Medication or Chemical Overdose
OR -- Other Factors Are Causing the Water Treatment to Kill the Fish

Most the time when you treat the pond with any kind of water treatment (ie. medications, floculants, algaecides, clearing agents, etc.) the culprit to any resulting koi and goldfish health emergencies is that the product used was overdosed.  That's not always the case.  Sometimes other factors will cause an otherwise harmless water treatment to become lethal.  If, after treating your pond with a water treatment, you immediately experience problems such as the fish being lethargic, dying, swimming erratically, gasping for air or jumping wildly, chances are something in that treatment method caused it.

Emergency Procedures

1. Test the water for ammonia and nitrites.  Test the pH.
2. Make an immediate 80% water change - don't forget to add de-chlorinator if using chlorinated water.
3. Determine the cause of the problem with the water treatment.
4. Wait until the fish are over the stress (if possible) to restart the treatment.

Items You Might Need:

Doc's De-Chlorinator

Ultimate Water Conditioner

Chlorine and Heavy Metal Remover

Know Your Gallons!

Heavy Duty Water Meter

Symptoms of Overdose or Problems with the Water Treatment

All or several of the following symptoms may occur if there is a problem with the water treatment you performed.  Generally ALL the koi and goldfish will exhibit these symptoms.
Dying Fish / Fish Gulping for Air / Erratic Swimming / Lethargic Behavior / "Playing" in Waterfall / Spiraling / Jumping / All the Fish Suddenly Hiding

Rule Out Overdosing First

This is when knowing the amount of gallons in your pond is extremely critical.  Recheck your figures.  The calculations to find your pond's size in gallons is Width x Length x Depth x 7.5.  I find that most ponds are not square or rectangle so you'll need to use your common sense.  Find the AVERAGE width, length and depth then multiply by 7.  That works well for me most the time.  Also - when you refill your pond you can check the water meter with nothing else running.  If you find that you followed the directions on the label of the product to the "T" and have the right amount of gallons the problem is NOT an overdose.

If the Problem is NOT an Overdose

Determine what caused your water treatment to go wrong.  Ask yourself these questions:

Is there enough oxygen in the water? 
Are the fish gasping for air?  This is usually the problem...  Water treatments will zap the water of its dissolved oxygen and your fish could be having difficulty breathing.  The pond should not be totally tranquil.  During any kind of water treatment you must have plenty of aeration going on.  Have the pump going at full blast.  Add another pump if necessary.  Have all available oxygen sources going full steam.

Is your pH between 7.0 and 8.0?
Some water treatments will cause the pH to fluctuate and if the pH is high or low some water treatments may react to it and cause further problems.  If this is the case you will need to stabilize the pH before attempting the water treatment again.

Have you added anything else to the water while performing this treatment?
Most water treatments should not be done in conjunction with other treatments.  For example, salt at the treatment dosage of .3% should not be used when treating the pond with most ich treatments.  As a rule, you should never combine two medications at once.  De-chlorinators may even interfere with some products.   

What to Expect Next

The koi and goldfish that survive will be stressed and their abilities to fend off health problems will be lowered for a while.  Do not attempt to perform any water treatments for at least a week or two or until the fish are stable.  If the treatment that was being performed was to heal the fish you will need to treat them as soon as possible so be sure to find the reason why your treatment was unsuccessful before attempting the treatment again.

Preventing the Problem

Knowing the amount of gallons of your pond is paramount.  Be sure to keep all aeration in the pond functioning during the treatment and watch for signs of undue stress.

More Information About Water Problems and Remedies

• Do You Have Enough Aeration in Your Pond?
• CHEMICAL ALERT -- Read this before you add another chemical to your pond

This did not help me.  Please send me back to the Diagnostic Clinic.

© copyright, 2008, PondDoc.com.  Reproduction or use of any content on this website prohibited without written consent from PondDoc.com.  This advice is given free of charge and serves as information only to help you with determining the cause of fish health problems.  The content given is to be used as guidelines only.  By following the guidelines on our website you are agreeing that we will not be held responsible or liable for any losses.  We cannot diagnose your specific case.  We are simply forwarding the benefit of our extensive experience with koi and goldfish health.