My Koi/Goldfish keep dying!

mjjrules

Can anyone give me any suggestions as to why my Koi & Goldfish keep dying, Probably about 25 in total in a month! Our pond is about 2000 gals, has a waterfall, fountain, filter, lots of plants for cover and lots of oxygen plants. Whenever we have to fill it, I put declorinizer in. I bought a test kit, ended up being for an aquarium, but I assume it doesn't make much difference. I tested Ammonia, it's at 0, the Nitrate is also around 0, and so is everything else, except for the ph, it looks like it's really high, it's hard to tell because the colors on the chart don't match the actuals colors at all, but it looks like it's off the chart, which ends at 9. So I bought a $35 container to lower the ph by 0.2 a day, but I need to use 16 scoops of it a day, and thats almost the entire bottle, so it would cost me $35 a day! Does anyone know if it's the ph that is killing my fish, and if so how can I lower it? Or does anyone have any other suggestions as to why my fish are dying?

Lupin

What is the temperature of your pond?

mjjrules

Not sure, never tested it. It's in direct sunlight all day, but we have many plants for shade.

Zapher

PH should be closer to 7. Goldfish and Koi are pretty hardy so if you keep at neutral it should be perfectly safe for them. 9 is way to high, and i have never even see Saltwater tanks with a PH that high. Unfortunately that is the price you have to pay when owning bigger and bigger ponds/aquariums. Try getting a better test kit specifically for PH to make sure it is reading correctly. As far as temperature goes, it shouldn't be a problem with shade and a waterfall to help oxygenate the water. Are the Koi and Goldfish just disappearing or are you actually finding them dead? If you find them dead, do they have cuts or anything that would suggest they might be attacked or have a disease? Do you have any other animals living in the pond? How soon do they die after being put in the pond? How long do you acclimate them? Those are all questions that could answer your problem. Best of luck.

Dale

Ammonia? Although you say you pond is 2000 gals, how deep is it? If its shallow the sudden changes in temp could be killing your fish.

crazy4fish

do birds have access to your pond? wat else is in the pond? is the pond deep enough? try getting a test kit specially for ponds. if ph is the problem i heard somewhere that drift wood would help lower it dramaticly. but im not sure about that so i would ask around first.

willow

could it be that something suspect has been added to the water ?
any chance a wounded animal fallen in and is decomposing,effecting the
water. ?
any chance of taking one of the dead fish and getting an
autopsy ?

gelmore54

Having PH over 9.0 is definitely way to high. Should be @ 7.0 to 7.8 but not much more. Koi will usually adapt to most PH readings within reason. Have you been takeing the PH reading at the same time of day? Have you tried am and pm readings? even more than the actual reading it is important that there not be to big a swing in the PH per day. Check the KH level to make sure your pond is buffered. Is your tap water that high in PH? If so make sure the ammonia level is Zero when you add water to the pond. the higher the PH the more toxic even a little ammonia can be. Good luck and don't give up on your pond!

SKAustin

first of all, I would try buying a new PH test kit It may very likely be a faulty test kit. And make sure you are following the directions to the letter.

Secondly, as for what's killing the fish, there could be a number of things. Roof runoff can have tar contents from the shingles, older ceramic type siding panels can contain dusts that wash out into the pond water, oils from the ground may leech into the pond via rain water. the possibilities are limitless. Look for possible culprits and try to make remedies until you are able to isolate the problem. That or just dont keep fish in the pond.

crazy4fish

where is the pond located in relation to your house or any other building?