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| I had recently had some trouble with my water quality that caused a spate of fish deaths. I lost 7 large goldfish, but finally got the PH under control, and everything was doing well.
My 3 Koi had survived, as had 7 other large goldfish. The Koi were both well over 18" long, and the goldfish were all in the 8" range. Sunday morning we were getting ready for church, I fed them and noticed the water level had been going down due to the heat. I turned on the hose, then got pre-occupied by other duties getting everyone ready to go. Long story short, the hose fed into the pond for about 2 hours while we were gone. Upon coming home, it hit me that I had forgotten to turn off the water. I rushed outside, to see that I had killed every fish in the pond. There was one black goldfish that was gasping, I put it in a holding tank, and dumped in chlorine neutralizer. He somehow managed to survive the rest of the day, and was barely hanging on today. Everything else was a total loss. My crayfish have survived, I saw them skittering around. And my two large Pleco's managed to survive (seemingly w/out any problems at all.) In fact I had trouble catching them while cleaning out all the dead bodies. We will be replacing the fish on Friday, but of course it's not fun thinking about the old fish. What a horrible way to go. I feel like such an idiot. A totally preventable accident. Wife said next time, we only top off the pond when we are sitting outside, next to it. I agree. Arrrggh. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by mondotomhead (My Page) on Mon, Aug 1, 11 at 12:42
| I am so sorry about your fish :( My question is why leaving the hose running in your pond would kill the fish? I've done what you did (leave the hose running) and my fish were OK. I have well water. Would that make a difference? |
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- Posted by groundbeef (My Page) on Mon, Aug 1, 11 at 13:36
| Yes, I'm on city water, and it's cholorinated well above the tolerance level for fish. It's fine when I add some (10-20%) but it has to immediately (or during) also have dechlorinator added to eliminate the toxic reaction the fish have. By watering for 2 hours I essentially did a 100% water change with zero dechlorination. |
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- Posted by pashta_2006 Z4 ADK NY (pashta@aol.com) on Mon, Aug 1, 11 at 13:41
| OMG. I am so sorry to hear this. I have read about it happening a number of times in this forum. It is so easy to forget that a hose is running (or something is simmering on the stove). I have had the opposite problem of having something go wrong with the hose system ( hose breaking or skippy filter plugged and overflowed, emptying the pond). I now have the pump plugged into a low water shut off gizmo. I think there is a high water hose shut off gizmo, but don't know if it would help you for protection in the future. My thoughts are with you. Anne |
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| What a bummer. This happens far too often with disastrous results. I have heard of people running the water all night before remembering. I would purchase a timer for your hose or if you are interested PM me and I can direct you to a supplier for a de-chlorinator that is good for 10,000 gallons that attaches to your hose. I use it for topping off my small ponds. |
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| G.B. I'm sorry you lost so many fish. Its even worse to feel guilty about it but that could happen to any of us. Vigoro makes a sweet little water timer that you screw on between your faucet and the hose. You just twist it like an egg timer and go away sure that it will turn itself off at the time you have set. |
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- Posted by sara_in_philly 6 (My Page) on Mon, Aug 1, 11 at 20:10
| Sorry about your fish loss! It happened to me quite a few times (luckly I have well water so no fish loss) untill I got a hose timer from home depot/lowes. The timer is about $10-$20, it goes between the faucet and hose, you have to set the times to turn on the hose. It's really easy to use. You can give it a try. |
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- Posted by nancym1956 (My Page) on Mon, Aug 1, 11 at 20:13
| I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. That's really rough. I know a lot of other people have done the same thing, so you're not alone, but knowing that doesn't offer any comfort. How is the black goldfish doing? Any improvement? |
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- Posted by groundbeef (My Page) on Mon, Aug 1, 11 at 21:14
| The black goldfish has apparently survived. He seems a bit 'shocked' and is in constant hiding. I'm sure it's just a function of the gills having to repair themselves. |
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- Posted by gardengimp 9B Seminole Cnty FL (My Page) on Mon, Aug 1, 11 at 23:21
| I am so sorry. Probably easier said than done, but try not to be too hard on yourself. ~dianne |
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| hi I'll bet there's not a fish keeper in the world who has not done that. I even managed to do it once with an auto timer lol. The spring mal funtioned. You can get the timers in wind up or electic with or without batteries depending on how fancy you want to get. You can get the electrics with multiple runs that also turn on as well as off. Wonderful for just plain watering. They cost more than the wind up of course but not only prevent wasting water they also can prevent a disaster. UNLESS the spring fails lol Good luck with your survivors !!! gary |
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- Posted by buyorsell888 Zone 8 Portland OR (My Page) on Tue, Aug 2, 11 at 19:49
| I'm very sorry for your loss. This is a very common accident. Don't beat yourself up too badly. Many people do this. I don't have enough chlorine in our water to be a problem but I've left the hose on way too long. I left the drip system on my hanging baskets on overnight two days ago. |
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- Posted by cliff_and_joann z7 L.I.NY (My Page) on Tue, Aug 2, 11 at 21:07
| Sorry for your loss...we have a melnor timer on our hose for that very reason. We use it all the time. |
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- Posted by groundbeef (My Page) on Wed, Aug 3, 11 at 9:57
| Black goldfish didn't make it. He was floating near the edge of the pond. Mouth was moving (barely), but the body was rigid, like it had rigor-mortis. Fins and tail couldn't move, and it was glassy eyed. I pulled it out of the water, and it stopped opening its mouth after a minute or so. Well, I'll just have an empty pond until Friday. Then I'll get some more and start again. |
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- Posted by pashta_2006 Z4 ADK NY (pashta@aol.com) on Wed, Aug 3, 11 at 18:37
| I am so sorry your black fish didn't make it. It is hard starting over. I did so this spring. I miss my old fish, but I am enjoying the new fish. |
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- Posted by ponderpaul 7a (My Page) on Wed, Aug 3, 11 at 20:47
| Boy, I'm glad I don't do things like that ---------- very often Peace & blessings |
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| I wonder if all chlorination is not created equal. Occasionally, I add 10-20% Lake Erie water to my pond due to evaporation. I do not use dechlor. The goldfish actually swim up to the hose as it fills the pond. Nobody dies. I never have green water, I never test, rarely fertilize anything and I have minimal filtration. I have no idea what I am doing "right" but it seems I have achieved the optimum balance which requires no summer maintenance. Of course scooping the leaves out in the spring is another issue. |
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| Sorry for your fish loss. City water sucks. Does this mean you will have to recycle your pond again before you put new fish in? Mine has been treated for both chlorine and chloramines and with the huge amount of rain we've had this spring I think they must be putting more in as the water from the tap smells. I like Prime for treating my water but have a settling chamber that I use for water changes and none of the water goes into the pond until its been treated. Have come close to overflowing the chamber though as it takes a long time to refill 300 gals. |
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- Posted by groundbeef (My Page) on Thu, Aug 4, 11 at 9:00
| I've been monitoring the water post-accident, and things seem to be doing fine. PH is 7.5, ammonia is undetectable, nitrates are undetectable, looks good. Water is good for new fish tomorrow. I'll post some pictures of them when I get them. |
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- Posted by sara_in_philly (My Page) on Thu, Aug 4, 11 at 9:48
| Sorry about your black fish! |
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| Busy getting your new fish settled in? :) Btw, sorry for what happened. |
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