I really need people's opinions on this because I dont want to wake up and find my precious fish dead.

Alright, so I have a medium-sized pond in my yard that's extremely low maintenance. The pond has a pump, but otherwise I just let nature take its course most of the time. In the pond are five goldfish that were born there. They're the same age, but four of them are about 4-5 inches long while the last one is around 7 inches long.

During the SATs that took place today, my mother drained the pond and netted my fish with the pool net (I cried inside) and dumped all five of them into a bucket that was barely 3 gallons. When I got home, I set up a 5 gallon bucket and poured them in there instead. My mom wants to let the pond dry out overnight to "clean", otherwise I would've returned my babies.

Right now, the fish aren't swimming as energetically as they normally do and they occasionally gulp at the surface. I come out after every hour to aerate the water (WITH MY HANDS). They eat and they respond to the presence of my fingers, but I noticed some frayed fuzzy/mucus-y stuff on their bodies. It looks like algae but is this their slime coat? Some are missing a few scales, but one of them has some red scrapes ;A;

I know my fish are pretty hardy. They don't need me to feed them all the time since they catch their own food and they survived a cold winter without me feeding them. Do you think they'll survive the rough handling? I know 5 gallons is definitely not enough to hold fish of their size, but it's all I have right now until I fill my pond back up tomorrow.

Sorry for the long info ;A; What I really want to know is: -Are they likely to heal from scrapes and damaged slime coats? -What are their chances of surviving? -Do I need to keep going out to aerate the water or will a day be fine?

I don't have much experience with large goldfish (just have my little Albert in a bowl, which, I know is nowhere near optimal conditions for a goldfish, but I won him at an event my college was hosting and have really no other way to keep him in my dorm), but I do know that goldfish produce a lot of contaminants. If you have them in a five gallon bucket, that really is nowhere near big enough, especially considering there are five of them. I would suggest splitting them all up into separate buckets and then changing the water because they pollute the water very quickly. I don't think the problem is so much aeration as water quality, and I do think they can last until tomorrow if you keep their water from being too dirty.

I considered splitting them up into the two buckets I have, but unfortunately they outgrew the net I bought for them. Being poorly stocked is a big issue here since my parents bought the fish just for kicks without the intention of treating them properly, I'm the only one here who does mind throwing them around. I can scoop them out with a flowerpot possibly but I feel that any more chasing/"netting" will stress the fish out even more. I did a partial 20% water change twice today and I can continue to do so. Do you think that'll be enough until tomorrow?

They might be acting listless because of the environment change. If fish are suddenly transported to a new place, they'll be shy and not move around much. Their current conditions don't seem too goldfish friendly. It might be best to split them up between containers until tomorrow. That also will help use up less oxygen in the buckets. It would be ideal to get an air stone in there to put fresh oxygen in constantly. 20% of their pond water should have been transported with them, btw.

As for their fuzziness, I'd have to see them to try to determine if it was slime coat or a fungus. The red scrapes don't sound good, though. =| Do they have bloody streaks in their tails that aren't normally there? Are their tails and fins tattered? Also, I think the slime coat could be regenerated if some slime were removed.

Also, goldfish CAN survive a bit of handling. :) I've picked up my current fish before and he is still alive and kicking. I used to pet and play with my old goldfishes when I was a little kid, too.

They've calmed down a bit and sadly I don't have the means to get an air stone, or anything else I want such as salt to help the healing process ;c I'm improvising with what I have but fortunately I let them keep a little over 20% of their pond water :)

I think it may be the slime coat since I've never had a fungal problem and 3 hours seems short for that much fungus to form, if the fuzziness is fungus anyway. But Im not an expert. I'd take a photo for you but it's pretty dark here in California now D: Only one fish has red scrapes from what I can see, maybe he got the rough end of the handling? The fins are fine, no tatters or bloody streaks. Just some scales are missing, but not huge patches. Since I had no idea my fish were going to be netted today and I was out testing, I can't say for sure how my mom got the fish out, but she's considerably less gentle to them than me u.u That's why Im worried about the scrapes and slime coat. But Im relieved to hear that they'll probably heal at least :'D

If for some reason the pond filling is delayed tomorrow, I'll probably flowerpot 3 of the smaller fish into the other bucket. Thanks for your input c:

If you do end up using salt, be VERY careful. There are differences between unionized and ionized salt, and you should only use certain quantities. :)

Okay, I'd wait until they are back in their little pond before panicking about the fuzz, since their fins are fine and they aren't bloody. Make sure they don't start swimming wonky or bottom sitting for extended periods after they are back, since these are signs of illness. And a few scales gone shouldn't be too bad. They might just be shedding a couple. ^^

And no problem. Let me know how it goes! :)

I'll keep that in mind for future reference, since I plan on adding aquarium salt to my arsenal when I get the chance :)

Okay, that's a relief ^^ Thanks so much~ I'll be sure to let you know what happens :)

- the white stuff might be fungi, and they probably grew that because of stress. how long do you think they will be in that bucket?

for the fungi, see what happens after you put them back in the pond- it might disappear. if not, use the salt treatement or get a medicine from the pet store.

The stuff isn't white, although it is slightly opaque, but only slightly. Can fungus really develop in 3 hours o.o? I guess it may be a possibility so I'll continue to keep a close eye on them. They should be in that bucket for another day, or 18 hours to be a little more exact.

Thanks for your input~

Yes, fungus can develop really quickly, but they should be fine if they are going back soon

Sadly, all my fish died after their first night back in the pond :( I wasn't able to see them since my mom dumped them before I got home. I'm still really sad right now </3

Thank you everyone for your help.

omg, I'm so sorry! :( Was the pond water a drastically different temperature from their holding tanks? Sudden temperature shocks can actually put fish into a coma-like state they can come out of...but I think it's only if you catch it within a decent amount of time. :( I'm sorry for your loss. I don't think your mother knows what she is doing with fish. x.x Will you be buying some more finned-friends to replace your other fish?

The water was pretty cold, but I'm sure that the water in the pond was the same temperature as the water in the bucket and I gradually sunk the bucket to give them more time to adjust. Maybe it has something to do with the pH since they all died at around the same time I'm guessing :'( I feel horrible, they must've been so scared.

Yeah, my mom is more of a plant person than animal person, but I think she feels bad because she's letting me buy some more goldfish. That's the bright side I suppose, I'll be able to rescue some goldfish from their cramped tanks at the pet stores :')

Today, I bought a leaf hammock for my betta fish to try and make myself feel better ha. He's currently shunning it, but he'll come around eventually c:

Were cleaning chemicals used in the pond? Maybe that could have done it. :( Anyway, try not to beat yourself up too much. It was all an accident, after all. ;_;

At least you can get some more goldfish! :D Hopefully they will be healthy when you get them from the petshop. D: I've got a goldie myself that I've had for over 2 years now.

lmao, I've never owned a betta before, but they do seem temperamental. xD Hopefully he starts exploring the leaf hammock soon!

Yeah ;n; I suppose it's good they never had to experience living in a Walmart tank.

I got five new goldfish today :) They're tiny, but it seems the biggest one is a little weak :c I don't think he'll make it, but we'll see...

Bettas are awesome :D If you give them an actual tank instead of a little bowl, they tend to follow you around and develop their own personalities. Mine's like a peacock/chihuahua, he's tiny but he's always poofed up as he swims around. I love him~

Good luck with your new fish! Hopefully the big one will be okay. D:

Haha, that's so funny! My goldfish follows me around and has also learned how to beg for food. xD I've no doubt they can have little personalities. :3 What color betta do you have?

Thanks :) I really hope he makes it

My betta is red and the edge of his fins are translucent black, he's like a butterfly~ XD Here's a picture of my bby: <3

Fish are so cute :'D Yet sadly under appreciated.

Oh wow, he's a pretty little guy! I usually see the dark blue ones with hints of red. And I agree. I hate it when people don't treat their fish right just because 'they're only fish'. They're animals too, and if it's your pet, it's your responsibility to feed and care for it. :|

I have a 125 gallon fish tank, which is indoors, not outdoors so there is a slight difference, but sometimes I have the same issues. Aeration is a BIG part in keeping healthy goldfish. I know in outdoor ponds its hard to get the bubbles and such necessary, but if you added some water flow, in the form of a smaller filter floating on the surface just moving the water or even find a way to add a waterfall that could help. Also, feeding peas will help move anything unwanted out of their digestive system (or lack there of). Sometimes if I have a fish near the top of my tank, gasping or floating funny, I can feet the whole tank thawed peas and they are right as rain by the morning! :) Also make sure the ammonia is low. I guess thats all I can think of for now! Good luck!

Thank you <3 I got him at Petco and since then, I haven't found a betta who even looks remotely like him. Im so proud of him I just want to show him off to everyone haha c; And I know... I had a friend who was indifferent to treating her fish right because they were "boring". First, fish are far from boring if you treat them right. Second, animals don't live to entertain you and being "boring" doesn't warrant blatant abuse. Good thing she reformed after she saw how much I loved fish though haha.

Unfortunately my goldfish died the other night :'( Thanks a lot for your advice though :) I love the pea trick haha, and so does my betta surprisingly~