Mink attack before winter

[Kaniff]

A mink has got to a bunch of my koi and ripped apart their tails and fins. Up until now my fish were in perfect shape and ready for winter. My water is consistently below 50F and steadily falling, not the best time to have health problems. Im wondering if there is any special treatment or something for the water I should do now to help them recover?..Or is the better approach to just leave them be and see which ones make it the in spring? The pic I posted is of the revised netting over the pond and a homemade ground hog trap up top to catch the mink.

 

[sissy]

comes to mind fur coat Not sure about leaving the fish in there because if they die it could be the problem will multiply and other fish will be affected by bad water conditions because of it .

 

[addy1]

Darn that hurts, I don't have koi so not sure what to tell you to do. With my goldfish I would probably let them be and heal in the pond.

 

[morewater]

Melafix

 

[Mmathis]

Good question. Maybe @Dave 54 is listening in. How deep is your pond? Do you have a dedicated quarantine tank or some place you could move the injured fish?

I'm so glad we don't have critter problems with our pond -- knock on wood! I am a fan of the weasel family, having had ferrets as pets. Actually, I'm not sure there are any weasel-types [except for skunks] that live in the southern US, and I hope not, because I would be devastated if I had to add them to my me-no-like list!

 

[Dave 54]

Good question. Maybe @Dave 54 is listening in. How deep is your pond? Do you have a dedicated quarantine tank or some place you could move the injured fish?

I'm so glad we don't have critter problems with our pond -- knock on wood! I am a fan of the weasel family, having had ferrets as pets. Actually, I'm not sure there are any weasel-types [except for skunks] that live in the southern US, and I hope not, because I would be devastated if I had to add them to my me-no-like list!

Thanx Maggie you have asked the question for me .
@Kaniff if you can bring them indoors matching temperatures and have a mature filter you can use you can perhaps bring these koi around .
Personally I would anethatize the damaged fish please read article :-

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/the-various-stages-of-anaesthetics.5/

Remove any dead tissue then scrub the wound with a soft tooth brush so that it bleeds a tad, I would then paint the wounds with malachite green then spray the wound with Propolis :-

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/propolis.25/.

In case of bacterial infection from the mink you'll need medicated koi food .
Any problems please get back to me

Dave

 

[Dave 54]

Melafix

I really wish I had faith in Melafix @morewater but sadly I dont. Chemicals I know are bad but I've tried Melafix I found it ineffectual and caused too many bubbles of the surface of the QT fasility[couldnt see the koi fo them .
So until they come up with a better way of treating our koi chemicals are my way of treating fish [sorry my friend].

Dave

 

[Kaniff]

Thanx Maggie you have asked the question for me .
@Kaniff if you can bring them indoors matching temperatures and have a mature filter you can use you can perhaps bring these koi around .
Personally I would anethatize the damaged fish please read article :-

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/the-various-stages-of-anaesthetics.5/

Remove any dead tissue then scrub the wound with a soft tooth brush so that it bleeds a tad, I would then paint the wounds with malachite green then spray the wound with Propolis :-

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/propolis.25/.

In case of bacterial infection from the mink you'll need medicated koi food .
Any problems please get back to me

Dave

Thanks for the advice. The pond is about 4' feet deep and unfortunatley I don't have a quarantine tank. The fish gotta stay where they are. I was thinking Melafix but I thought the water might be to cold now for it to have an effect, plus if possible I like to keep away from putting anything in my water. I can't even feed the fish now until about April so no option of the medicated food...They all look to be doing ok and behavinig like normal. If this was in the spring I wouldn't be to worried, its just bad timing right now going into winter.
..But now to make things worse, this little motherf***** somehow got through my nets and then scratched up my liner trying to get out and now I have a leak.....Im trying to handle this guy humanly but he's trying my patience.

 

[mrsclem]

I know several people have opinions about Melafix. Personally, a couple of years ago I had a case of fin and tail rot. Several fish completely lost their tails. I chose to use the Melafix, Pimafix combo along with medicated food and had great success. I did lose several fish but have 6 that had severe damage that now show no sign of it. Not sure what the temperature requirement is for the treatment. My problem was in the spring. Going into winter could mean no treatment possibilities so you may have to consider Dave54s recommendation.

 

[Dave 54]

@Kaniff do you have a large fishtank that your could perhaps turn into a QT% fasility with filtration then match the temperatures and add the injured fish to it .
I have a Canadian friend who brings her koi indoors to hubbies workshop each winter and uses two large stock tanks which is also another option for you .

Dave

 

[Kaniff]

@Kaniff do you have a large fishtank that your could perhaps turn into a QT% fasility with filtration then match the temperatures and add the injured fish to it .
I have a Canadian friend who brings her koi indoors to hubbies workshop each winter and uses two large stock tanks which is also another option for you .

Dave

Unfortunately I do not have an indoor option large enough for them...They are acting normal so I think/hope they will pull through the winter...I did notice one of the smaller koi has a growth on its eye so I might try and get that one out and into a smaller quarantine for the winter. Now that they aren't eating and staying near the bottom I don't know how i'll catch it though. As far as damages go, they are banged up but they should be good....But not if this mink is still around. I'll have some serious repairs to do on my liner in the spring because of its claws, and at its current kill rate I wont have any fish left by December. Its proving to be a worthy adversary. I've seen it now play inside the trap, then swish through my nets, swan dive off the waterfall into the pond, grab a fish and run away all before me, my son and dog can get there. I think it knows now the mood has changed cause I've been hunting him (drinkin beer on my back deck holding a pellet gun) for 2 days now and no sightings.

 

[Dave 54]

To give them more of a chance in the spring @Kaniff I suggest you source a supply a WheatGerm and Garlic from NTLabs this at least will help against parasitic attack .
What worries me about injured fish being outside in cold temperatures is that they will not be given a chance to heal leaving them open to all sort of things and though they are acting normal at this moment in time this may quickly turn arround as the temperatures pick up in the spring .

Dave

 

[Kaniff]

To give them more of a chance in the spring @Kaniff I suggest you source a supply a WheatGerm and Garlic from NTLabs this at least will help against parasitic attack .
What worries me about injured fish being outside in cold temperatures is that they will not be given a chance to heal leaving them open to all sort of things and though they are acting normal at this moment in time this may quickly turn arround as the temperatures pick up in the spring .

Dave

Water is to cold to feed though...Even the wheat germ. Water wont start to warm up till about March/April.

 

[Dave 54]

Water is to cold to feed though...Even the wheat germ. Water wont start to warm up till about March/April.

The same here Kaniff but its better to be prepared than not my friend dont you think ?

Dave

 

[Kaniff]

The same here Kaniff but its better to be prepared than not my friend dont you think ?

Dave

What do you mean?...Are you saying I should feed the fish? The water is around 42-45F and falling, isn't it to cold now, wont it just rot in their bellies over winter?