Glad the water tests were all normal.. usually water conditions are the
precipitating factors for disease, as fish maintained in good water quality
are actually very resistant to disease.
Salt can still kill quite a few parasites! 0.3% was used for years to treat
most parasites (not all). 0.2% is too low as a treatment level....
Levels of .6% may be needed due to the increasing frequency of salt
resistant parasites we are finding.
At that level, you would negatively impact your pond's biofilter (the
nitrite reducing component), not to mention your plants, so you would want
to net the fish out (a very simple process), and treat them in a separate
container.
I would never, never recommend that anyone ever indiscriminately throw
drugs/antibiotics. etc into the picture, (especially into a whole pond!),
without a working diagnosis.
You need to know what it is that you are treating, not to mention the fact
that many of those agents can negatively impact your biofilter.
Keep us posted on how you make out,
Greg


"MC" wrote in message
om...
I forgot to mention- all water teests look okay. I did do a salting.
As I understand it, salt will not kill many parasites, but will help
the Koi's immune system. Since I have a lot of plants in there, I
just did a .2% salting.

"Gregory Young" wrote in message
et...
first - check the water quality parameters: pH, kH, Ammonia, nitrites,
dissolved oxygen. Correct any issues identified by their results.

second - check your local pond club (hopefully you know where your
closes
club is located.. if not drop me a note, and I can direct you), for
folks
willing to come out and help pondside. Specifically, there are Koi
Health
Advisors, specially trained individuals (trained by the national group -
Associated Koi Clubs of America), who have the equipment and requisite
knowledge to make the diagnoses you may need to have made, especially if
all
your water quality tests check out. They are trained for both Koi and
Goldfish. They do not charge for their services, only for any supplies
used.

third - knowledgeable aquatic/nursery staff are another option. 2 of our
local nurseries have taken wetlabs with Doc Johnson, and are good in the
diagnosis department.

fourth - contact you local vet, and see if they are comfortable dealing
with
aquatic pets. If not, they will most likely refer you to someone who is,
but
expect to spend some $$ if you involve them.

Let us know how you make out!

Happy ponding,
Greg


"MC" wrote in message
om...
I know this is a sign of parasites. How do you treat? I read sites
that tell you you need ot do a gill scrape, look at it under a
microscope to determine the type, etc before treating. Let's get real,
I don't have a microscope and can't visibly see anything on the fish.
What should I do?