My fish are dying...
Discussion
We've got a naturally balanced pond, that is (possibly soon to be "was") stocked with fish (goldfish/ghost carp/normal carp/Orfes etc).
The ghost carp and goldfish have been swimming around merrily for the last 3 years, the Orfes and normal carp have been in there for around 15 months. All fish have been gifted to us, so unsure of age.
The morning after the hottest July day ever, there were 3 of the orfes floating. Initially we thought they had died of exhaustion as they seem to have been spawning and whizzing around the pond like nobody's business.
However, this morning, I found one of the larger carps on it's side with it's eyes clouded over. I'm not sure that the carp have been spawning.
We do have a fountain in the middle of the pond and turn it on when the weather is hot, just to aerate the water.
There are no marks on them.
Pond is around 10m long x 6m wide and around 1.5m deep (I think).
Lots of pond life. Lots of Iris's/Lily pads/oxgenating weed.
What's going off?
The ghost carp and goldfish have been swimming around merrily for the last 3 years, the Orfes and normal carp have been in there for around 15 months. All fish have been gifted to us, so unsure of age.
The morning after the hottest July day ever, there were 3 of the orfes floating. Initially we thought they had died of exhaustion as they seem to have been spawning and whizzing around the pond like nobody's business.
However, this morning, I found one of the larger carps on it's side with it's eyes clouded over. I'm not sure that the carp have been spawning.
We do have a fountain in the middle of the pond and turn it on when the weather is hot, just to aerate the water.
There are no marks on them.
Pond is around 10m long x 6m wide and around 1.5m deep (I think).
Lots of pond life. Lots of Iris's/Lily pads/oxgenating weed.
What's going off?
Thanks for the replies everyone, and apologies for my slow response!
Since my OP, no more fish have died, thankfully, although we haven't done anything different yet, besides keeping an eye on the fishes activity.
The pond works well in terms of staying at a decent level, so we only top it up when absolutely necessary, which isn't very often. After the first three Orfe had died, we were advised that due to the hot weather, the pond was giving off poisonous gases and to prevent that we should slowly sprinkle tap water into the pond and run the pump at the same time.
It does however sound like we had been putting the fountain/pump on at the wrong time. We had been turning it off in the evening and restarting it at around lunchtime the following day if the weather was hot. Makes sense about having it turned on at night now it's been pointed out!
On a side note, the pond is an established one - it's 40 years old. There has never been a filter or pump since we've been here and I guess many years before that too.
I don't believe my pond is overstocked, we have about:
5 x medium sized carp (say 450mm long)
1 x large Orfe (probably 600mm long)
4 x small Orfe/Goldfish (300mm long)
2-5 x wild ducks
A few common newts, frogs etc
The water is clear with no noticeable algae.
HOWEVER, there is lots of oxygen weed. Should I attempt to remove this? We usually do this early or late on in the year. I'm slightly reluctant to remove it atm, due to the fish eggs in there and disturbing the "silt", but obviously the living fish come first...
Since my OP, no more fish have died, thankfully, although we haven't done anything different yet, besides keeping an eye on the fishes activity.
The pond works well in terms of staying at a decent level, so we only top it up when absolutely necessary, which isn't very often. After the first three Orfe had died, we were advised that due to the hot weather, the pond was giving off poisonous gases and to prevent that we should slowly sprinkle tap water into the pond and run the pump at the same time.
It does however sound like we had been putting the fountain/pump on at the wrong time. We had been turning it off in the evening and restarting it at around lunchtime the following day if the weather was hot. Makes sense about having it turned on at night now it's been pointed out!
On a side note, the pond is an established one - it's 40 years old. There has never been a filter or pump since we've been here and I guess many years before that too.
I don't believe my pond is overstocked, we have about:
5 x medium sized carp (say 450mm long)
1 x large Orfe (probably 600mm long)
4 x small Orfe/Goldfish (300mm long)
2-5 x wild ducks
A few common newts, frogs etc
The water is clear with no noticeable algae.
HOWEVER, there is lots of oxygen weed. Should I attempt to remove this? We usually do this early or late on in the year. I'm slightly reluctant to remove it atm, due to the fish eggs in there and disturbing the "silt", but obviously the living fish come first...
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