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Early Diagnosis Can Save Your Koi's Life!
So how does a koi manage to break its skin? It can jump out of the
pond and scrape itself. It can injure itself by brushing past objects or
during spawning. It can be speared by a heron in the mood for a meal. Koi
damage themselves and can be damaged in several common ways. Recognizing
the lesions and treating them properly is important for success. Beyond visible
skin lesions (aka - ulcers), you can detect a sick koi by it's appearance
or behavior. A koi that has become skinny, has its fins clamped tight or
is isolating itself is worth examining. A koi who is not eating is also a
cause for concern. A healthy koi is a hungry koi.
Basic First Aid Procedures:
What To Look For- If a koi's skin is unbroken and well-coated
with slime, it will successfully fend off bacteria that live naturally in
it's environment. Parasites are another matter. However, they too can be
treated using first aid, as we'll see later. If the koi's skin is broken,
bacteria can get inside. Once there, all kinds of horrible problems, such
as skin ulcers (red holes in the fish's side), rampant internal infections
and dropsy, can occur. Also known as "pinecone disease", dropsy results from
a serious internal infection that has attacked the koi's kidney. The koi
swells so much that its scales stick out like a pinecone. By this time it
is usually too late.
Step
One- If your koi look sick, test your water for ammonia, nitrites and
extreme pH readings. If need be, do a 50% water change, adding an ammonia
detoxifier or dechlorinator. Also remove any plants. Once they're gone, measure
your salt level and boost it 0.5% during the recovery period. This will relax
your fish, boost their protective slime production and osmotic regulation,
and inhibit the growth of bacteria and parasites. Most say; sea salt, non-iodized
table, rock and ice cream salts are acceptable, but warn against using salt
that contains yellow prussiate of soda, which dissociates into prussic acid
in water.
Examination:
Check for parasites by taking a sample of your koi's slime coat and
inspecting it under a microscope. Gently scrape your fish from head to tail
with a glass slide. If it has a milky white substance on the edge, you have
a sample.
Step
Two- If your koi doesn't improve after a few days, then it is time to
examine it more closely. For this, you will need a strong handled koi net
and a plastic holding container large enough for the fish to stretch out.
Before handling a koi, put on latex gloves; keep them wet to avoid removing
the koi's slime coat. In cases where the fish requires extensive examination,
you can sedate it by adding oil of clove to the holding container. Read the
label carefully to get the dosage and sedation protocal right, otherwise
you could accidentally euthanise your fish.
Treatment:
If your fish has lesions, use a cotton swab to coat them with potassium
permanganate.
Step Three-
Once the koi is in the holding container - with enough water to keep
its gills covered, carefully check its top, bottom and sides. If you find
ulcers, coat them with potassium permanganate using a cotton swab. Iodine
can also be used, but you must kep it and all other medicines away from the
koi's gills! if possible, let the coating set a few seconds before releasing
the koi.
Check For
Parasites: Observe the slime coat scraping under the microscope. If you see
something moving, your fish has
parasites.
Step Four-
To Check for parasites, you will need to examine a scraping, or a
sample of the fish's slime coat, under a quality microscope. To obtain a
sample, first get a glass slide. Hold the fish firmly and scrape its side
from head to tail, going with the grain so to speak. Check the slide for
a milky white substance on the edge. If you have it, you've got some of the
fish's slime coat. Now, examine the scraping under a microscope. If you see
something moving, then chances are you've got parasites. A salt concentration
of 0.5% will distroy most parasites in pond fish. For flukes and a few others
that are resistant to salt, however, you might need to consider a special
chemical dip preformed by or under the supervision of a veterinarian.
Warning: dipping your fish into a chemically treated bath can be
hazardous to its health.
Hospitalize: Once your fish is treated, keep it in a hospital tank to recover.
Set the heater to 76 to 82 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Step Five-
Once your fish is treated. put it into a seperate hospital tank to
recover. A 100-gallon livestock water tank works well. Prepare the hospital
tank before treatment. If your main pond water is perfect, us it in your
hospital tank. Otherwise, use clean, dechlorinated tap water. Make sure this
water's pH andtemperature match that of your main pond before adding any
fish. Add an air pump and a heater. Once you put the koi in the tank, set
the heater to 76 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Warmer water increases the koi's
metabolism and immune system, helping the koi heal faster. Make sure the
warm up is gradual, not sudden. Take at least 18 hours to increase the
temperature 10 degrees Fahrenheit
Antibiotics Only If Necessary:
WARNING: Like people, koi can have an allergic reaction to
antibiotics that, in some cases, can be fatal. Although certain antibiotics
can be injected directly into koi to fight infection, such precedures should
be done by or under direct supervision of, a fish friendly
veterinarian.
Step
Six- A number of basic antibiotics are available in powered-pill form
at many fish stores. Some companies sell medicated foodwith antibiotics mixed
in. Precisely follow instructions for administering any antibiotics. Antibiotics
can also be injected to fight infecion and speed healing. Such procedures
should be done by or under direct supervision of, a fish friendly veterinarian.
Like people, koi can have an allergic reaction to antibiotics that, in some
cases, can be fatal. To inject a koi, the veteraniarian places the fish inside
a wet plastic bag, which they draw tightto restrict the koi's movement. The
veteraniarian typically injects it through the bag on the side of the belly
between the vent and ventral fins of the fish's central line. Don't go crazy
with antibiotics, use them only if you think infection is
happening.
First Aid Kit For Pond Fish:
There are many different choices when it comes to pond kits, but
the basic essentials are the same.
-Salt
-Complete water Test Kit (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Salt, pH, Hardness,
Alkalinity, & Dissolved oxygen)
-Dechlorinator
-Potassium permanganate
-Hospital Tank, Air Pump & Heater
-Hydrogen peroxide (Adds extra oxygen for gasping fish)
-Iodine (In drastic cases, be sure it doesn't get into the mouth or gills)
The sooner your koi are treated, the better chance they have of
recovery
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