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| Top Ten Ways to Kill Your Fish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Koi and goldfish are both fairly hardy species, but there are a few sure-fire ways to eliminate all life in your pond. Please be advised that just because you know what these ways are doesn't mean you won't do at least one of them over the course of pond ownership. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The number one, numero uno, top of the list, sure-fire way to kill your fish is with the garden hose. That's right. That innocuous little rubber tube that gives life to your flowers and shrubs can be lethal to your fish. It will only take you one time to forget to turn the hose off after topping the pond up or a water change to wipe out everything you hold dear. The reason is that cities treat the water that you and I drink with chloramines (chlorine and ammonia), and both are toxic to fish. The combination of chlorine and ammonia can also be toxic to humans if the two are combined in an enclosed environment, like a bathroom. The fumes created by mixing the two will burn the lungs, causing the individual to pass out and can ultimately lead to death. The same is true for your fish. Chloramines burn the fine, feather-like gills of the fish, making normal respiration difficult and labored. If you catch the problem in time, you may be able to save some of your fish by immediately treating the water with a chloramine binding agent like AmQuel or Chlor-A-Max, but the gills of the fish will be forever scarred, making the fish weaker and less likely to live to it's full life span expectancy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Second on our top ten list is suffocation. Fish need air to breathe, just like we do, only they breathe a little differently because their whole lives are spent under water, not just the first 9 months. Suffocation occurs when there is not enough dissolved oxygen in the water to support the volume of life present in the system. Since the bigger fish require more oxygen to survive, they will be the first to go, first gasping at the surface to try to get more oxygen through their gills and ultimately dieing. Suffocation can be caused by a number of things. Inadequate water circulation is just one possibility. A pond that is too shallow heats up more quickly than a pond that is deeper, and water holds exponentially less oxygen per volume as the water temperature rises. Tannins and dissolved organic waste in your pond can also reduce the oxygen levels to an unsafe level. Additionally, submerged plants, which during the day convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, reverse the process at night, converting oxygen to carbon dioxide. In heavily over-planted ponds, often in combination with shallow ponds, this can become lethal. Certainly overpopulation is another key factor in the oxygen equation, and having to many fish for your volume of water will put your fish under undue stress, causing a number of ailments, suffocation being just one. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Number three on our list is a pH crash. Although it is VERY unlikely in our area (Central Illinois) for anyone to experience a pH crash in their pond, it is a problem in many areas of the country, hence the reason it's number three. A perfect pH is 7.0, however, the pH in this area is pretty constant at anywhere from 8.5 to 9.0. The fish will adjust to this higher pH with little problem, as long as it remains constant. The reason we here in Central Illinois have very little fluctuation in our pH is because we have a very high (almost off the charts) KH, or Carbonate Hardness. KH, or Carbonate Hardness, in laymens terms is the dissolved mineral content in the water, and our water is very hard. KH stabilizes pH levels. The fish need an adequate level of KH to survive, as they absorb the dissolved minerals in the water through their skin. In areas where the KH is low, a heavy fish load, or infrequent water changes can cause the KH to get used up, and when that happens, you will experience a pH crash. If the KH levels in your area are questionable, the best thing for you to do is to add crushed oyster shells to your filter system. As the KH in the pond gets used up by the fish, the oyster shells will dissolve to replenish the KH supply. Crushed oyster shells can be purchased at any farm supply store, as they are also used as a suppliment for chickens to strengthen the shells of the eggs they produce. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <<<GO BACK TO SICK FISH PAGE | CLICK HERE TO FIND MORE WAYS TO KILL YOUR FISH>>> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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