Sick Koi (I think)

[pwncpa]

I have a 1,000 gallon pond I put in about 2 monhts ago. I inherited a couple of large Koi and they have been in for about 6 weeks (I know, probably a litle early). I also have some feeder fish in there, and about 4 other Koi that are about 3-4". They have all been happy, but a couple of weeks ago the big guys seemed to start to jump, but just a little, and were a little eratic, darting around. Not too much, but so much that we noticed the difference. Now, they are just laying there, fins drawn in.

i have gone to our local Koi store (a long-time company, very well respected - the experts for sure). They diagnosed, and I agree from my limited research, they have some kind of parasites. So, I have given them one treatment of Proform C and Kusuri Fluke-M, and another Proform C treatment should go in tomorrow. I am of course still really concerned because I don't see any improvement. Again, now they are just siting there.

Does anyone have any other thoughts, any other suggestions on what to do? Do Koi normally just sit on the bottom while they sleep or are cold in the winter (I am in Southern Cal., and it has been in the 60's - 40's).

Also, this morning I saw this on the bottom (see picture) - I am not sure if it is a worm, or maybe even just Koi poop. So, obviously I am really a newbie, so any insight would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[stroppy]

sorry im not going to be much help other than i think yes thats fish poop ..hopefully someone will be along to help soon

 

[pwncpa]

So, here is a litle update with more info.

Because I am in So. Cal., and because friends I know with ponds have not needed any heaters, I was not even aware of tempurature. But, I just checked, and the temp is around 56 F in the pond, and I am starting to think that maybe they are just hibernating? Don't get me wrong, I am sure they have had parasites because this morning they were rubbing on the bottom, but at least maybe the reason they are just sitting there, is that they are hibertnating.

Also, I checked the chemicals, at least what I could, and there is no ammonia, no chlorine, and the PH is 7.8. I am going to go see if I can buy a test kit for other items (Nitrate, etc.), but in the meantime, I am off to see if I can learn more about normal/healthy PH and temp.

Thanks again!

 

[koiguy1969]

jumping is often a sign of poor water quality. before medicating the pond i would have done a large waterchange or two ..40 - 50% and then salted the pond...salting the pond blocks the absorbtion of nitrites into the fishes bloodstream, eases stress, weakens and/or kills many parasites and enhances the stress coat on the fish. a thick healthy slime coat will also help keep parasties from attaching themselves to the fish. that said..jumping isnt uncommon when fish are introduced to a new enviroment, due to diffences in water chemistry...but medicating a pond without knowing what your treating is a crap shoot, and likely not the best thing for any healthy fish.

 

[fishin4cars]

Flashing is usually a sign of parasite infestation, water quality is the #1 cause, so yes getting as much information about the water is a first must know, proform-C can cause some drops in oxygen levels, it's a good idea to incresae surface flow or add airstones to a treated pond. 56 is a temp when some fish will start going dormant, if the temp dropped down fast from say 65 degrees to a morning temp of 55-56 I would not be surprised to see them just sitting on the bottom or hiding under or near items in the pond. If a temp was say 45 at night and warmed up to 55-56 I would expect to find active but probably not feeding fish. salting would probably help greatly after a water change and before the next proform-C treatment.

 

[pwncpa]

Can you give me any kind of insight, or maybe a link to good instuctions, for how to salt a pond? Also, I think that I heard that this will kill plants, is that correct? Thanks again for all of your insights!

 

[koiguy1969]

1&1/4 cups salt per 100 gals will do nicely. only add salt at waterchanges not topoffs because salt doesnt evaporate with the water.