will help you do that in some way should you ever run into a problem.