Dr Erik Johnson - Veterinarian
Companion Animal & Fish Health
You should be aware that in the normal scheme of things, phosphates cause algae to flourish. As such, phosphates became ‘the enemy’ to marketing weasels who would have you believe that algae are the bane of our existence. Phosphates are not considered overtly harmful to fish in naturally occurring amounts. Phosphate removers will attempt to … Read more
If fish are suffering illness due to any obvious deterioration of water quality, you are well advised to begin a systematic daily changing of 20-40% of the total volume in the system. There are some important points to consider before going out and wholesale changing the water. First, make sure the water change does not … Read more
Hydrogen Sulfide gas is a gas produced in an-aerobic pockets under water. These may occur anywhere there is deep sand or sediment, or in a sump with thick mulm. Hydrogen Sulfide Pond Gas – Not Very Common Without Oxygen, some bacteria can respire by using Sufur, and this creates Hydrogen Sulfide, H2S which is very, … Read more
My pond is about 3 months old. The water is clear but has a yellowish tint that I would like to get rid of. I have koi and water plants in the pond. All my water tests are fine except the water seems to be ‘hard’ and the pH is about 8.5 in the afternoon. … Read more
Written by Dr. Martin Brunson Rotenone – To Kill 100% of Fish Population – by Dr. Martin Brunson Using Rotenone To Renovate Fish Populations In Farm Ponds The ultimate fate of many farm ponds in Mississippi is an unbalanced fish population that is undesirable to fishermen, and, therefore, has little recreational fishing value. Once a … Read more
Nitrites – A Tenth the Level of Ammonia is enough to Kill. i.e. 3.0 ppm ammonia is as deadly as 0.3 ppm nitrite. Nitrites: Second Waste product in the Cycle, Low Numbers KILL! Nitrite is an intermediate metabolite in the CYCLE. Nitrite binds fish Red Blood Cells causing gasping and “brown blood disease”. Extension agents … Read more
Ammonia is the primary chemical waste product of the fish. It’s basically fish urine. It can accumulate in ponds and cause health problems for the fish. Step Four is to assess this ammonia level with a test kit, or have someone test this for you. After assessing Ammonia levels in the pond, assure a healthy … Read more
Dechlorinator What it is: Water gets sent to your house by a municipal water company. They get this water from different sources, many of which aren’t 100% germ free. The water gets treated with chlorine so the germs die. But when the treated water gets to your house some of that chlorine resides in the … Read more
Activated Carbon – Charcoal Activated Carbon – Detailed information – by Carl Gittings This article was prepared by Carl Gittings in preparation for Koi Camp 2002 at Ashland Berry Farm. ACTIVATED CARBON Activated carbon is currently used in numerous applications ranging from the decolourisation of sugars and sweeteners, gold recovery, colour/odour correction in wines & … Read more
Chlorine (You better know about this). When water comes out of your hose, in most areas, it’s “city water”. This means that it is accumulated by and “made drinkable” by the city. Then the water is supplied to your house. They almost invariably “chlorinate” the water. This means they add chlorine (and sometimes chloramines) to … Read more
Hydrogen Sulfide is not a common problem in fish ponds, as far as we know. (It *is* a problem in fish tanks, though. Especially at a major cleanout and with disruption of the sand / fluorite etc.) What this means to pond people though, is; pond people don’t test for Hydrogen Sulfide much, so we … Read more