|
|
|
| We offer a Koi Rescue Service. |
Old Pond Syndrome By Todo I remember the time I asked my mother what “The straw that broke the camel’s back” meant. Just a simple explanation would have sufficed, but Mom tended to the theatrical. Narration as she went, this ample Polish woman hoisted bundle after bundle of imaginary straw onto a fantastic gargantuan camel. Soon the poor beast would take no more and collaped in a heap, crushed spine and all. This image visits me every time the subject of Old Pond Syndrome (OPS) comes up. OPS is the term for an established pond that suddenly falls apart for no apparent reason. Ponds easily accommodate normal environmental changes that fall within their range of health equilibrium. And, as long as the pond keeper is vigilant, this equilibrium can be maintain indefinitely. However, if not watched closely OPS can sneak up and destroy the pond. As ponds mature subtle changes occur that have a profound effect on the pond’s well being. Fish grow. Filtration, adequate when fish were small, starts reaching its neutralization capacity when handling more solid waste and more ammonia. Aeration becomes inadequate as bigger fish require more oxygen. Parasites and bacteria, held off by the fish’s own immune system, become problematic as water quality deteriorates. A pond can teeter on the edge of disaster for sometime, waiting for that one event that will break its back Pond crash triggers come in many forms. Even innocuous events may be enough to tip the balance: power outages, disease vectors like introducing an un-quarantined fish or diseased plant, ammonia concentration creeps up until it damages or even kills the filter, a cold snap or warm spell, going on vacation. The list is endless, but once OPS takes hold many fish are likely to die before that pond returns to balance. A few Saturday’s ago a fellow called with a fish emergency. His koi had stopped eating three days before and developed some skin condition. My first question was, had he introduced any new fish in the past few weeks? He had, a small koi bought three weeks before. Visiting his pond the next day exposed his real problem. He had 30 fish, some as long as 28 inches in a pond not quite 1000 gal. and only 28 inches deep. In short he had too many fish and too many big fish for his system. He was also under-filtered, under-aerated and had been feeding catfish food instead of a proper koi ration. His pond was balanced on the knife edge of an OPS crash and the introduction of an un-quarantined fish pushed it over. No matter what we did to stem the tide of death, the vast majority of his fish died within a week. There is an old koi keeper’s adage: ten percent of your fish will survive any disease, but this is small comfort when the dying fish are yours. The best way to deal with OPS is to avoiding it in the first place. This is not difficult provided that you do periodic water testing, maintain a proper fish load for the pond’s volume and filter, keep the pond and filter clean, encouraging algae growth on pond walls, introduce plants to the pond environment, feed properly and frequently observe your fish so if something changes you will see it. What is a Hospital Tank? Why would I need a Hospital Tank? How does it work? A hospital tank is a place that we heal our sick fish without infecting other fish or subjecting the other fish to medication. A hospital tank is needed to help fish that may otherwise die if left in a regular tank or pond. A hospital tank serves several functions: 1.Heal Fish a.Higher than normal temperature. b.Higher than normal salt percentage. c.Special medication (**!!!warning do not medicate fish without first talking to a fish treatment specialist or your veterinarian. Fish illness can be tricky business. Misdiagnosis can make the situation worse and hurt or kill your fish!!!**) 2.Quarantine fish a.Quarantine fish that you think may be sick. This will protect your healthy fish. b.Fish that are new to your area (pond/tank) should be quarantined for at least 24 hours this will help you to ensure you are not bringing unhealthy or potentially sick fish into your fish population. How to help your hospital tank work more efficiently. Higher temperature helps speed up the metabolism of the fish. Because they have more energy to move, they have more energy to heal. (Not too hot, about 75 degrees is ideal.) Have one or two strong air stones to help add oxygen to the water. This will give your fish the air they need to live and fend off anaerobic (bad) bacteria. Higher salt percentage in the water helps kill unwanted bacteria, be sure not to over salt the water (Koi are fresh water fish). |
|