My koi, goldfish and shubunkins wintered well. No losses over the winter. My pond has been up and running for about a month. I live in Nj and the weather has been pretty mild. The fish are very sluggish, not interested in eating most of the time. I've had a few problems, my uv light didn't work for a week. It had come loose from the cap and was repaired on Sunday. I've had a problem with ammonia, done some water changes and used Ammo lock and today bought and used Amquel. I don't like the ammo lock since you can't get an accurate test. The ammonia is there it's just not toxic but I never know if the product is working. I decided to switch products so that I can get a true reading. My PH is under control. Any ideas? It's nice to be back on the board.

Welcome back! How big is your pond again and how old? I've never read any ammonia in my ponds which is why I ask. Add some more good bacteria to the pond to try to get the bacteria going stronger. The AmQuel sounds good to control the ammonia in the mean time. I'm in MD, and my fish have been eating for weeks. I wonder if the ammonia is bothering your fish or if it's something else?

Hi Robyn, thanks for answering. My pond is 3,000 gallons My weather is similar to yours- For a few days last week they ate but not with any gusto. Last summer they were ravenous and so far they don't seem interested. The heartiest eater and biggest fish (Koi) last summer is not really eating at all. They all move very slowly- barely swimming at all. The best eaters are the shubunkins and goldfish so far this year. I read on the board that someone used a pool solar cover in their pond thinking that the fish needed a place to hide so I tried that last night and have just put it on today. The plants aren't providing any cover so I thought that might make them feel safer. I have never had a problem with predators so i am very confused. I did a partial water change today and added more AmQuell since I got a high reading this morning. I hope they aren't sick. Do you think I should use a general treatment just in case? If yes, what do you recommend? I just looked outside and the fish are all under the blanket so I guess they like it. I had such a great time with my pond last summer once I got everything under control that we had an indoor pond/aquarium built. It's 300 gallons and houses about 25 fish- Koi, Shubunkins and goldfish and 3 albino underwater frogs. That's been a total pleasure- no real problems. I noticed ulcers and black marks on 1 of the goldfish. I put it in a 10 gallon aquarium and treated with salt baths, Melafix, Pimafix. Didn't seem to help so I tried a parasite treatment and within a few days a huge improvement. After several weeks, I was able to put a fully recovered fish back in the pond. I've been closely watching the other fish in that pond and today noticed a large Shubunkin seems to have a blister on it's head and back. I don't want to panic but am concerned . Should I treat that pond?
Sorry to hit you with so much at 1 time but you really were my savior last year. Thanks for listening! Nancy

I usually don't recommend treating an entire pond with strong medications especially if you don't know what (if anything is wrong). Many medications are worse than the problem.

Can you describe the blister that your goldfish has? If it's clear fluid-filled, it's probably a cyst. They are not contagious or really treatable and usually go away on their own. "Blisters" can also be bacterial or viral but it helps to have a photo to see what it looks like. I'm just guessing and certainly no savior.

I would rather not treat the entire pond. I'll keep an eye on the fish and see if the blister goes away. If not, I'll try to get a picture. Thanks a lot!

Hi Nancy. I don't know if this will help or not, but this is what I am noticing since the fish came out of hibernation a week ago today. The smaller fish are eating pretty darn good and being pretty active. The big Koi are barely barely eating and moving very slowly. They are like they are in slow motion. I noticed the same thing last year. It seems to me that the smaller guys come out of hibernation faster and it takes the big guys more time to "warm up". I have netted quite a few of my fish to inspect them and they all look so super good and healthy. I am amazed that they could go 6 1/2 months without food and come up from the bottomless pit looking like a million bucks!

Same here, the babies came out of hibernation faster than the adults. They ate pretty good until this cold snap...now they haven't been near the surface to eat in about 4 mornings. I have the solar blanket, it's still floating, and they still love it. :D I read somewhere that black marks around the gill area might be a thing called 'black smudge'. It's actually burns from too much ammonia. As usual, I don't remember what fish site I read that on.

Thanks SadieMay and KoiKrazy, It sounds as if we're all in the same boat. Yesterday I drained most of the water in my pond, cleaned some left over dead leaves, refilled the pond, resalted, and used Stress Coat 2 and PH down. Like magic, the pond looks great and the fish are swimming - still kind of slow motion but looking much better. I followed the advice of a guy who's like the "Fish Whisperer". He helped me last year and came through again. He said that I began feeding the fish too early. They need time to come out of hibernation. He told me not to feed them for 2 weeks. I'm so relieved that the fish are okay. Since this will only be my 2nd summer with them, I think I have been overly eager to get back to the fun of summer feeding . Sadie May, it was your mention of the solar cover that I saw. I tried it and I think my fish like having the protective cover also. Thanks for that great suggestion! Has anyone used Aqua 4 You? I think I'm going to order it. I think Robyn likes it a lot.

I have just been noticing the same sort of thing. We are just going into winter and the big fish are slowing down - doing all the same things only a lot slower - but the babies are still flying around the pond at full speed. I would have thought the cold would have effected the little ones first!

Where are you located Cold Gold? Must be very far from me if your winter is beginning. I am enjoying a pretty nice spring. My fish are definitely doing much better since I started this thread. I'm going to continue holding off feeding them for a couple of weeks and give the bio filter a chance to function well. It's so great to see the fish really swimming instead of moving in slow motion. I'm looking forward to a fun fishy summer!!!

ColdGold is in Australia so it's fall there.

"Aqua 4-U" is another BZT United Tech product. I actually use "BZT Aquaculture." I'm not sure how different they are. It may just be the same stuff in a smaller bottle. I would ask them. http://www.united-tech.com

Hi bflygirl,

As Robin said I am in Australia and loving Autumn right now. Best time of year as far as I am concerned.

Going to roll back the bird netting today and replace it. I have some garden arches over the pond that I put the netting on and in Spring passion flower vines grow over it so the ponds have enough shade by the hight of Summer then the vines die off in Autumn and we roll the netting back and and replace it so the kookaburras don't get the fish.

Bleating tree frog tadpoles really like to eat passion flower leaves!