they were with koi, mirror carp, green tench and gold fish, when i removed the dead orfe they all had holes at the same place on their body, which is about two thrids along the side of the body, could they have died and other fish start to eat them? the pond is 8ft x 4ft x 3ft and is covered with a net, there is lilys and oxygen plants in the pond, it is cleand with a hoselock filteration system, hope this helps you to answer this .
2006-07-23 10:18:39 · 6 answers · asked by tcross259@btinternet.com 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
You should never be the keeper of a pond or fish but a keeper of the water, orfe's died many ways, sometime they swim so fast they bump into the sides knocking themselves out, cat love them because they dart about on the surface, heron love them (easy for them to catch), fish will eat dead fish's usually when there is a lack of food, if i was you i would have the water checked and sort it out, if need be, then i would look again at you pond life, that's to say fresh water scrimp, blood worm etc, at a guess i would say a cat had fun your ofe's.
(A net won't stop cat's or heron's attacking your fish, it just stops them getting the fish out the pond)
I have a 7500 ltr pond, with the same fish as you, the amount of orfe's I've lost to a cat is unbelievable (i have no net)
Good Luck
2006-07-23 23:27:52 · answer #1 · answered by Sly_Old_Mole 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes the would do this. Your fish probably had ulcers though. 1 of my carp got an ulcer (a sore that is an open wound) He swam around happily for about a week but then he got weaker and the other fish started nibbling at the wound, ofcourse this prevented the wound from heeling and he died.
Check you fish regulary, if you see anything like this, get the fish out straight away and put it into a tank. Your local fish shop should be able to provide treatment for this.
I know you have cold water fish but check out this website, im sure it will help you in future.
http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Diseases1.htm
2006-07-23 23:23:41 · answer #2 · answered by ♥Lexi♥ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have fish with the same varieties as you have. When we first started keeping them many died in similar circumstances and we were unsure of the cause or solution. We haven't lost a fish now for over 6 years. we only ever change some of the water and always keep as close to the established environment as possible and the fish seem to thrive. I hope that this encourages you.
2006-07-23 10:27:23 · answer #3 · answered by livilady2000 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would be very surprised if any of the other fish tried to eat them, are you sure it is not a disease of some sort, all these fish are very prone to this, the easiest solution to rule this out is to sterilise a small bottle and take a water sample to your nearest, garden centre fish supplier etc to rule out any problems with the water. There are many factors in keeping a pond etc livable. things like to many plants have an adverse effect, to much feeding, to many fish, etc etc. Go and get advise from someone who sells fish, they will be more than willing to help. All the best
2006-07-23 10:29:25 · answer #4 · answered by codge 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
any fish will eat any other fish if they can. if it's smaller than them, they'll eat it. if it's not fast enough and the bigger, dumber fish think they're food, the smaller ones will get eaten. and fish will ALWAYS eat, or at least pick apart dead fish in the tank/pond. if they're in there and they're dead, they are most definitely gonna get eaten.
2006-07-23 14:54:05 · answer #5 · answered by dplovincalvinist 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i have lost all my 4 year old fish
2006-07-23 11:00:51 · answer #6 · answered by paintball puppy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋