CHIEFTAIN PHOTOS/CHRIS McLEAN A healthy-looking koi swims past several dead catfish in Lake Clara at Mineral Palace Park on Monday. City officials have yet to determine the cause of the fish die-off. Cleanup began Monday and will continue today.

Catfish deaths a mystery in Mineral Palace Park lake

City workers say other species of fish and waterfowl continue to thrive in Mineral Palace Park's Lake Clara.

By NICK BONHAM
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Hundreds of bullhead catfish mysteriously died during the weekend at Mineral Palace Park, and more continued to go belly up on Monday.

The City Parks and Recreation Department had few answers and explanations for the schools of dead and dying fish in Lake Clara.

"I don't know," Parks and Recreation Director Rich Zajac said simply.

Zajac said the Colorado Division of Wildlife would be called in for testing.

Mineral Palace workers were just as surprised as the number of concerned citizens who called to report the dying fish in the last three days.

"I’m no biologist," said Joe Pantaleo, Mineral Palace Park’s director, "But as you can see, there’s plenty of healthy fish in (the lake), as well."

Indeed, thousands of minnows, carp and koi fish swam quickly and freely in the green water, along with flocks of waterfowl and all seemed unaffected by whatever claimed their whiskered cohorts.

But at close range, one could watch as bullheads ascended from the murk and swam the surface for a few moments before rolling over, stiff.

Underground wells feed Lake Clara, according to Zajac, who said he is unsure if contaminants from the polluted Fountain Creek, which flows just east of Mineral Palace Park, across Interstate 25, might have seeped into the water.

City worker Fred Aragon uses a net to retrieve dead fish from Lake Clara. Hundreds of catfish in the lake have died and continue to die from an unidentified source.

Life around Lake Clara was normal before crews left for the weekend, Pantaleo said.

"We clean this lake and park regularly, and everything was fine on Friday," he said.

Pantaleo added: "It’s hard to keep the lake clean with the wind blowing debris in and all."

Workers spent most of Monday scooping nets of dead fish into barrels. Cleanup efforts will continue by boat today.

An aeration system lines the lake floor and powers a fountain at the south end of the 3-foot-deep, 3-acre body of water.

Pantaleo said it’s been five years or more since Lake Clara has been drained and the current underwater inhabitants have lived there since before he can remember.

The only recent addition to the lake has been hatchery-bred grass carp, which were released to manage algae growth.