My wife Mayang, decided the water in the first pond needed changing as the water had gone from a light brown to a very thick green. Her troops were assembled and mustered, and the water was pumped out. All the fish were moved to a laundry tubs for safe keeping, and the cleaning commenced. They scrubbed off all the algae using Zorox bleach and dried it all up.
I was asked to re-install the pump and filter, of course while they were filling the pond with fresh water. I explained that to use the pond again the fish would have to be moved from one tub to another from the alleged water to clearer water a few times to prevent them going into shock and or suicide. Please note that your humble Kano was back in the house on the computer far from the killing fields of fish hell.
My wife, her sister, and my nephew Josh, all entered the kitchen in a fit of depression. As all 25 Koi had passed away, kicked the bucket, were taking a dirt nap, or possibly were just plain dead.
Now for some reason I was required to go to the back of the house and witness the fact that they were Ex Fish. What they thought I could do about it, I never did find out as mouth to gill was off the table as far as I was concerned.
Trying to make them feel better, I foolishly joked and said, “I’ll light off the Mindanao Bob Deluxe BBQ Grill, and start cooking lunch”. You would think that during a time of major calamity, I would be wise enough to keep my damn mouth shut. You would be so very wrong.
Attempting to extricate myself from my bad fish joke, (Oh but did I have so many more) I asked if they had followed my advice about moving the fish to the new water. I had my answer when all three at once were glancing towards the ground. My old Navy leadership kicked into high gear, “Josh, take the fish and bury them in the empty lot next door. Mayang, finish filling the pond, Clara, please go make coffee, for all of us.” (Way too early for a beer)
Ladies I think the fish died by no other reason, than mass suicide! Similar to the Jim Jones’ followers in Jonestown, but that was Kool-Aid, vice new water. This is a common occurrence among fish. And I’d seen this at sea, countless times.
Or it could be Koi just have a short shelf life. No one believed me. The worst possible outcome of this situation is I’ll have Green Peace protesting at my gate next week.
So true to form, and just like the United States Government, if there is a problem, throw money at it. I told the ladies to go to the fish store the first of the week and buy some more fish. As our dad’s used to do every time that goldfish died that you had won at the carnival last summer.
Can you really become that attached to fish? I’m just not that sure you can, or if you even should. So the water is clear again, 120 new fish are happily swimming around until the next algae bloom.
Disclaimer: A lot of fish were harmed in the writing of this article, feel free to notify PETA.
Hi Paul,
Just so you could relax I went ahead and called PETA and they will be over next week. I had Koi in Michigan. Love those fish but they get so big. Your pond will hold about 4 full grown Koi. Good luck on the new fish and the visit next week. 🙂
73,
Gary
Gary;
As long as the PETA people are here, I’ll point out some of the local dogs, to distract them. But they might be still locked naked in cages. Kinky group I guess. OH, Gary, Thank You for your concern.(lol)
Hi Paul – My best mate back in the UK has kept Koi for years and he’s always proud to tell you that this one is 12 years old and that one is 8 years old and they all eat from your hand etc.
To control the algae he has an ultra violet light in his water filter system and it seems to work. When I kept out door fish I used to skim the algae with my pond net which was about the same size as yours.
Sorry that you lost all your Koi and never even had the pleasure of turning them in to Kinilaw. Hope you have more luck with the next batch, fingers crossed.
Regards.
Jim.
Hi Jim;
I try not get too involved in the care and feeding of fish, I’ll look for that light you spoke of, that sounds like a good idea. In the mean time I told Mayang to drain half the water every two weeks and add fresh to it, hell I’ve got city water now plus I still have the well so there is plenty of water.
I love kinilaw, but now I’m smart enough not to talk about Koi as food. (lol)
we had a pond for a few years in Dallas, finally buried it, the frogs were just too dern loud at night. Similar thing happened to us, tight after cleaning, so I think you’re onto something with the suicide thing. We had goldfish not koi. I bought about 30 feeder fish for 10 cents each, 6 survived and grew to about 6 or 7 inches. We gave ’em to a friend for their aquarium when we filled the pond. They ate all their existing fish then committed suicide, guess they didn’t like being indoors – go figure.
Hi Gary;
In my Night Club in Puerto Rico I had a 150 gallon tank behind the bar with a 14 inch Oscar, and a small tank for his (or hers) food. I’d sell the feeder fish to the drunks at a dollar each so they could watch the Oscar eat it. But the fish would only eat so many a day, so at closing I’d scoop them our and resell them the next day. When I left I sold the entire set up to a fellow bar owner for $3,600.00, some fish I like! But they are prone to suicide, this I’m pretty sure of.
That might be worth a buck, depends what sports are on 😀 Believe or not, those little comet goldfish I paid 10 cents each for grew up to be quite attractive, and they’re pretty tough. One was missing an eye, I’m guessing maybe a cat, but not sure. A couple actually jumped out of the tank when we gave ’em away and were not worse the wear. But ultimately they didn’t like it in there and all drank the kool-aid.
Gary;
At happy hour each day, I know that I sold the same fish to the same guy for days in a row. Some frirnds of his would bet if the Oscar would ever eat his fish. That little 5 cent Goldfish was a world class survivior. (For a while anyway!)
Gary;
I had to find ugly fish as the girls in my bar wouldn’t let us feed the Oscar the cute goldfish. See, even single you can be whipped!
Strange I have never heard of mass koi suicide. Looked up the lifespan for you so you would feel better.
“Lifespan
Koi can live over 200 years, but the typical lifespan is 25 to 35 years. “
John;
A fish that can live up to 200 years? What’s the point in that? (lol) Now I know it was sucide as swimming and eating in a pond for that long would drive me over the top also. But I really think it was shock from the change in the waters PH. 200 years? I didn’t know that! Thank you.
Oh next time you might try putting in a couple Tilapia supposed to have raker gills that can filter algae, not sure how well that works just an idea. But next time you put new water in be sure to let the chlorine evaporate a day or so or the new ones will suicide guaranteed.
Hi Again John;
I tried to explain that to my wife, the well water is pure but they did clean the pond with bleach. We’ll call it induced suicide by my wife.
Paul T.
Thats a good idea putting tilapia in to help keep the algae down. At least if they die or get very old you can at least eat them. Also theres a small floating robot that you may be able to use to keep algae down in your pond. Its used for pools chemically free. You just put it in the water and it keeps the water clean by itself moving around. A friend of mine has one and he said it works good, but i don’t know if it would bother the fish or not. I think it cost around $300.00. Good day brother.
Randy;
New fish every year P 800. Robot $300.00, I’m 63, I did the math. New fish win! (lol)
Paul T
That really is a no brainer.
Randy;
And that pretty much sums me up! My doctor told me that every beer kills 1000 brain cells. I asked how many I started with and he said; Billions and billions.” Hell even the US Congress would have trouble using that many up. Then I saw the figure for the national dept and knew I was screwed. (lol)
The entire story sounds a bit FISHY to me! Sorry, I have no shame.
Tony;
I’m smiling!
Must be coincidence–over 2000 Blackbirds started falling off the sky in Arkansas and biologist still trying to find out the cause. Agree on the bleach, you have to let it evaporate for at least a day. Even on tap water, they recommend to let it evap before adding to your small aquarium.
Paul, does PETA stands for People Eating Tasty Animals? Ha ha!
He Shipmate;
You think that PETA comment, was FUNNY??? Well I did! (lol) But that does prove that suicide is prevalent in the Animal/Fish Kingdom.
Hey, lemmings does it–other animals might be prone also! LMAO on the PETA, but I might get a flack on non-meat eaters! lol.
Mars;
If humans were not supposed to eat meat, than why do we have teerh like carnivore vice like herbivores.
Paul, that’s a puzzling question–but if animals are not supposed to be eaten, why are they made out of meat? hmmmm.
Mars;
Is spam meat?
Meat and other by-product. And Hormel’s secret recipe!
Mars;
It never made sense that the Island of Guam had to import its traditional food, that word by-products, causes me to worry.
Vegetarians can never be top of the food chain…food for thought.
Or… Vegetarian is an old Indian word for poor hunter
If Vegetarian eats vegetables, what does Humanitarian eats? Bumper Sticker around town: “I love Animals—They taste so good!”
Mars;
Arn’t shoes and boots mad from animals? I almost forgot our issued bomber jackets.
Hudson
I dated a Vegan years ago before they had their own restaurants (called grazing stations) What a cheap date
LOL grazing stations, was the grass greener on that side? So you broke up her when she told you: Paul, we have to stop meat-ing like this!
Ouch Mars;
I broke up with her as she hated BBQ’s, somethings I won’t give into.
MARS Z
Also there was a massive fish kill in the Arkansas River. Sounds kind of strange with this and the blackbird kill.
Yeah, Randy, quite a coincidence. Biologist claims now lightning or fireworks could be the cause. of the bird kill.
Guys;
Next they’ll claim its the CO2 released from opening beer containers is the major cause.
Hi Paul T: Sorry to hear about your Koi. We have 4 fishtanks (indoor) which we have kept for over 10 years (in the U.S.). Our 50 gallon tank has a 10 inch, 3 year old Koi and a Shibunkin. My husband cleans the tank periodically, but only change 50% of the water. The algae are removed manually and the glass scrubbed with sponge. The Koi in your pond probably died because of the chlorine that was still in the pond. The pond needs to be “seasoned” just like indoor fish tanks before introducing fish into the environment. You’re very funny Paul T. Keep up the jokes… we need laughs.
Roselyn;
Just rub it in, I tried to explain to Mayang that draining all the water was a bad idea, but I’m just a beer drinking Kano, so what do I know. But the fish store guy explained the very same thing to her, so since he said it, it must be true.
I’m just a witness to some events, and chronicle them here on LIP.
…todays news flash….now the fish are dying in Arkansas (true story)…AP wants to know if this is a global event after hearing about your Koi ( kinda,, sorta maybe true?!) …personally I think its UFO’s…thier all over the place anymore!! Good news prevails…Chinese tradition is to toast a beer for every Koi’s soul least you have 100 yrs. of bad luck !!
Brian;
The AP must be wrong, my wife has never been to Arkansas! Her deceased Koi were well toasted with beer that afternoon. Thanks for that tidbit of info about the Chinese, I now have a reason to watch the pond, and wait for a floater.
BTW:
UFOs!! With the advent of camcorders, and cell phone cameras, very few UFO sighting occur anymore.
One toast per soul, omg, that’s at least 4-oz shot times 25! That’s at least 5 liter of spirits!!
Mars
Mars;
I’ll tough it out, just not in one day.
Hey Paul,
Worst case of mass suicide I’ve ever seen….Or maybe it was murder suicide. you know, one fish went totaly over the edge and took out all the rest, then turned the chlorine on himself.
Maybe one fish had multiple personality disorder and decided to off himself. Would that be a hostage situation?
Hudson;
I admire your convoluted way of thinking, it must be true then that great minds, think alike. I tend to agree with the murder suicide scenario. It answers all the questions.
DAM HUDSON… I GUESS ITS A LITTLE LATE FOR AN INTERVENTION!
Brian;
Is it really ever too late for an intervention???
hi paul
well what more can i say mate just get over it thay are all dead start all over and plx dont let them drink mate just drink it your self and have one for me and dont for get sit down and put up ur feel and open up a cold one and just let the wife do all the work lol peter martin ….tassie and plz dont tell her i did tell u so ok……
Peter;
I’ve often wondered if while swimming around, do fish drink, I thought that salt water was bad for you. Freshwater fish can get away with it.
The beers mine and I don’t think the Koi should have any, as the might get depressed again, and then mass suicide once more. Of course Mayang will do all the work, and you secret is safe with me.
Ohhh the dog was watching the pond cleaning.
Sorry about your KOi, we never take out all the water of our Koi Pond we might take some out and replace but not all and we have a filtration system going on and these lights and all, sorry do not know anything about fishes but are Koi’s have lived forever, LOL!
Cheryll Ann
Yes Bruno watches everything that goes on in his world. My wife Mayang, now knows to not drain the pond again. We have the filter system, but can’t find the light yet. I’ll strongly dispute the fact that Koi live forever, at least not at my house. (lol)
Koi -o-cide! Just when your grill was ready to go! Sound a little sus-fishise to me.
I have no shame either.
Allan;
Shame is vastly overrated, I’ll never bring up the subject of cooking Koi again, I want to get to age 73, if I can. (lol)
Koi´s is very expensive to go for mass suicide..if it happens again to ur new batch, put tilapya.. they can survive for hours enough to finish ur cleaning. hehehehe RIPkoi´s..
Leah;
I wanted Tilapya in the first place, then I could sit with a cold beer and fish for supper. I learned years ago that God subtracts no time from your life that you spent fishing.
Senior Chief Paul,
You wrote: “I learned years ago that God subtracts no time from your life that you spent fishing.” Really, what a beautiful statement! And right away my thoughts came to the other article you wrote last month titled: “Teach them to fish.” Makes me think!
Anyhow, got this joke, Senior Chief! Not sure if you’ve heard it already but here it goes anyway. What did the Filipino say when he saw or reached the ocean? He said, Tubig! (But his American friend thought he uttered, “Too big!”). :0)
Sorry about the Koi!
Aklan;
Now we know why fishermen live to be old men. By the way, I’d not heard that joke before. “It’s Cute!”
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the “Fishy Tail” Lol.
I prefer to eat them,than look at them lol.
regards,Chas.
Chas;
Your welcom, I do wonder what they taste like?
If I am ever feeling down all I need to do is read your articles and then read the comments, makes me smile EVERY single time.
Really good article and very funny…well at least to those of us that don’t miss your Koi.
Todd;
Hopefully you’re not feeling down often, I also hope that you enjoy reading LIP anytime. As one who does not miss the Koi so much also, I do find the new occupants of the pond to be a lot friendlier, albeit it could be that they know what happened to the last group.
Paul, well it is hard to be feeling well all of the time when I am so far away from my fiance and the country I truly love.
By the way, my fiance also thinks you are very funny and she enjoys reading your articles. You really are a naturally funny guy and you seem to have found what I am desperately trying to attain.
You really are a must read for me. Take care. I wish you and your family the best.
Hi Todd;
So you and your fiance are the two that’s been reading my stuff! I’m compelled to say thank you for your kind words, after reading this I know I’m in for a good Saturday. BTW; I’m on Face Book, look me up. Plus I hope you get back to the Philippines and the Lady who has your heart. God Speed!
Senior;
I believe now is a good time to pull your remote control boat out of the yards and give some sea trials.
Mike;
My buddy Tom Dryden has a resturant on Canal Road on Subic, after my R/C boat was expelled from the pond, I took the boat to the canal across from his place. We took a couple of beers and ran the boat up and down the canal. When done I noticed the boat was covered in a green toxic looking munge. A kid was watching us, and I handed him the control unit and said: “It’s your’s now!” What a smile he gave me!
Paul,
Once upon a time the “Code Nazis” invaded my domicile… My above ground pool was algae filled and full of frogs. All was well and in balance with the environment. The frogs ate the mosquito larvae and all was well. “They” didn’t see it that way. Pool drained. Nazis satisfied. Hurricane near miss took care of the rest. But what now do I do with my spare replacement liner?
Make a big wort tank?
Been off line for a couple of months.
Ran out of money.
Caught a ship to Ascension Island and back via Poland… ?
Still low on funds – going on another voyage.
Hopefully direct return.
Back to fish.. sort of…
Got a great video of dolphins surfing the bow wave.
How to upload?
Jade
I believe that one of the frogs names was Jeremiah… never offered me any of his wine though..
Jade;
Three Dog Night?
“He was a good friend of mine”
Jade;
I was wondering where you had gotten off too. You just can’t fight those “Code Nazis” they also write those rules. I had it happen to me in Florida years ago. I installed a new redwood fence, and put the good looking smooth side on my side. My neighbor bitched, and I told him he could buy the wood and install the same on his side. He took me to court, I won as the Nazis hadn’t planned on Paul moving in.
Do you sail on fishing, or merchant ships? The vidio sounds cool, upload? You need someone a lot brighter than me to help there. Stay safe and bank that pay!
Mike,
Just forget those Koi and put some Tilapia in there. That pond should hold a hundred or so. Then when they get big, in about 6 months, eat them. And, yes, clean the pond at that time.
Seriously, people raise those little critters all over central and southern Florida and they end up with 2 or 3 hundred pounds of fresh fish each season. You should know that they die, or commit suicide, in 50 or so degree water but I assume that will not be a problem in the Philippines.
–Rich–
Hi Mike;
That’s what I wanted to do, but Commander House my wife overruled that plan. But I still think it’s a good idea.
Oh its sad to hear all the koi’s died being an avid goldfish collector. But the reason they died is because zonrox bleach was used which is chlorine and very lethal to fishes. Even after you rinsed it and dried it out, traces of chlorine will always remain for a couple of days. This is the reason why aquarium experts advise not to use soap or any chemicals when cleaning aquarium or pond. Just use a scrub and water!