Hi I have a gold fish pond. Ive had it for around a year. I started it last year with just water in it, then added plants, and later in the year I added fish and some snails. I have goldfish in it. Which was tiny when we got them but now they are huge. Like 4-5 inches long now. Anyways, my problem is. The water suddenly started getting mucky and having a horrible smell to it over the past month. All the leaves falling is what I think made it this way. Up till then the filter, plants, fish and snails was keeping it all nice and clean. But now its so icky you cant even see the fish till they come to the top to eat. And it smells horrid. What can I do about this?

Hey Neo. You're right about the leaves, they can certainly pollute a pond very quickly. It is very important to make sure that there is no debris at the bottom of the pond because once it starts to rot, toxins are introduced to the water and can make your fish very sick and can make the water smell.
Here are a few questions for you

Do you make water changes?
If so, how often and how much?
What is the size of your pond?
How many fish are in it?
Do you have a bio-filter?
If so, can you tell me how many gallons it is?
Do you have gravel or rocks or stone at the bottom of the pond?
Have you noticed any difference in the health of your fish?
Do they still come to the top of the pond to eat?

I would make a one third water change from the bottom of the pond and if there is any debris at the bottom, remove as much as you can.
If you have to clean your bio-filter often, it means that you don't have a strong colony of good bacteria in it to remove ammonia and nitrites from the water. This can certainly account for the smell and colour.

Yours Koily, Lorraine

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