HELP I killed my fish! - 07/28/20 04:28 PM
Hi all, newbie here,
I found this site too late! I am crushed.
I have many questions at the end but will start with the pond background.
I have a 31 year old (I put it in) 1/3+ acre pond 14' deep at it's deepest. It has been, over the years, stocked with bluegill, large mouth bass, and yellow fin perch. It is rain/ditch fed for about a few months or so a year. Usually fills up and spills for a short while. It drops 3 to 5 feet depending on the summer. Has some willows around it that provide some shade, cat tails etc. There are fir trees close dropping needles and cones into it. My son and I have spent years trying to get a balanced fish population. We catch and bring them home. We have had Otter wars twice, and have no idea what they took. The last two springs we thought we were there. Lots of bluegill fry and bass fry two years of lengths, 1/2" to 2". it was looking really good.
Lately (the last few summers) it appears to have gotten nutrient rich. Covered with duck weed, and this spring small masses of what look to be blue green algae. The water went from green to brownish and I could see big belts of green algae floating in it and it was getting stinky. I had also found a dead bass and two dead bluegill. So...I bought and installed a single diffused aeration system. Rocking piston compressor etc. You all know what is coming next...I ran it, not knowing about slow start. It ran for about 30 hours before I saw dead fish...Duh!! The smell was horrible for the first afternoon, but by morning was all but gone. I am pretty sure after reading this forum, that it was the toxins that got the fish plus low o2 counts. I have no idea how many fish were in there, but I have pulled out at least fifteen 10 to 12" bass, and about the same number of bluegill plus quite a few little 4 to 6" bass and bluegill. No perch, saw many dead fry on the banks.This was last Friday and Saturday and today was the first day with no new dead, that I could find.
My questions are; Should I assume all of the fish are dead? I see no life, no fry, nothing and it was teaming.(still have the #@*& bull frogs) I plan on an evening check for fish jumps but don't have high hopes. I was going to wait until this Friday (one week) to re start aeration. I know 15 minutes is the recommended, but maybe I should just do five? The water is clearing a little and I am shooting a large rainbird sprinkler into it all day hoping for a little o2. Is that bad? How long a recovery am I looking at before I start a restock? Should my goal be to get the aeration up to full time? We are in summer here, 70 to 75 degrees all day, lots of sun. What are your recommendations? I need some hope!
I found this site too late! I am crushed.
I have many questions at the end but will start with the pond background.
I have a 31 year old (I put it in) 1/3+ acre pond 14' deep at it's deepest. It has been, over the years, stocked with bluegill, large mouth bass, and yellow fin perch. It is rain/ditch fed for about a few months or so a year. Usually fills up and spills for a short while. It drops 3 to 5 feet depending on the summer. Has some willows around it that provide some shade, cat tails etc. There are fir trees close dropping needles and cones into it. My son and I have spent years trying to get a balanced fish population. We catch and bring them home. We have had Otter wars twice, and have no idea what they took. The last two springs we thought we were there. Lots of bluegill fry and bass fry two years of lengths, 1/2" to 2". it was looking really good.
Lately (the last few summers) it appears to have gotten nutrient rich. Covered with duck weed, and this spring small masses of what look to be blue green algae. The water went from green to brownish and I could see big belts of green algae floating in it and it was getting stinky. I had also found a dead bass and two dead bluegill. So...I bought and installed a single diffused aeration system. Rocking piston compressor etc. You all know what is coming next...I ran it, not knowing about slow start. It ran for about 30 hours before I saw dead fish...Duh!! The smell was horrible for the first afternoon, but by morning was all but gone. I am pretty sure after reading this forum, that it was the toxins that got the fish plus low o2 counts. I have no idea how many fish were in there, but I have pulled out at least fifteen 10 to 12" bass, and about the same number of bluegill plus quite a few little 4 to 6" bass and bluegill. No perch, saw many dead fry on the banks.This was last Friday and Saturday and today was the first day with no new dead, that I could find.
My questions are; Should I assume all of the fish are dead? I see no life, no fry, nothing and it was teaming.(still have the #@*& bull frogs) I plan on an evening check for fish jumps but don't have high hopes. I was going to wait until this Friday (one week) to re start aeration. I know 15 minutes is the recommended, but maybe I should just do five? The water is clearing a little and I am shooting a large rainbird sprinkler into it all day hoping for a little o2. Is that bad? How long a recovery am I looking at before I start a restock? Should my goal be to get the aeration up to full time? We are in summer here, 70 to 75 degrees all day, lots of sun. What are your recommendations? I need some hope!