I'm new to the forum. Does anyone have a suggestion how to save my catfish? My pond is about 100' x 60' and deepest is 12'. My cats are huge and I've lost 2 in the last week. Also, my largest bluegill just died yesterday afternoon. I've been noticing large discolorations on their backs, tops of heads, and sides. Some even look like they have battle wounds. Almost "bloody." I live in Texas and it's been 100+ for about 10 days. Is it heat or are they sick? My pond is also fed by well water. It has water coming in every day, so I don't think the water is too warm. HELP!!!!

Sounds like an oxygen problem. The warmer water is the less oxygen it can hold. Well water at first has NO oxygen. Anyway you can do some surface aeration?

It's been said in aquaculture circles that 99.9 percent of the time a fish kill is related to low oxygen levels.

I didn't mention it, but I do have an aerator going 24/7.

IronMike,welcome to the forum.Sorry your here because fish are dyeing.Are they gasping at the surface?

IronMike

Sounds serious to me - have you entertained contacting a fisheries biologist to visit you? I know TX is rife with biologists - would be worth a visit IMO to protect your investment/pond/little slice of heaven, etc. Mr Davidson, Tom G, Davasta...anyone out there help Mike with a biologist suggestion?

No gasping going on. Only time they come up is when they feed. They have been eating very well. The war wounds started showing up perhaps a month ago. And they're ugly looking. These cats are enormous. At first I thought they had been fighting. Only a few had the splotches (sp). Then, last week the granddaddy died. A couple days ago another. Then yesterday my biggest bluegill. I only have about 12 or 13 cats and probably 100's of blues. I'm pretty sure the pond is plenty big for them.

You havent seen a heron hanging around have you?

Well, yes, as a matter of fact I did have a heron visit. Can't remember when, but it was maybe a month ago or longer. He was only here a day or two. Haven't seen it since. What can they do?

After the 3rd death, I did think I should contact a biologist. I'm not sure where to start. Got my first suggestion: go to pondboss.com so here I am. I do appreciate everyone's interest. Hopefully, I'll get to the bottom........soon. Geesh, these guys are like pets. Just hadn't named any of them.

A heron will spear your fish.Some of us believe(I for one)that they will kill fish bigger than they can eat to protect the smaller fish.IMHO they are a disaster in the making.NOTE...they are a federally protected bird.If it should ACCIDENTLY die on your property,bury it and say nothing.That said,I cant help much more.Im not one of the experts,unless your looking for an expert class clown.Dont get discouraged though,others will be along to help.

Others....hello? Jedi Masters - help please - IronMike needs some guidance!

IM

Can you provide pics of these "wounds" and post them?

Can you provide other details - are they feeding? Water low or high? Water temps? Dissolved O2 readings [if you have a meter]? How many fish have died, and in what timeframe? Any pics of them? Pics are very helpful to allow the experts here insight, then advice, and what's going on.

Don't panic! I bet those wounds are from spawning. Mine have them too. I bet you have large rocks in your pond. The males will dig under the rock and scratch themselves up good. Most of the scars are two lines on the tops of their heads that the run toward their tails. I have some that look pretty bad. These big males will be extra black as well.
Oh, they start spawning about June.
Sorry to hear they are dying. I never see any dead ones but most of mine aren't that big. Big fish don't seem to take stressors as well.

Hey thanks. That sounds like it may be what it is. Yesterday, we had a 4th of July party and one of the guests has a pond with lots of smaller cats. He said MANY of his are like that as well and thought it may be "a guy thing" and they actually were fighting during spawning. No more of ours have died since last week, so it's possible that they were just much older and the stressors were a little tougher on them. If I can get some pix when they feed, I'll attach. I'm going to let it go for now unless another perishes.

Thanks everyone that commented.