Dang. Fluffy was happily swimming around this morning (Saw him as I glanced out the window) and this afternoon I found him dead behind a rock in his favorite hiding place. He'd lost a few scales on one side, but otherwise showed no signs of illness or decay. He got buried under the hostas, and will now fertilize plants in his eternal rest.
I haven't seen Spot for a day or two, and just assumed he'd been hiding. Now I wonder...
I added another dose of Stress Coat, removed half the water and refilled it with the garden hose, and still no Spot. I'm assuming the worst at this point.
Anybody have theories on what did them in?
Possible Factors:
- Heavy rain last night, it's possible that extra soil / funk washed into the fountain
- Vinyl liner in the basin -- but they lasted 5 days so far...
- Only fed them twice in five days, per the fish store's instructions
- Spot's possible demise may have polluted the water
Thoughts, fishy people?
Can you get some clumps of hornwort or other submerged pond plant in there? That will help balance the ph. Fish waste is alkaline (ammonia) and the plants use this as food/fertilizer.
Did the plant store suggest the vinegar trick? That one is new to me.
You might not add vinegar to a planted pond - I use it as a weed killer for terestial plants.
Dirt in the pond should not be a problem, unless there are high concentrations of fertilizer/weed killer/etc applied to the soil.
I'm having trouble this year with my pond pots due to a resident adolescent raccoon.