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If he was floating on the top of the water he was dying. He could have lasted for hours and hours gaping for oxygen. It is harder for them to breath when they can't swim.
The goldfish with the wheel chair had a recognizable disease that destroys the fishes ability to balance. He was lying on the bottom of his tank. The wheelchair let him stay upright and swim.
It is sad that the pond has lost fish. It has been a long winter for them. They should still be hibernating. The warm and cold weather may have caused the fish to be active too soon. If there have only been 3 fish deaths in 5 years the pond is doing very well. The fish might have had some kind of bacterial infection. It can happen and it would be hard for the fish to survive.
I am glad you didn't leave him to suffer. Fish feel pain and distress and dying slowly would be very hard.
Catherine
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Yes I don't think 3 deaths in 5 years is so bad. The main fish there are big -about 8" long. I noticed some little ones also, very tiny, which have been around for a while and I don't think the big ones hurt them.
I don't feed them in the winter. I am meant not to until the water warms up, as their digestive systems cannot cope with food when it is cold. They are usually fine and healthy through the winter. I catch glimpses of them sometimes swimming around. I think they get a very basic digestible nutrition from the water itself or fine particles in the water.
That tiny fish didn't appear damaged at all, or swollen, or as if anything was obviously wrong. Maybe it was some infection, but wouldn't others be affected...(?) The others all seem fine.
I couldn't examine its dead body etc as there was hardly a trace left of it after I had dispatched it.
No there was no way I could leave it struggling like that.
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The pond is obviously doing very well. It is a wonderful life for a fish, being in an outdoor pond. The survival rate sounds very good. There are lots of things that can kill a fish. It would be very hard to tell just by looking at it. The fact that the other fish are well is a sign that the pond is well.
I love seeing fish in a pond. There is something peaceful about watching fish swimming. They are better to not eat when it is cold. They slow down and barely breath when it is below a certain temperature. If the fish are swimming around it must be getting warmer.
Catherine