How stress affects pond fish and how we can treat and prevent it!

Stress affects fish in the same way as humans.

When fish are stressed the immune system becomes compromised, this in turn makes the fish more susceptible to illnesses and poor health.

As with people stress can be caused by environmental issues as well as internal problems that make the fish poorly.

The main symptoms of a stressed fish are:-

  • Seeming to be unable to catch their breath, gasping for air.
  • Seeming less interested in being active in the pond.
  • Erratic movements.
  • Hiding consistently when they would usually be rather sociable.
  • Loss of interest in food.
  • Changes to the colour of the fish, appearance seems lighter or darker. They can also seem to have dots where there wasn’t any before.
  • New injuries appearing on the fish such as cuts or scratches.

Although this list may seem like there is a lot to watch out for there are many other symptoms to look out for when your fish is stressed.

Although this is worrying for yourself and your fish don’t be alarmed the fish can start to thrive again in a stress free pond if the main cause of the stress is identified.

Most common causes of stress within the pond:

  • Overcrowding this could be with too many fish or with too many decorations in the pond.
  • Predators from above the pond.
  • Poor water quality.
  • Handling of the fish.
  • Parasite infestation, the pond medic will carry out a mucus scrape to determine if this is the case (always seek advice from a professional before adding any treatment)
  • Bacteria……if everything else is ok then treat the pond with a parasite treatment or salt the pond to help perk the fish up (always seek advice from a professional before adding any treatment)
  • Having aggressive fish in the pond.
  • Moving/transporting .
  • Not having enough food in the pond to feed all the fish.
  • The temperature of the pond being too hot or cold.
  • The pond not being a sufficient size for the amount of fish that live there.

In order to lessen the stress that the fish have there are a few things that can be tried:

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  • Attain and maintain optimum water quality and pond conditions for the fish.
  • Keep new fish in their fish tank water for at least two days, to observe and ensure they do not have an infection. This will also reduce stress for the fish.
  • Ensure the fish are fed an excellent quality food to make sure they are getting the correct level of nutrition.
  • Try not to introduce too many fish at once.
  • Do not overpopulate the pond.
  • Monitor the water quality on a regular basis and filter the pond with the correct filter for the size of your pond, if possible one that contains activated carbon.
  • Be aware of natural predators e.g herons and use the necessary preventative measures to ensure your fish are safe and secure.
  • Treat if required (always seek advice from a professional before adding any treatment)
  • Be aware of how natural pollutants can affect the water quality. For example

    • Heavy rainfall can affect the PH level.
    • Soil and debris can be washed into the pond.

For further advice please call Pond Medic Northwest…. Tel: 07737 674417