[scabs]

Woke up this morning to find that our goldfish have died. We've had them for four years.

I think its because of the temperature in the house, the water was very warm... 

[Pretty Chick]

What a shame I feel so sorry for you  .

How many died? Did you have quite a few?

[newatthis]

sorry to hear of your loss, we lost a good few last yr to the heat and they where out in the pond..

[scabs]

It was just the two of them and I'm surprised to feel as upset as I do. I remember when my wife came back with them, I told her off because she had let the kids win them at a fair. I told her that it was a bad idea as they'd most likely be dead the next day... but they grew and grew and were pretty hefty fish!

Ah well.

[8doubles]

My pond fish were on the surface gulping air this morning , warm water does not hold as much oxygen as cold water plus the fish are more active in warm weather and any weed or algae can absorb oxygen at night.
Time to leave the pump and aerator on all day and night.

[scabs]

I would have thought our filter pump would have created enough oxygen, but obviously not. 

[newatthis]

My pond fish were on the surface gulping air this morning , warm water does not hold as much oxygen as cold water plus the fish are more active in warm weather and any weed or algae can absorb oxygen at night.
Time to leave the pump and aerator on all day and night.

yep that time of year again...

[Dilly Dom]

Earlier this week one of our goldfish died in the pond.

I saw it floating in the shallow end but there were two horrible prawn/shrimp like things either side of it's body.  We wondered if they were young cray fish as have heard they are in the dykes around here.

Have been advised though that it probably suffocated because the water got too hot.

Our intention was for it to be a wildlife pond and we have loads of frogs, toads and newts but with the mozzie season upon us I got two goldfish to see if they would eat some of the larve.  Wish I hadn't introduced them now poor things.

The other thing is our pond water has always been cyrstal clear, we always fill it from the water butts and never from the mains.  This last week or so the water has turned bottle green has anyone any ideas why this is so please. 

Did wonder if it was something to do with the hot weather but last year in June when we had that heat wave if stayed really clear.

[tam]

Is it static? One of those little fountains will break the water surface to improve oxygen and mix it up so it doesn't get stagnent. Is there any shade? Water in full sun goes green quicker.

[8doubles]

The algae bloom is probably due to nutrient build up. If you feed the fish they produce fishy manure which is just what algae need.
 My fish ponds are clear at present but the frog hole is a real pea soup which can only be due to the large amount of tadpoles in residence as this pond is not fed and only topped up with rainwater.
The beasties by the dead fish were they http://www.troutnut.com/specimen/354

or these fellas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dytiscidae

If neither i would think they were dragonfly nymphs.

[spottymint]

Hi

Sorry to hear about your fish.

As already said, probably lack of oxygen. You need the pump to be agitating the surface of the water to alow oxygen exchange or an air stone & pump.

With the green water, as again mentioned, nutrient build up. A partial water change & a few more plants to eat up the excess nutrients may help. (Tap water containes not only chlorine, but nitrates which feed the algea).

In really hot summers, even our tropical fish struggle with a filter & very strong airpump !

[Pretty Chick]

I bought some minnows today. The lady advised us on which kind of fish would suit my 20l tank and she suggested small fish eg. minnows because she said goldfish outgrow their tank. Apparently her mother had a couple of goldfish in a 30l tank, they grew and she has now ended up with a 130l tank because they grew too big. She also said that if goldfish die after about 3 or 4 years, they might have needed a larger tank.

Scabs, how big was your tank? It may have been the temperature that became to much for the fish, but it could have been the size of your tank.

[Pretty Chick]

Oh and by the way the rule to go by is 4cm of fish to every litre of water. For example we have a 20l tank so have 5 x 4cm fish (they're minnows and only grow to 4cm, but the rule applies with all fish). Any more and the fish could eventually die.

[8doubles]

What type of minnows have you got , the UK minnow Phoxinus Phoxinus grows to about 12cm it is also far more delicate than a goldfish and needs a higher oxygen level.
Nice little fish the minner.

[Pretty Chick]

What type of minnows have you got
Nice little fish the minner.

Hi 8doubles  .
I've white clouded mountain minnows (long name for short fish ). They're very sweet and settling in very well  :happy:.