Hi there

Not sure where this post should go, so apologies if it is in the wrong area. I have a smallish pond (4m x 1m x 1.5m) with 4 Comets and 2 Koi in it. It has developed a leak and needs to be drained so that it can be fixed (which will happen tomorrow).

I took the fish out of the pond last night and am storing them in largish plastic crates. The 4 comets are each about 25cm long and are in crates (one fish per crate) measuring about 60cm long by 30cm high and 30cm wide. The water level is about 75%

The two koi are smaller (under 20cm) and are together in one crate measuring about 75cmx40cmx40cm.

They all seem fairly happy at the moment.

The pond will be refilled by tomorrow afternoon.

My questions are as follows:

1. How long can I safely keep them in these crates without any air/filtration?
2. What can I do to provide any necessary extra oxygen?
3. Should I feed them? How much?
4. Should I be changing the water regularly?
5. When will it be safe to return them to the pond with fresh water? Is there anything I can do to treat the water before returning them?

I had no time to plan this properly so I've landed in a bit of a mess. Hope someone can help.

Regards

Martin

Hi,

First thing cover the koi - they may feel claustrophobic and jump.

Then stop all feeding. Nothing. This is very important. Without food you will not need filtration. Also the koi are very small and ammonia should not be a problem even in the very small container.

The time to check is first thing in the morning. If they are lethargic and gulping for air at the surface you will have to do something about it. Even taking a bucket or jug and lifting the water out of the container and pouring it back from a height will get oxygen into the water.

You can add an air stone. Just get an aquarium air pump with a single air diffuser on the end and drop this to the bottom. But I feel if your temperatures are not too high then they will be OK until you place them back in the pond.

Get some sodium thiosulphate and add a level teaspoon per 1000 litres to the pond as it is filling. This will eliminate the chlorine immediately and it will be safe to place the koi back within an hour or so of the pond being filled.

Once the pond is filled take some of this water and add it to the container where the fish are. You must acclimatise the fish to the new water as it will be stressful to move them directly into this.

Chris

I agree with Chris, they should be fine for a day or two. I have heard of people filling their bath to host their fish for days. It will give you much more volume and more surface area, and therefore more oxygen.

Also very easy to do a water change. If you have one of those hand showers, it is ideal to put some oxygen in the water. Always good to use a fine spray to increase oxygen.

An aquarium pump that Chris is referring to is very cheap. You can get a small one for around R 60.00.

The Sodium Thiosulphate or any other anti chlorine is very important to avoid chlorine poisoning.

And as Chris said, no food at all. They can easily survive without food for 10 days.

I would add a bit of salt to keep stress levels down, protect against parasites that may be opportunistic due to increased stress, and to combat the effect of any possible Nitrite spikes. 300 g/100 liters.

With what are you going to repair your pond? Some materials needs a few days before you may put water in, some even a week or two like butimin.

If you use a concrete based filler or sealer, chech your PH before putting the fish back into the pond.

Thanks a million for the help and the speed of response.

I nearly learnt the hard way about not covering the koi. Luckily I heard the one jump out else it would have been a goner.

The pond is being marbellited so they need to fill with water immediately.

I got a little air pump and some airstones, not a great cost at all.

What is the ideal pH? Can I use swimming pool products to fix the pH?

Where do I get sodium thiosulphate?

Thanks again, fish still seem to be doing well.

Martin

The ideal PH is 7.5 but the koi can tolerate between 6.8 and 8.3. If it is within this range, do not add anything. Fluctuations are worst than a high PH.

With a new pond, you will rather have problems with high PH. If the PH is above 8.3, do not put the fish in.

You should not have problems with Marbelite but in the unlikely event, add pool acid, let it circulate for a while, empty pond, wash walls with diluted pool acid, rinse well and add new water. Wait until the PH settles below 8.4.

Never use pool acid while there are any fish in the pond.

Chris Neaves wrote:

Get some sodium thiosulphate and add a level teaspoon per 1000 litres to the pond as it is filling. This will eliminate the chlorine immediately and it will be safe to place the koi back within an hour or so of the pond being filled.
Chris

Chris, can this be used for the 10% water changes? Will it take out chlorine as well as chloromide and heavy metals?

It is considered to be the cheapest to use when you do water changes.

You can also use Cloram-x or AmQuel for water changes, but it is much more expensive than Sodium Thiosulphate. However, it has the added benefit that it binds ammonia also. That is why Cloram-x is currently being used by SAKKS as anti-chlorine at koi shows, because you also have to address the ammonia aspect.

Sodium Thiosulphate takes out Chlorine AND Chloromides, but as far as I know, it does not bind ammonia and will not remove heavy metals.

Hi,

Please don't touch the pH unless it is really bad. Then if you are talking about your pond then add new water - circulate for a few days then do a 100% water change.

Alternatively - add water - treat with sodium thiosulphate - add koi then if the pH is very high do small water changes every few days until it reaches a reasonable level.

As Paul says sodium thiosulphate for chlorine and chlorimines not ammonia. But with your stocking densities you should not have a problem.

Where do you stay so we can find someone with sodium thiosulphate for you.

Chris

Quote :

Where do you stay so we can find someone with sodium thiosulphate for you.

You can get it from the Chemist. I got a box today.

You should also be able to get this from your local Vet

I just noticed the box I bought today has an expiry date of 2008
Is it no good then.

I bought 10kg (crystals) about four years ago and it is still very effective. There is no expiry date on my containers and I was under the impression that it will last for many many years. One of the major properties of Sodium Thiosulphate is that it has an "excellent" shelf-life.

On http://www.romil.com/Shelf_Life_SAR.pdf it gives a shelf-life of 5 years.

At least it will not turn toxic, but will purely loose it's effectiveness and you might have to use a stronger dosage. (You can't overdose)

I suggest you test it. Chlorine test kits are available all over.

The solution has a shelf-life of only six months.