An Ulcer

[C-Note]

When we bought this little doitsu sanke, the dealer told us he had a small "bruise" from netting. He is a super jumpy little guy, and I can imagine the injury occurred in that manner. But alas, it is not so much a bruise, but an open ulcer (see photo). I added a small bottle of Melafix to the pond... not a full dose, but about 2/3 what the bottle recommended for my water volume. Is there a better approach that isn't too complicated? My husband particularly loves this fish, and he lost his other favorite yesterday to a jump-out while we were away from home. Ugh. I know you UK folks can get that awesome gel stuff to heal up wounds, but I can't find anything like it here. Help?

 

[Dave 54]

Cnote its a shame you dont live in the UK we have an ozonate ulcer treatment for koi that I've described as the holy grail of ulcer treatments and clears them in just two aplications but I havent seen it advertised in the US .
Your koi may well be suffering from an areomonas infection, this time of the year as the koi are coming out of winter you tend to see alot of this the infection is caused by the bacteria Areomonas Hydrophila which is found in all our ponds .
As long as our koi are in good health its normally not a problem, however because of stress due to water temperature fluctuations Poor water quality overcrowding and other factors .
If caught early then it can be treated by an anti bacterial treatment however in advanced cases it can prove very difficult to treat .
Melafix is in our view the wrong treatment you really need a good off the shelf antibacterial treatment and pray that we caught this in its early stages

DAve

 

[C-Note]

Thank you @Dave 54 ! I am confident that the water quality is good, as I have been testing obsessively all spring with great results. We have small koi with plenty of room, so I would also not worry about crowding. I will try to find a decent antibacterial treatment here in the US. The Melafix is all I found when shopping over the weekend. Sigh. I'm so jealous of your UK holy grail meds!

 

[Dave 54]

Thank you @Dave 54 ! I am confident that the water quality is good, as I have been testing obsessively all spring with great results. We have small koi with plenty of room, so I would also not worry about crowding. I will try to find a decent antibacterial treatment here in the US. The Melafix is all I found when shopping over the weekend. Sigh. I'm so jealous of your UK holy grail meds!

Cnote and I am jelous that you can lay your hands on anti biotic drug treatments over the counter where we have to go to the vet to get an expensive prescription , fingers crossed you've caught this in time .
You may be lucky and not get a scar , lets see how this goes

Dave

 

[Dave 54]

C Note speed is of the essence in treating this ulcer its not oin a good place i;e over the spine of your koi , at the moment it isnt at all bad it almost looks like a bad scrape but as I said use a good off the shelf anti bacterial after the Melafix treatmentis removed or has run its course ....


Dave

 

[C-Note]

Okay, I picked up some additional water tests that did not come in the general "master kit." I can now report a high range pH of 7.4, 0 nitrates, KH = 71.6, and GH = 89.5. Checking pH at different times of day to see if any spikes are occurring. Adding fresh crushed garlic to their wheat germ food again for the extra boost. Would it be advisable to try Praziquantel, @Dave 54 ? And what type of antibacterial is recommended?

 

[C-Note]

Great news! I found a product called Bio-Bandage. It's a powder that you apply to the ulcer or wound, and it turns to a protective gel in the water. I was easily able to net the fish, clean the ulcer with a swab, rinse with purified water, and apply the powder/gel bandage. I'm not kidding--the fish seemed to actually appreciate it! He was SO calm about being handled for the procedure. I'll continue daily, and I'm optimistic for good results!

 

[C-Note]

Did a second treatment (same as above) this morning. The ulcer looked so much improved just since the first treatment! Again, he was a calm little patient, so it was easy to do. Feeling pretty good about this now.

 

[C-Note]

Just keeping this thread up to date as treatment continues. This is really working! I did the 4th treatment today, and finally captured some photos (even though I was on my own this time). This shows the improvement in the ulcer after 3 treatments, and then walks through the steps using the Bio-Bandage. I highly recommend everyone having a product like this on hand!! In the 4th and 5th photos you can see that the powder-turned-gel takes on a reddish hue when wet. That's not the wound at all.

 

[C-Note]

Oh! And this is the product.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Beautiful fish C-note

I just bought the bio bandage to have on hand incase I should need it. In the past I have used neosporin cream without the added pain releif ingredient. Im thinking the bio bandage will stay on better though.

 

[C-Note]

Thanks @bettasngoldfish . It seems to be working well. My husband lapsed in the daily treatments while I was traveling for work last week, but I'm back on it, and he's recovering fast!

 

[Dave 54]

Cnote I stayed clear of the question of what to use as we use an Ozonated vegetable Gel for ulcers here in the UK and once applied it only takes two applications , sadly for you its not on sale your side of the pond yet , I hope it comes over because as I once described it it is the holy grail of ulcer treatments :-

http://www.absolute-koi.com/prod2087.html

It appears to me that the makers will export if the ammount sold is worth it so you would need get quite a few people together to buy a supply in [thats if your customs allow it in the first place.
I metioned this product to a South African friend who got enough of an order in to buy some the results where good eceryone had a good word for it, its only draw back is it has to live in the fridge when not in use .
However looking at the bio bandage it seems to be working well .

Dave

 

[C-Note]

This is SO WEIRD you guys. The ulcer has completely healed. His flesh all around is clean and white. HOWEVER, there are two tiny bones protruding from where the wound was, and I have no idea what to do about this! Do I have to trim them down?? This picture was taken a week or so ago. The ulcer area looks even cleaner and nicer now, but the little bone protrusions are still visible, and sometimes carry bits of algae and gunk on them. I guess this is all part of the issue of having the wound right over the spine. I'm open to any suggestions!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Leave it be. The fish has healed.