# help! poorly pond fish!



## avons82

hi,

I have a 75gallon outdoor pond with 5 goldfish in it. They were indoor goldfish until summer this year when they grew so big I had to transfer them outdoors..

Today I thought one of the fish was dead.. he was very still on the bottom, nose down. But as I went in to fish him out he started moving again.. however everytime he stopped swimming his back end started to rise and he was struggling to keep his body down, but he wasn't turning belly up, just bottom up...

Does he have swim bladder disease?

Is it anything to do with the cold temps? I still have the fountain going on the pond, to stop it icing over, but would it be better turned off to help warm the water? 

Any advice / help / info would be great.. I dont want to loose him, I've had him a long time... :frown:

thank you!
 amey


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## Guest

Fish have a higher resistance to disease during the warmer months when metabolism is increased. The first thing I'd suggest doing is testing the water for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and posting the results so we can have a look. 

There are several causes of swimbladder problems. There isn't a specific 'disease' of the swimbladder bladder itself, any problems tend to be a result of an underlying condition; such as a virus or bacterial infection. Sometimes symptoms shown by a fish that mimic swimbladder problems are due to little more than a simple case of bloat due to feeding too much dry food. 

The swimbladder is a gas-filled organ which of course controls bouyancy. If the delicate balance inside the swimbladder is disturbed, the fish loses control of its own vertical and horizontal motion and goes belly-up. Sometimes swimbladder problems arise after a fish is offered floating dry foods. Floating foods such as flakes and pellets swell up with air at surface and when the fish approaches the surface to take the food, it can also take in a large amount of air which disturbs the balance inside the swimbladder.

However, dietary causes are unlikely during the winter when you wouldn't normally be feeding the fish anyway. I'd keep a close eye on this one for the next 2-3 days and see how it goes; and also keep an eye on the rest of the pond's inhabitants.


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## hawksport

75 gallons? That's a seriously small pond only around 12 cubic feet or 3ftx2ftx2ft. Too small in my opinion to overwinter fish


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## Guest

hawksport said:


> 75 gallons? That's a seriously small pond only around 12 cubic feet or 3ftx2ftx2ft. Too small in my opinion to overwinter fish


I was thinking that too. Ideally for five goldfish that have _outgrown_ an indoor tank should have a pond with the minimum dimensions of 1.8 x 1.8 x 0.5m.

To the OP: Is the pond one of those pop-up types like what you put on wooden decking?


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## avons82

hiya! thanks for your responses!

sorry i meant 175gallon pond! which should be ok for 5 gold fish right?

well the poorley fish is still as he was a few days ago.. nose down at the bottom of the pond but still alive. 

the only water testing kit I have at the moment is nitrate, which ive done and is fine.. (0 ppm)I will try get another kit today...

just wondering whether I should isolate him from the main pond or not? The other fish look fine, although they are very dormant...

I do normally feed them on the floating sticks, however they've not had ay food for some tine now with it being so cold.. how often should I feed them over winter?

thanks, :thumbup: amey


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## avons82

oh i do have some swimbladder treatment - is it worth me using some?
:confused1:

amey


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## Guest

avons82 said:


> hiya! thanks for your responses!
> 
> sorry i meant 175gallon pond! which should be ok for 5 gold fish right?
> 
> well the poorley fish is still as he was a few days ago.. nose down at the bottom of the pond but still alive.
> 
> the only water testing kit I have at the moment is nitrate, which ive done and is fine.. (0 ppm)I will try get another kit today...
> 
> just wondering whether I should isolate him from the main pond or not? The other fish look fine, although they are very dormant...
> 
> I do normally feed them on the floating sticks, however they've not had ay food for some tine now with it being so cold.. how often should I feed them over winter?
> 
> thanks, :thumbup: amey


1) 175 gallons is better than 75 gallons, and it's not bad for five goldfish.

2) You certainly need to get test kits for pH, ammonia and nitrite. Ammonia and nitrite are the two killer toxins in aquariums and ponds.

3) Isolating the affected fish might not hold any benefits, depending on the exact cause of the problem. If a bacterial infection is the cause, I would have expected at least some of the other fish to be showing similar symptoms. Causes of swimbladder problems like internal organ damage, tumors, bloat and excess air intake are of course non-contagious, so quarantine would be pretty pointless; however then again causes such as tumors and internal organ damage are rare and untreatable.

4) Fish metabolism slows right down below a certain temperature to a point where the digestive system partially shuts down. Offering ordinary foods that you would feed during the warmer months is a bad idea, as the fish won't be able to digest the protein. The only food that I would honestly suggest feeding in winter is low-protein wheatgerm, but even then this should only be offered on milder days.



avons82 said:


> oh i do have some swimbladder treatment - is it worth me using some?
> :confused1:
> 
> amey


I wouldn't bother, very few so-called 'swimbladder treatments' target the exact cause, and without knowing the cause using chemical medications could be a waste of time.


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## avons82

thanks!

I will try get some other water testing kits today - the nitrate level is good, so maybe amonia or ph might reveal something...

Otherwise I guess I should just leave him and monitor him... :frown:

:thumbup: amey


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## hawksport

The nitrate or nitrite is 0ppm?


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## avons82

oh errr its an API " Nitrite -N02" testing kit... is that different to niterate?

durrr sorry! 

maybe its the same thing and im just spelling it wrong! :lol:

amey :thumbup:


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## Guest

avons82 said:


> oh errr its an API " Nitrite -N02" testing kit... is that different to niterate?
> 
> durrr sorry!
> 
> maybe its the same thing and im just spelling it wrong! :lol:
> 
> amey :thumbup:


Nitrate (NO3) is the product of Nitrite (NO2) after it's broken down during biological filtration. Nitrite is the most lethal of the two, and it certainly shouldn't be above 0ppm. It's rare to have a Nitrate reading of 0ppm, most aquariums and ponds have at least some detectable Nitrate. Most fish can tolerate high levels of Nitrate without any short-term detrimental effects.


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## ramonfernandez

Pardon for the smile. I was really imagining how the fish looked like. I hope all is well with your fish.


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