Help traumatised Fish- what can I do?

[petra27]

Hello sorry absolute novice with no clue so excuse my ignorance!

I'm looking after a neighbours house whilst she is on holiday
She has a pond full of v beautiful Koi I am feeding.

We had a big storm here last night. I went round today and all the patio furniture (2 chairs and a table) had been blown into the pond, as had the net they had put on and all the bricks that were round the edge holding it down.

I've removed everything and got the net back on, the fish are all hiding at the side of the pond under a big plant

They will not come up for food
They seem to be traumatised but I thought fish could only remember for a few seconds?
Does it matter they aren't moving?
Is there anything I can do?

I'm panicking as I don't want her to come home to a pond of dead fish

Sorry when I said they aren't moving, should have said they are flapping their gills about, they definitely aren't dead, just stuck in one place

Were they hit by anything or just spooked? If they're scared, they'll get better. The short memory thing is a myth but they'll get their confidence back. Do they have plenty of floating plants to hide under?

Did you get all the bricks out? Some types of bricks and stones can leach minerals into the water and change the pH, which won't do the fish any good. You might want to get the water tested just in case. If your friend doesn't have a water test kit then the local aquatic shop should do the test for you if you just take in a jar full of water.

Oh thank you so much!

The storm was in the night, so I don't know if they got hit but none seem injured, just scared to come out. It is so helpul to know it is a myth about the memory thing.

They have some big grass type plants at one side to hide under, and there are some waterllillies coming out but they are more in the middle, of the water and the fish aren't venturing out.

I will check for bricks when I go again today, there is a lot of green slimy stuff on the bottom, so I could well have missed one.

She is the sort of person who would have a water test kit (fish get top billing in their house) so I'll have a look and if not I'll have a look on google for the nearest place to go to.

She did give me a number for a Koi person and said if in doubt, call them out as the cost of their visit would be less than the lost of a big Koi, so I could always do that but I'm not sure what they could do!

My friend is back on Friday night, I'm just desperate to keep them all well until then! Thanks for the advice.

If in doubt, call the koi expert- at least they'll be able to have a look and tell you for sure if they are OK. Better than losing a fish. Fingers crossed, I'm sure everything will be fine :)

I've just popped round to feed them and get the number for the Koi person and they came up to the surface when they heard the slidey door open and are eating food, so it seems they have calmed down. I have left a message for the Koi man so I'll see what he says when he calls me back.