Hi Lexarose. Not too tedious at all. Wish I could help. Best I can to is provide a link Horton shared once upon a time which I bookmarked for future reference. Maybe fin rot? My best guess but it's just a guess...really I don't have a clue.

My lil puddle (only about twice the size of yours) is about 12 yrs old. I've never added anything other than water, fish & plants and never once tested my water which has been crystal clear since the original algae bloom at setup. In 12 yrs I've had only one sick fish who was quarantined, treated, restored to health & returned to my puddle.

Point being, I don't have much to offer:( Hope your fish is recovering by now. You might want to bookmark the site below for future reference. Keep us posted on your fish's recovery...

Here is a link that might be useful: fish symptoms, causes & treatments

adding: never added anything to my pond other than water, fish, plants except an occasional/annual splash of h2o2 to clean the algae from my tiny waterfall

Where the heck IS Horton anyway?

Wow thanks Diggery- I love that you call it your puddle. We definately have water issues-the ph is off the charts-too high which I believe means too alkaline? So I'm trying to bone up on all this fish/pond business. Amazing that one sick fish can make me learn more than I ever wanted to about water. She's better, I'm hoping by the time temps stabilize(if spring ever comes back) She'll be ready to go back to her home. I bookmarked that page, thanks again,
Sue

Glad to hear your fish is better. You have definitely come to the right place to glean pond/fish info. Lots of knowledgeable ponders here who are always willing to share their years of experience. (obviously I'm not one of them, lol) But this I can tell you....THEY are the reason I have so few issues with my lil puddle. I'm sorely tempted to name names here but I'd surely leave someone out so I won't risk it. About the only thing I have to offer is the search function is your friend! Well, that and if you don't already have a skippy, adding one will make your ponding life sooo much more pleasant. That bit of wisdom was the single most best advice I've ever received.

Diggery- what the heck is a skippy exactly? I see it's always mentioned on this forum. All I have is a mechanical/bio filter that has pads and plastic balls inside,it's huge for this puddle and leaves no room on floor of pond. Sadly up until last summer I had NO filter. So at least I have this. I have to rinse off pads often thanks to all the frogs and polies living in there. Thanks for your your help, I'm going to do another water change today and try to get more water movement etc. My favorite thing to do : monkey with my pond... Sue

Basically, a skippy is an external filter that functions as BOTH a biological and mechanical filter. See the link below for details. I assembled my own, inexpensively I might add, with the guidance of everyone here. As I mentioned, my puddle is roughly twice the size of yours (actually it's three preforms strung together). Accordingly, my skippy is small. And small it may be, but it reduced my regular pond maintenance immeasurably!

The short version is that I started with a lotus pot I got on clearance. Added the grate from Lowe's & a few short pieces of pvc pipe & fittings. Picked up some scrubbies at the dollar store along with some batting. Every year I sprig the top with cuttings from plants I already have which renders the skippy invisible...once the plants take off, it looks like a lucious container garden nestled next the pond and no one is the wiser:)

My skippy is the simplest of the simple, no doubt, but it works! And it frees up space IN the pond plus cuts maintenace time beyond belief. Check out the link and if you're interested in my step-by-step details, I'll be happy to provide them. I don't have a lot to offer here in the big scheme of things but this is one lesson I learned well *chuckle*

~digger

oops! forgot to include the link...

Here is a link that might be useful: skippy

amazing, thank you so much Digger