Fish Doing Much Better

Midway through the treatment the 3 Koi are doing much better. Their color is better and they seem to be making it through the ordeal. 3 more days at 86 degrees then I start working them down to pond temperature. My friend suggested I clean out the upper pond and prepare it for the 3 for the fall and winter. There they will be less stressed out and able to recover without being bothered by other fish.

This Sunday I plan to begin that task by draining the pond, cleaning out the muck on the bottom, cleaning out the filter, then fill it back up. I'll then "nuke" the bad stuff with potassium permanganate then clear it all with hydrogen peroxide. Another small water change and some salt and it will be ready for new residents. The upper pond still needs some work but it should be fine as is for a temporary shelter for these three.

New Arrivals Have Come Down With KHV!

The three new arrivals appear to have come down with a virus that is very deadly and very contagious. Kuan came by to give an opinion and it was not good. One fish was on its side and didn't look too good. The others had read streaked fins, sunken eyes, and sunken nose. The fish also had darkened in color. These were all signs of KHV.

Kuan and I treated the fish with furanase and began raising the temperature in the tub to 86 degrees. I expected to see three dead fish the next morning. To my surprise the fish that was listing on its side was upright and more active. They all still look very bad but I'm hopeful.

The treatment for KHV is 7 days at 86 degrees or higher and meds after if needed to treat bacterial infections. The fish if they live through this will be immune to KHV and supposedly will not transfer it to other fish.

Ill then have to sterilize EVERYTHING to avoid contamination.

So far my pond fish are ok and everyone is doing well.

Time to change some water in the quarantine tub...

Hospital Room

This morning I ran the salt up .68% for a few hours and I'm now in the process of changing out some water.  This picture shows my hospital room out back where I am currently treating my new arrivals.  3 days with anti bacterials and then 4 days of Fluke treatment at .6% salt.

I also discovered one Kohaku (hot lips) and my shiro utsuri are a little pink toward the rear.  After the treatment of the new arrivals I may need to treat those two.  Others seem fine.

Treatments Continue

The pond treatment is just about done. Last night I got the salt content to .56%. One last push tonight to get it to at least .6%. All of the Nishikigoi seem to be doing fine now and all will eat a little food. The filters are in need of backwashing but I must resist! No backwashing until this weekend to allow the Praziquantel sufficient time to do it's job. Forums say it's pretty much done after 4 days and others say to give it a week to be sure.

I think I am going to fabricate a vacuum out of PVC pipe and use a small mag drive pump to clear out crud that accumulates on the bottom. It wouldnt be for leaves or anything over about 1/4" in size but should help make quick work of sucking out the fish poop and uneaten food which is a major cause of bad bacteria in ponds and aquariums alike. I think I can fabricate something for maybe less than 10 bucks using an existing pump that would equal a commercial product selling for $300!

Salt Salt Salt

The pond is improving day by day. Most of the small koi are no longer clamping their fins. One small Kohaku looks a little red from irritation still. Local experts agree I should salt the pond to .6% over three days. I got it up to .32% last night and now I need to buy more salt. The high salt level has a medicinal effect on the fish and pond by killing most everything that is bad for the fish. I'm using Solar Salt from Home Depot. It's 99.5% pure and is used in water softening systems. I've been dissolving it in water first and dumping it slowly into the pond.

I also added more biological filtration and started an initial KoiZyme treatment.

So here is what I've done in summery:

1. Conducted an autopsy on my dead fish - discovered body flukes under the microscope
2. Separated the upper pond from the lower one (easier to deal with one pond at a time)
3. Treated the lower pond (2000 gallons) with 20g of Praziquantel
4. Set up a 25 gallon quarantine tub in case I have to treat individual fish with stronger medication
5. Increasing salt level to 0.6% measuring with a salt meter over 3 days
6. Begin pond treatment with KoiZyme

The upper pond I will likely have to drain, clean, and treat it and the plants with Potassium Permanganate. I really need to redo the entire upper pond. Trying to decide if I want to do this now or wait until spring. Minimally I should drain and clean it out and treat with Prazi so as not to even begin to contaminate the lower pond even by accident.

Pond is better this morning

Things are getting back to normal.  I aerated heavily overnight and most fish are now below the surface and schooling.  Some still might have some bacterial infections.  Bifurin plus is standing by in case I need to treat immediately. The fish really need to remain in the Prazi for at least 4 days and show no sign of respiratory stress to eradicate the Flukes and be fit for antibacterial treatments.

Fluke Infestation

One of my fish died as a result of flukes and a bacterial infection.  I scraped two of its wounds and its gills and examined under the microscope.  Definitely body flukes.  Unfortunately the one that dies is ALWAYS the most prized one, my Sakai Kohaku this time.

I drove out to Blue Ribbon Koi and picked up some Prazi Plus.  Then did water change and backflushed my filter.  I them added the meds. Something went wrong and the O2 level dropped.  One Kujaku had to be removed and put in another pool that had more oxygen.  The rest I am babysitting to make sure they make it through the night.

Meanwhile the air pump is cranked up and I'm hoping for the best.