KOI HEALTH
the fish. Contrary does not always contain ffor all o them to them conclude th
survive. Bob gave Rob my telephone number and went off to tell everyone the party was off as Rob’s koi were in trouble.
sur
odd and it was obvious that one orr t two were not goiing tong to ve Bob gave Rob my telephone
werre now lookiing very dd and it was o vious t
nott over as the koi e n
he problem over
ng ver number and went off to tell everyo
the dynamic duo Rob outlined the lethargy and loss of appetite
in his koi and explained how nothing they had tried had eased the problem. Jeff grabbed the telephone to tell me that he suspected gill disease as the fish were all hanging near the waterfall. I suggested another beer might have a calming influence and could stop this pair taking any further action as it sounded as if the fish were worsening and 24 hours respite might help! I asked them to test the water even
though it was new and this was to include chlorine and dissolved oxygen levels. Naturally it feels right to be doing something rather than watching helpless when much loved koi are in distress. However there needs to be a plan of action and water testing should be the instinctive first step. Most health problems are triggered by the
conditions in the pond but I realised Rob was still fairly new to the hobby. Previous tests had always been satisfactory so maybe this had made him complacent. Jeff really thought a fish should be examined immediately as he was still sure that gill disease was prevalent. This was arranged if what I suggested failed to improve the fish overnight.
However there
needs to be a plan of action and water
testing should be the instinctive first step
24 KOI CARP
common signs There are body malfunctions that would
cause koi to remain in abundant sources of oxygen such as under the waterfall or near a venture, so actual disease in the gills is only one of several possibilities. The air pump supplies oxygen to the water but the oxygen has to be dissolved to become available to
conclude that
t the problem was e k
or all of
oxygen from water unlike humans and animals that have it delivered to their l lungs. When sick they conserve energy by r remaining close by the oxygen supply rather than expend effort extracting it from the water. Such behaviour indicates a problem but is not a good aid to diagnosis, and gill disease would not develop so fast. n all t
ox han e ate . Su
ungs. W n sic e
animals t at have i g c ose b
d e fo t e
Koi have to extract their en f om water un live
dis ol d oxyg Koi have to e
ey conserv e oxyg
haviour indic
nterface with the air rather his usuall
d oxygen
ing t
aid to diagn so
When all the koi in a pond hover at the i interface with the air rather than go deeper, this usually indicates that therere is insufficient dissolved oxygen.
i in a p nd disso
regaining s a The tes s on suc
ining sttability The testts on such ffresh wa resh waterr did not reveal
very high ammonia or nitrite, but there were levels of both. The disturbance to the pond and filter would have killed off some filter biology and, with too many large fish in residence, the filter will have to mature again to cope. Chlorine was found and that too can kill
filter bacteria. It can also trigger methaheamaglobin, a condition in which oxygen cannot be transported in the bloodstream. If left untreated this condition is harmful. Simply pumping new water is not sufficient to get rid of chlorine. The level of dissolved oxygen was very
low, despite the fact this was fresh water. It was inadequate for the 50 koi that lived in this overstocked pond.
back to basics I suggested an additional air pump which
meant another shopping trip and further delay, but within an hour more oxygen began to saturate the pond water. Rob was to re-test the dissolved oxygen level later in the day, monitor the fish and keep me posted. Once the pond water had a dissolved
oxygen level of over 8mg/L, I advised the use of a pond detoxifier to get rid of the impurities. This would improve the pond environment generally and make the fish more comfortable as they recover from their ordeal. Later the oxygen level should rise to
10mg/L. If not more air stones or another method to introduce oxygen would be needed. As the fish gradually ceased to occupy the space beneath the waterfall Jeff marvelled at the miracle a simple air pump had achieved, and this time their iced beer tasted better than ever.
dissolved oxygen.
bellieve, bubbling water s n t a
to w ie e,
to what many
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