But Nedra, he didn't ask if his pond was too small in his questions. ;o)

Gary, You've gotten some good advice, but I'll give my 2 cents.

Many Koi Clubs around the country now have trained KHAs (Koi Health
Advisors) they will come to your home, microscope in hand and help, free!
So you might want to check your area on the AKCA.org website and find your
closest club and if they have trained KHAs.

I don't follow the *I can't catch them* story. I get IN my 6'X13' pond full
of plants and herd my fish into a big black 24" diameter plastic planter
pot. Then I bag them from there. So get a big tub and herd them, don't try
to net them.

My drugs of choice for shot-gunning are those that won't destroy the
filter. Lymnozyme, or Koizyme (I guess they're calling it now). Romet B
feed or other medicated feeds. Salt. For flukes, malathion. Dimalin for
anchor worm or lice, neither it or malathion ruin the bio-filter.

I just went thru a malathion treatment in both ponds and sick tank, last
one today. Sick tank is salted over 0.3% and I'm treating the fish in there
with a product called Tricide-Neo. Fish was scraped before treatment and
only one fluke showed up. I don't think flukes though caused the initial
damage, I think it was injury and not getting my filter, salt & lymnozyme
either up to snuff or in the pond early enough because I was adjusting to
going back to work this spring when one should be keeping a close eye on
pond things. The jury is out on whether I'll save this fish or not. My main
goal is the experience of doing in (I took the KHA class), but there's no
experience like doing it! So I am. Would be nice if the fish survives me,
and my treatment, but I've seen better looking dead carp on the beach.s
~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

1st and foremost check your water quality. I've reposted the sick fish/sick
pond form, fill it out. ~ jan


On 15 Jul 2003 13:50:20 GMT, ospam (GACinMass) wrote:

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