Two parts to your question, I think. First your fish have just spawned.
This will cause them to knock off scales, and get all kinds of nicks and
bruises. For this I would start with KoiZyme to prevent infection. Also,
spawning creates a lot of ammonia and nitrites. Run the tests to see if you
need to add AmQuel for the ammonia, or salt for the nitrites. The better
the water the healthier the fish.

Second, shotgun medicine. 1) unless you take the fish to the lab, the
scrapings are worthless, since the parasites will die fairly quickly, and
the easiest way to see them is if they are moving. 2) unless you can do
above or have a microscope, you are left with the shotgun. That is where I
was until this year. I use KoiZyme year round to try to prevent infection.
I have had to give injections to too many fish. If I suspect parasites, I
prefer to start treatments with salt, to 0.3%. It is effective against most
of the parasites, not dangerous to you or the fish. Second to salt, I like
PP, because it takes care of everything else. It is more dangerous, and
dosage sensitive than the salt. Personally, I don't like the formalin
treatments because like PP it is consumed by organic debris, and unlike PP,
you can't see the color change to know that it is spent, so you don't know
if you have used enough, and it doesn't take much too much to kill fish.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"GACinMass" wrote in message
...
I've read several books on koi diseases, parasites, etc. All of them
emphasize
the importance of sending scrapings/samples to a lab or having a
microscope in
order to properly identify the culprit and determine the appropriate
course of
treatment.

OK, time for a reality check: First, the only way I have ever been able to
net
a koi in my pond is to nearly drain it. This stresses the fish so much
that I
will not do it again. In fact, the last time I did this, for a full year
afterward they would run & hide when they saw anyone at the pond's edge.
So I
will not be able to get a scraping or sample of any kind.

Second, I do not have a microscope or a lab nearby so I'm forced to guess
what
the affliction is and what treatment to start.

I tend to start with Potassium Permanganate, treating the entire 220 gal
pond.
If I don't see improvement, I try Formalin. If that doesn't work I try
Limnozyme. I know this is a wasteful "shotgun" approach but it has worked
somewhat. Last year I lost 2 koi to some kind of ulcer/fungus thing
before I
was able to get it under control.

Here's my question: If you can only guess at what the ailment is, how
would you
treat it? What meds in what order? Is PP the best place to start? My
fish
have just been through a spawning episode and several are now showing
whitish
bumps on their fins. One has skinned his nose pretty seriously. I started
the
PP yesterday and have my fingers crossed. Any advice would be much
appreciated.

~ Gary
Zone 6b