Black Tuesday at the Koi pond.

In the last few posts I have talked about losing some fish and the challenges of fighting diseases in a pond.  This makes it a risky time in any pond, but more so when the temperature is changing.  Two fish have died (Rhu and Patty) and the disease has progressed to others in the pond (Tawney).

Summer is also a time of vacations and travel.  Traveling while treatment is progressing is also very risky.  Treatments usually occur over many days and things can change wildly over that time.  Symptoms can worsen and new symptoms may appear which may require changes in your treatment plan, all the while you are gone.  Plus putting such pressure on friends or neighbors who are feeding the fish is just not right, or productive. Unless they are familiar with Koi, they will not be in a  position to help with the treatment process.

At the Koi Garden pond we had just that happen:  a vacation was planned for a long time and I had to leave with a treatment plan partially completed.  The other thing that complicated matters is a heat wave in Seattle that raised the temperature over 90 degrees.   The higher temperature changes the water chemicals very quickly and can cause additional problems.  The treatment did not go as I had planned or wanted.   We had enlisted friends to review and feed the fish while we were gone.  But the higher temperature caused green water which obstructed any views of the fish, so health problems could progress…  Because they could not see the fish, they assumed that things were hunky dory.

Not so much.

Returning from a week long vacation to find all the fish dead is a bad way to return home.  

This is a sad time at the Koi Garden.  I will have to spend some time thinking about how to progress with the pond.

RIP Koi Garden Fish....

Black Day at the pond

We had two important tasks to accomplish:  Watch and help Patty through the treatment plan; and making sure the rest of the pond did not go the same path as with Patty. 

Patty initially appeared to respond well to the Malachite Green, but it was a short-lived victory.  Applying medicine to a hospital tank is tough.  The medicines need to be applied to a small space, so the correct calculations must be made.  Also since the medicines are so strong and the fish is so weakened by disease, the fish may not be able to survive the treatment.  And that is what happened to Patty.  After a short time in the hospital tank, Patty succumbed to the disease.  The disease had progressed too far.  Despite direct intervention of moving the fish forward and backward to keep water flowing through the gills, I was not able to revive Patty and keep the fish alive. 

No time to grieve.  Losing Patty was terrible, but there is no time to waste.  The rest of the fish we exposed to Patty for a few days before I found and moved the fish into the hospital tank.  This means that the pond and the fish that live there are at risk and must be treated very quickly.

While Patty’s treatment was progressing, I took some time to get a good look at the rest of the fish in the pond.  Things to look for include fish color, movement, feeding, anything out of the ordinary that hints that the fish might be ailing.  In the Koi garden pond, the rest of the fish were doing fine with the exception of Tawney, the long fined Tancho Showa.  Tawney was sulking on one side of the pond, not swimming with the rest of the fish.  There was no visible fin rot, but when fish do not fight for food with the other fish, there is a problem; and judging from what happened to Patty, Tawney had a BIG problem. 

Since the pond needed to be treated, I decided to treat the whole pond with the fish inside it.  I removed the plants to make sure they did not interact with the medicines.  This could be a problem for both the plants and the fish.  Plus, once the treatment plan is completed, we will place the plants back in the pond again.  I applied the Malachite Green to the pond (with 1 ounce per 500 gallons, dosed daily).  I also turned the heater way up in the pond, almost to the maximum.  Normally, I would never need to heat the pond in July, but this summer has not been normal.  I had turned the temperature off because I had thought summer had arrived.  But when the problems arrived, the temperature had dropped to 55 degrees.  At that temperature, the fish’s immune system is working, but not as well as it would be at 75 degrees.  These items seemed to help; there was a visible reaction within a half hour.  They all started being more active, looking for food and swimming around more.  Based on this outcome, I will keep the temperature slowly increasing until it gets over at least 70 degrees.

All fingers and extremities crossed!!!!

Patty is found!!!!!

Patty was hiding at the bottom of the Koi Garden pond.  I was worried that Patty was eaten by one of the critters that frequent the garden.   Luckily, that was not the outcome of the Patty search.  I found Patty along the bottom of the pond, hiding among the pumps and plants. 

But all is not well. A lethargic fish is not a healthy fish.  And Patty was lethargically hiding at the bottom. 

No feeding.

No swimming.

A little bit of rot on the long flowing fins.

And a very stressed pink color.

All indications of a very bad situation. 

I immediately sprung to action.

First step is to get the fish out of the pond and into a hospital tank where intense treatment can be applied.  In Patty’s case, it is quite easy to catch a sick fish with a net.  They don’t move fast and are really not feeling well.

The hospital tank, in this case, was a large bucket with an air pump, bubbling constantly.

I quickly look at my Koi reference books to try and get a feel what the offending sickness.  I use my favorite book for koi knowledge(The Tetra Encyclopedia of KOI).  The fin rot indicates that bacteria is eating away the long flowing fins.  The pink color indicates stress and sickness on the white fish.  I added Malachite Green to the water.  It is a mixture of formalin (think formaldehyde, icchhh) and some chemical that produces bright blue stains (OK, I have no idea why it is called Malachite Green….).  This chemical kills any exterior bacteria that are attaching the fins. 

It is also a good habit to call your Koi network to confirm treatment.  For me, I call Diane Torgeson of Oasis Water Gardens.  Diane confirmed the Malachite Green treatment but also warned me NOT to use salt water treatment at the same time.  Whew, I use saltwater treatment for a general treatment.  It improves functioning of Koi gills and assists the koi’s natural defenses by increasing the slick feel of the fish, restricting bacteria’s ability to get to the fish.  But in combination with Malachite Green, the salt water will burn the fish;  Ohhhh No…  Dianne also recommended additional treatment with antibiotics.  Both of these treatments are multi day treatments.  The Malachite is applied each day for at least 3 and possible more days.  The treatment plan for the antibiotics is a 10 day plan, with drugs applied to the hospital tank every day.

With the correct treatment plan in place, I embarked on the toughest part of any hospital stay:  the waiting….

Birds of Wrath!!!!!

One of the challenges of a koi pond is the constant fight with predators.  I have documented ad nauseum about my wars with the local raccoon clan.  But there are other predators for the koi pond owner to be aware of.  One of the local Koi ponds in our neighborhood has a particular problem with herons.  This pond, which has been documented in earlier posts, is a natural style pond with a waterfall, lush plants and overhanging trees.

Apparently the herons fly by, see the pond, and the brightly colored residents and drop down for a closer look.  They then hop into shallow areas of the pond, where they stand motionless until a unsuspecting fish swims by.  The fish is then unceremoniously skewered and quickly eaten. Not at all a neighborly thing to do, especially to beautiful and expensive Japanese koi….  No, No siree, Bob, definitely something to be restricted or avoided altogether…

In the Koi Garden pond, I have solved this problem in a number of ways. My pond has very steep sides.   Heron cannot walk down the sides as they can with a natural pond.  The shape of the Koi Garden pond is very even which also allows for use of a wooden frame with a plastic screen.  It keeps the predators out but allows the sun and water recirculation.  It also has the benefit of keeping any leaves, etc out.

This problem becomes larger with natural or irregularly shaped ponds that don’t lend themselves to ponds screens.  In this type of pond a plastic screen just doesn’t work well, especially if you want to remove the screen for certain occasions, such as cleaning or picture taking.

For ponds where a plastic screen won’t work, other solutions come into play.  One of the most interesting ones I have seen to use hang fishing wire in between adjoining trees.   The herons see the wire and avoid it like the plague.  They have a wide wing span and don’t want to get caught up in the fishing wire.  The fishing wire spans the space between trees over the pond high enough to not affect either access or the view of the pond.  In fact this pond owner has even attached ornamental metal leaves that move in the breeze for a festive look.  These metallic, flashing leaves also threaten the herons. 

Mission accomplished!!!!!

Hibernation is not in the cards!!!

We are in the midst of a mid winter thaw or an early spring.  It really makes no difference which as either way it has a great effect on the Koi Garden.  First it was the Crocuses....  Really gorgeous ones, they are just too early.

Next it was the Cherry trees and their blossoms.

The cherry trees are blooming very early, in fact most are already dropping their petals.  Now even the earliest of the Magnolia trees, the Starlota is already in full bloom. 

 Definitely not your typical Koi Garden in February. 

But there is a negative side to all this great weather.  Pollen counts have risen precariously; and with it come the allergies.   Allergies affect the Koi Garden guy, but I am guessing that the fish don’t suffer from the same malady (at least I have received no requests from the Koi for Benadryl).  But there are some negative aspects of the early warm weather on the Koi Garden.  The pond water that was green most of the year, has never really gotten cold enough, long enough, to kill all the algae and clear up.  Therefore the water has stayed green, maybe even gotten more so instead of a normal winter where the cold water clears up all the algae. 

Checking the water chemical levels is not something I bother to do too often in the winter, but with the spring temperatures and green water, I figure I had better do so.   After checking with the test strips, only the Nitrates appear high.  Since the Nitrites and Ammonia are not high I am less worried about the high Nitrates.  A higher Nitrate indicator essentially means that plants would do well in the water.  Well, Algae is a plant and I already know it is doing really well, too well; hence the problem.  If the rest of the chemicals levels are good, the green water is not a show stopper problem, but what good are fish if you cannot see them???

Hmmmm, Decisions about UV lights will have to be made.  Turn it on too soon for too long and the UV light will kill the algae and cause Ammonia levels to increase to hazardous levels for the fish.  Do nothing and the green water means you cannot see any of your fish.  Decisions, decisions…

The water temperature is now near 50 degrees.  If this is true, I will have to start thinking about feeding the fish as they will no longer be dormant and will be hungry!  Normally these are issues we deal with in April, not late February or early March.  Previous testing indicated to me that the water temperature indicator runs about 5 degree too high.  This means I will hold off feeding the fish for a little longer.   I may even turn on the filter heater if the pond temperature starts fluctuating each day.  

So much for the long dormant winter…..

Brrrr, winter has arrived!

The temperature has dropped for the last week and is staying well under any sane temperature (this AM we woke to a 21 degrees, in Seattle no less). 

But the Koi Garden is ready for winter.   The heater has long been turned off and the temperature has dropped nicely and evenly.  As I have talked about in earlier posts, the heater is used to even the temperature out as it falls to the winter levels.  There are some ponds that stay heated year around so the fish don’t even know that winter has arrived.  I call those ponds San Diego ponds….  But our goal is not to do that.  We like the seasons!  We just want to make the transitions smoother.

I have raked the leaves up to keep them from getting into the pond to foul the water.   I also got all the leaves out of the crushed gravel.  A Zen Garden with dirty gravel will just not do! 

The lilies and irises have been split and cut back in preparation for the cold season.  Cutting them way back allows them to go dormant and focus any new growth on the root structure.

The water has cleared up some as the temperatures dropped so it is almost possible to see to the bottom of the pond.

But most importantly, the pond is covered with the safety cover.  Jumping fish are not a problem this time of year as the fish are mostly sleeping.  But it does keep the leaves out and stops any raccoons, herons or eagles stopping by looking to have a sleeping Koi for breakfast. 

The Koi are sleeping without a worry in the world….

Oh and for all the shoppers who are just starting their search to find that perfect gift for their Koi Garden family and friends, we have moved the Koi Garden Guy’s Holiday gift recommendations to a special carousel at the bottom of this site.  This will be available for the next few weeks to save you the effort of perusing old posts. 

Pea Soup anyone?

Every spring it comes. And every spring we come up with more tools to fight it. That green, algae filled water that restricts us from seeing the beautiful fish we pamper so much.

I have a nice UV light that will sterilize the water and keep the single cell algae in check very well. The UV light is positioned in the pond in between the in pool filter and the large exterior filter. The UV light is positioned so that only half of the water going to the filter goes through the UV filter, the rest goes directly to the exterior filter. This setup guarantees that the UV light will not sterilize all the water and kill all the bacteria in the water and the filters.

I do not have the filter on all year. I leave the UV light off for the winter and the beginning of the spring. I didn’t want to do anything to reduce the amount of beneficial bacteria in the water until the bacteria filters are up and running. I don’t mind green water for the beginning of the warmer season.

Green water in itself is not an indication of a problem. It could just be that your biological filter is not functioning yet. It is however, very important that you check the water often. You should check for Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites. It is also important to check the water PH level; it should be between 7 and 8. Also make sure that the Oxygen levels of the water are high. If you have lowered your waterfalls for the winter, it is time to increase the flow and oxygenation. I think that you should also turn on any Venturi tubes you may have in your pond to get the frothy Oxygen flows.

If any of the measurements are too high, you should remove 1/4 or 1/3 of the water and replace it with new water. Please note that if you do use salt, check and adjust your salt amount after you make any additions of new water.

Wake me up in the Spring

As the temperature rises over 40 degrees, the fish begin to wake up and move around. I wait until the temperature gets over 45 consistently before I start feeding the fish. I then turn the filter heater on, if it isn't already. Having the heater on tends to even out the fluctuations in water temperature from day to night. This year we have had many days where it dropped down to near freezing. In fact, on April 1st we had snow for about 4 hours during the day. Not the typical spring we're used to in Seattle. But the filter heater keeps things fairly even.


The other thing using a filter heater does, is it allows the bacteria that will reside in the filter a chance to grow earlier. This year I introduced bacteria capsules into the central water entrance of the filter April 1st. The central water entrance is also where the heater assembly is located so it provides a nice environment for the bacteria to grow. These bacteria tablets are available at most pond stores. (I purchased mine at the neighborhood Lowes.) I also spent some time performing water tests for Ammonia, Nitrites, and also Nitrates. If any of those get too high, I pump ¼ of the water out (onto the lawn) and replace it with new water from the tap. I try and check the water every week, maybe more often as you are trying to establish your filters.

Winter has arrived

Well the freezing weather and snow has arrived.
The cold weather that hit Seattle recently has gotten so cold, I was concerned about the filter freezing over and the ceramic container breaking. I had recently turned off the filter heater and this cold snap was enough to make me turn it back on. At these temperatures, it is not strong enough to raise the water temp too much, just enough to keep the filter and the pond from freezing over.




The water stays cold enough to freeze on the screen, making some very nice icicles. The fish are visible and moving around in the water. At these temperatures, they are sensitive to noise and harassment. The fish sometimes even lay down and sleep. I have thought more than once that one of them was dead, but the fish were just sleeping.

The screen fills up with snow as well which makes for some nice photos.




Notes for Photographers: When photographing in snowy times like this, sometimes you need to modify the photos with software. I use Picasa from google (Google.com). It allows me to lighten the photographs to compensate for the cloudy, snowy weather. Picasa allows for many more, quite complex types of improvements to the digital photos. And it is available for a nice price... Free.

December winter prep

Even as the temperatures drop
into the 30s, the Koi Garden
still teems with life.

An early morning walk through
the garden allows time and
the light to find some small,
busy neighbors.










The winter die back allows for the Koi Garden to shine in other ways. It does make the fall/winter cleaning worthwhile.


In the northwest, filter temperature is a constant problem. I use a small aquarium heater placed inside the filter assembly to help keep the filter working.


The heater keeps the temperature above 50 degrees, measured in the pond at the alternate corner. This allows the fish to feed earlier in the spring and longer into the fall/winter. Koi go dormant at temperatures under 40 degrees and should stop feeding under 50 degrees. When the temperature bounces over and under that 50 degree level and you are still feeding your fish, there is a chance that the Koi will not be able to process the food, thereby getting very sick. By using a heater, you can help remove this risk as the transition through feeding and letting the fish go dormant a lot easier. Also, in the spring, as the temperature is rising again, the harmful bacteria and viruses wake up from dormancy faster than a Koi's imune system. Having a filter heater can help make the transision from 30s and 40 to over 50 a lot smoother.
It also allows the filter to remain at a higher temperature allowing the beneficial bacteria to work more efficiently. Since the pond temperature is now falling close to 50 degrees and the outside temperature is mostly well below it, it is time to turn the heater off for the winter. The Koi will be fine as long as the pond doesn't completely freeze over.
I prefer to turn the heater off at the plug in, rather than remove it from the filter. This allows me the option of turning the heater on for a few days if the pond start freezing over in a cold snap.

In preparation for the winter, I also put the winter screen on the pond. It is a wood framed monstrosity that has a metal screen that I built a few years ago. This allows light and all the elements like rain to get through, while keeping the raccoon away. I don’t use this screen in the summer or while I am around and enjoying the Koi Garden, but in the winter, it is a nice way of keeping predators at bay.