Comets not eating

Question
Four days ago we moved 3 six inch Comet Goldfish from our garden pond to a 29 gal. aquarium.  We plan to put them in a new pond in the spring.  To date, they have not eaten anything we have fed them.  We tried the pellet food they were eating, flake food, peas, pieces of canned French green beans and an orange slice.  All the things our other fancy goldfish eat.  

I'm sure they are not happy in a tank, but their pond became contaminated with black walnut hulls dropped by squirrels and falling leaves.  We need to relocate the pond to another area.

What can I do to induce regular feeding patterns?  I would have thought  the moving stress would be subsiding by now.

Respectfully
Bear Sweeney

Answer
Hi there,

I wish I could say I was an expert on ponds, but unfortunately I have never kept one myself...so I can't suggest a better alternative for keeping those black walnut hulls out of the water. Some kind of cover could probably be fashioned, but I am not much of a DIY person. I'll include a link to a website that might be able to help you there.

However, I do believe I know what's wrong the the comets. First off, 29 gallons is really not enough room for such long, wide, fast swimming fish. They are probably at risk of slamming their noses, causing some potential harm. The narrow dimensions of an aquarium are very different from what they are used to - probably a circular pond. Maybe you would be better off keeping them in a kiddie wading pool on the floor, as long as you don't have indoor animals such as dogs or cats that might have other ideas in mind!

Secondly, you're going to need some massive filtration on that tank. The amount of waste three six inch comets produce is substantial. I would do a water change right away of about 50%. Since this is a temporary situation, you would probably be best off keeping this tank near a door or window where you can siphon out lots of the water and just let it run out, then get the hose and put some new water in - with dechlorinator added if you're using city water, of course. You're going to need to do 50% water changes at least once a week, I recommend twice a week or as often as you can.

Lastly, about the water. When fish get used to being outside in a pond, which is full of life - algae, mostly - and tannic from leaves falling in the water, it can really stress them out to be brought inside to sanitized tap water with no organics in it at all. There's not much you can do about this, although if you have some oak leaves, I would drop them in the water and let them fall to the bottom just to emulate the tannic conditions that these comets have probably gotten used to. Goldfish do well in unheated, well oxygenated water that is hard and alkaline - indoors, this is a must. Outdoors, they do just fine as long as the pond is mature and not overstocked. Goldfish really do best in ponds, and the transition to indoor life can be difficult.

So I recommend you evaluate the filtration, and probably add more. Do a big water change, 50% or up to 75%, and see if this helps. Add a large airstone to the tank so that there is plenty of oxygen in the water. You can use a powerhead to agitate the surface as well. And lastly, make sure you are testing the water - 0 ppm of ammonia and nitrites are a must! It won't take long at all for ammonia to register if your filtration isn't very heavy and your water changes aren't very frequent, 29 gallons just isn't very much room to house three big comets. I had to move recently, and I set up a 36 gallon Rubbermaid container to keep my cichlids in, while I broke down and reset the 55 gallon tank they were in. I kept the container filtered with three hang-on back filters, kept an airstone running at all times, and the fish were fine for three days, eating and acting as usual. I made sure to leave the plastic plants in the container for their comfort, since they need hiding places to feel secure.

One last thing: I suggest you write to wetwebmedia.com - a site that has a section on ponds, and ask their advice on what can be done to remove the black walnut hulls from your garden pond and keep them from getting in there. Certainly moving the pond would work, but I just wonder if there isn't another way. It takes a while for a pond to become established, and it seems like a shame to break it down.

Here's how to contact the staff at WWM:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/question_page.htm

I hope that helps. Another thing you can try is adding salt to the water. Non-iodized salt or rock salt, sea salt is the same as the aquarium salt they sell at the pet department. 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons is what I recommend when you have a situation such as this, where the fish are liable to be exposed to nitrites. Dissolve the salt in warm water, then add it to the aquarium. See if that helps at all.

Good luck, and thanks for writing.
Nicole

P.S. From that same web site, this might be insightful:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/pdacclimfaqs.htm