check the pH of the water, check for ammonia and nitrites. the major reason for
flashing after a good rain storm is problems with water quality. rain is almost
always acidic.

what is the temp of the pond water? in spring when water temp is 50-65 the parasites
are coming online. bring salt level only up to 0.1% or 0.9lbs per 100 gallons. feed
antibiotic food like romet B and treat once with a formalin/formaldehyde pond
treatment (like desafin). the idea is to knock the parasite load down, to ward off
aeromonas with antibiotics and the salt stimulates the slime coat to help deal with
parasites.

How is aeration in the pond?

one other thing. bird crap is really bad in the pond. and lots of other critters
also bring in disease. not to mention ... new fish. do not put new fish right into
the pond.

watch the fish very carefully, pick one and look for bruises, red patches, lost
scales, etc. dots or whatever...
http://users.megapathdsl.net/~solo/p...htm#diagnostic techniques
has a list of behaviors for GF... they apply to koi as well. Ingrid


(MC) wrote:
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?