Help! Fish Emergency...

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

and if the pond doesn't freeze they could be an easily caught attractant to predators.

 

[GardenGeisha]

I have been so surprised that the cats haven't tried to eat them.

 

[GardenGeisha]

Got a lot of nice rain. The fish seem happy in the nice, clean rainwater in their pond. Hopefully, it washed out any gooky stuff.

 

[ducks4you]

I use water from my dehumidifier for my DH's CPAC machine, especially bc we have calcium in our water and it Doesn't. It's essentially distilled water.

 

[MontyJ]

I didn't read every post, so maybe someone already mentioned it. If you move your fish from the pond to an aquarium that was just started up, the fish will probably die from ammonia poisoning. A new aquarium doesn't have the bacteria needed to dispose of the ammonia that fish produce. Simply using water from the pond won't help. The bacteria live in the soil of the pond. Live plants in the tank will help some, but you really need to get your hands on some starter filter material from an established tank.

Again, sorry if this was already covered.

 

[Jared77]

Monty is right. You can use the old filter material to help it so long as you have water flow over the old filter media to give the bacteria oxygen or the will die. You can also try a plant called hornwort. It lacks a root system so it floats in the water & will filter water. The plants will take up ammonia as a source of nitrogen but its not the easiest form for them to use.

Some plants that float on the surface with roots in the water will help too like duckweed or water lettuce or water hyacinth. Problem is the fish may snack on these things too.

I'd get a test kit and monitor the ammonia nitrite & nitrate levels. Nitrite & nitrate are what the ammonia is broken down into as the bacteria do their thing breaking down wastes. Keep an eye on the levels & change 25% of the water if he levels ar too high. You may even have to do this daily to keep the tank from becoming toxic. Google the nitrogen cycle for more info. Also feed the fish every few days while this is going on. No point in adding to the waste & stressing the fish even more. Fish are opportunistic eaters so will eat whenever foods available.

 

[Smart Red]

GardenGeisha was talking about the gold fish in her pond. Moving them from the pond to a non-city-water aquarium will not harm them as long as the temperature of the water is close. Then keep clean by replacing their water as needed.

 

[GardenGeisha]

It is to get down to 31 F tonight, the first night below freezing, so I brought my 7 goldfish inside and put them in an aquarium.

They did great all summer, without a filter or pump in the pond, but now that they are indoors, I have a Marineland aquarium, 30 gallons, set up, with a model 200 size filter (really designed for a larger tank than mine-- say, a 50 gallons, which the worker recommended for more aeration since it will have more output since it's really for a 50 gallon, not a 30 gallon) and a biowheel which is supposed to generate healthy bacteria. Aquarium gravel on the bottom.

I bought a gravel vacuum. The worker said a pump isn't necessary unless the electricity goes out.

The worker, who has aquarium fish, says goldfish do not need a light, unlike tropical fish.

I plan to do a 15% water change once a week.

The house is currently unheated, so I shouldn't have to feed them too often. I will move the floating pond thermometer indoors tomorrow to see how warm the water is. Six of the fish were easy to catch in the pond, but the 7th, the sole black one, hid in the black water. I almost didn't find him. He was on the bottom, and I had to remove all the water before I could spot him in the black murk. He looked dead but revived quickly in the aquarium water.

They all gravitated to the 'waterfall' from the filter in the aquarium at first, but are now swimming around throughout the tank. The measurements of the tank are 29" X 14" or so. I read that you multiply that and divide by 30 to find the inches of fish your tank will accommodate. I think it might be a bit too small for my fish. I think I'd better set up a second tank. What do you think? A couple of the fish are small, but 5 are probably about 2.5", minus their tails. I heard you don't count the size of their tails.

At least I have tried to save their lives as my outdoor pond is too shallow for them to safely overwinter (only 18" in depth), and I'm sure no pet store will take them. I've had them since last March.

How often should I do water replacements, given the smaller size of my tank (30 gallons) and number of fish (7) in it? I am going to buy Spring Water for the water replacements, since our tap water has fluoride.

How often should I feed them based on water temperature?

Is it true the pond water won't protect them? Should I bring in some of the mud from the bottom of the pond and place it in the tank?

 

[GardenGeisha]

And how soon should I start feeding them, now that I have brought them in from the cold? They haven't been fed fish food for several weeks, since the temp of the pond water dropped below 55 F. I read that you should wait about 3 days before starting to feed them, once you bring them inside? However, the woman at the pet store said to start feeding them immediately, about 2 flakes per fish per day. I read you should feed them an amount about the size of their eyes each day. That is hard for me to understand/comprehend, but she said roughly 2 small flakes each, poor day. Of course, there are piggies that will gobble everything, while others won't be able to get a bite.

Linn, how big is the tank in your sunroom, and how many inches of fish do you have in it?

 

[so lucky]

GardenGeisha, it's been a long time since I messed with goldfish much, but it sounds to me like they will have plenty of room. That biofilter will create enough water movement that you shouldn't have to worry. Sometimes people let the water level in the tank drop a bit so the filtered water drops to the surface, like a little waterfall, but that would be better done in a larger tank.
If you have time to change out about 1/4 of the water every couple of weeks, vacuuming from the gravel, stirring it up a bit as you push it around, that will get rid of a lot of the gunk that goldfish are so famous for. Use that water on your plants.
The bioactivity from the filter will do most of the cleaning for you. Don't do a big water change and a filter pad change at the same time. The water may get clouded in a few days now, but that is normal. It will clear on its own.
One other thing, you might want to get a little can of granulated food. It is easier to figure out how much you are giving, and it will sink slowly, giving the slower fish a chance to catch some. Nothing wrong with feeding them now, IMO.