AboutDavid St Experience I have been in the hobby for over three years. I am currently setting up an online business to sell aquatic plants. I have raised and bred guppies, cichlids and goldfish. I currently keep over 200 differnt kinds of fish and over 100 different kinds of aquatic plants. I also have been part of a fish rescue group that take in fish people no longer want. I currently have 16 tanks at home plus two hosptital tanks, 1 snail tank, and a nursery for plants. I work in an aquarium so I have some experience in other areas that I do not feel I am an expert in. The most important piece of information that I would like to convey here is the fact that I love fish and have for many years been rewarded by keeping fish. I would like to be able to help people share the same kind of satisfaction that I have had from keeping fish.
Education/Credentials BS Business with emphasis in science.
Expert: David St Date: 7/4/2008 Subject: goldfish pond
Question pondI live in Fairbanks, Alaska and have a 55 gallon outside pond and waterfall. We laid in a rubber liner in a pool shape and lined sides and bottom with rocks causing a lot of hiding spaces. My son convinced me to put in goldfish to help eliminate algae in the water. However, the problems have gotten worse with my point. About 1/3 of the fish have died and been taken out. About 1/3 are still swimming visibly around the pond and 1/3 are unaccounted for. I can only assume that they have died and are in the hiding places in the rocks.
I want to take the live fish out and give them away but I am not sure what to do next to get rid of the dead fish. Is there something you can think of that can decompose the fish and then they can be sucked out of the pond? I can't really take the rocks out without a great deal of hard work and heavy lifting which I am really not able to do at this time do to a recent surgery.
Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Answer Hi Cheryl: how new is the pond? What do you think caused the goldfish to die? does the pond have a filter???? Have you had the water chemistry checked??? The reason I ask is because if the pond cant sustain goldfish there is not much else besides algae that will live in it for long? What was it you had hoped to accomplish with this pond???? What else is in the pond besides goldfish and rocks? let me know because I have a couple of solutions that may help...dave
