Rubbing

[Julius Leonid Maestral]

I was feeding my koi one day when I noticed that a majority of them seemed to "rub" their bodies onto the pond floor. They don't seem sick but their appetites have gone down to the point that they don't charge at the pellets when its feeding time (I feed them twice a day and admittedly too much so because I more often than not see a lot of left overs). At times they don't seem to recognize its feeding time at all! what's going on?

 

[koiguy1969]

that rubbing you talk of is called "flashing" that is how they scratch if they have an itch. but it can be a sign of more serious problems such as parasites,leaches,or a number of other things irritating their skin. if one or two do it occasionally its probably nothing to worry about, but if more are doing it and doing it frequently you may have a problem to deal with. there is medications you can add to the pond to treat, but you dont want to blindly start dumping chemicals in either. but you say the majority are flashing... good chance you have parasites. probably brought in with an unquarentined fish,or a plant you purchased. even visiting ducks and other birds can bring them, you never know where theyve been. i dont allow ducks in my pond for that very reason. look into it because this can lead to bacterial infections as the remove their slime coat from the flashing. that is their natural barrier to infection.
p.s can i ask if you have rocks on the bottom of your pond, just curious?

 

[Julius Leonid Maestral]

Thanks a lot for the info. I don't have rocks under my pond but the pond floor is conrete and is now full of algae. Presently, the fish are back to their old selves = a lot less rubbing.:icon_smile:

 

[DrCase]

May be they just had a itch..

 

[MassKoi]

Juilius you did not mention if you check your parameters. You may want to check them. Flashing may also be caused something irritating the skin of the fish (ie. PH swing, Nitrite spike).

 

[Julius Leonid Maestral]

Could be nitrite spike..... :goldfish:

 

[Julius Leonid Maestral]

that rubbing you talk of is called "flashing" that is how they scratch if they have an itch. but it can be a sign of more serious problems such as parasites,leaches,or a number of other things irritating their skin. if one or two do it occasionally its probably nothing to worry about, but if more are doing it and doing it frequently you may have a problem to deal with. there is medications you can add to the pond to treat, but you dont want to blindly start dumping chemicals in either. but you say the majority are flashing... good chance you have parasites. probably brought in with an unquarentined fish,or a plant you purchased. even visiting ducks and other birds can bring them, you never know where theyve been. i dont allow ducks in my pond for that very reason. look into it because this can lead to bacterial infections as the remove their slime coat from the flashing. that is their natural barrier to infection.
p.s can i ask if you have rocks on the bottom of your pond, just curious?

Hello there! I was just curious if the application of SALT would be a good remedy against the itch. and if so, how much should be applied? Is SALT also effective for other micro-biotics which have negative effects on fish?

 

[koiguy1969]

salt encourages a good healthy slime coat, which aids in bacterial infection prevention and parasite protection, and it also kills some parasites. its also discourages algea growth

 

[Julius Leonid Maestral]

Thanks a ton. I also learned the hard way that salt and water hycinth don't mix well.... I'm laughing at myself now.

 

[koiguy1969]

my hiacynts are thriving in .15% salt

 

[DrDave]

How long have you held that level of salt with them in it?

 

[koiguy1969]

since day one of my ponds

 

[DrCase]

I never could grow a Hiacynt,,they go down hill from day one...Havent tried in years..

 

[DrDave]

Ones I had in my waterfall overflow thrived and became monsters. In the pond, they were doing well until the cold set in.

 

[koiguy1969]

it seems like they dont do a whole lot... then one day BAM and you have more than you bargained for. some(3) of the ones that had the eggs from the spawn on them, i put in the basement pond..and those are doing well.one even bloomed.. theyve been there for over 2 weeks and theyre fine... i guess i can over winter some this year.