"John Patmore" d wrote
in message ...
Hi all,

Has anyone ever heard of algae growing on a fish? I've put three
pictures
on my webspace of one of my Golden Orfs with just this problem down
both
sides of the fish, and the fins. Any assistance in getting rid of this
or
at least controlling it would be much appreciated.

http://www.jpatmore.plus.com/orf/flipper_1.jpg
http://www.jpatmore.plus.com/orf/flipper_2.jpg
http://www.jpatmore.plus.com/orf/flipper_3.jpg
and a few other relevant photos if you want to browse the folder.

The pond is approximately 2.5m x 1.6m x 0.8m deep and has been
established for several years. There are currently about 16 largish
fish:
2 golden orf, 2 ghost koi, some crusian carp and rudd, and a few
goldfish. There are six airstones in the pond, as well as the
fountain/waterfall.

Last year during the heat of summer, the orf jumped out of the pond
(probably chasing flies) and flapped its way over the edge of the wall
at
the end of the pond onto the path below. It was probably out of the
water
for about 20 to 30 minutes and was virtually dead when we found it
purely
by chance. My daughter held it in the water for over 2 hours flushing
water through the gills before it was strong enough to swim away. We
didn't see it for a couple of days, and it took several weeks to regain
full mobility.

Anyway, after winter we noticed that it had a coating of algae, hence
I'm
here requesting advice. I don't know if the trauma has had an effect,
but
the fish appears perfectly healthy otherwise. All other fish in the
pond
seem to be clean.

--
Regards,
John Patmore -

What I would do is brine bath. Prepare a saline solution and have a
large soft sponge on hand. Put the fish into a small container of normal
water. Gently raise the fish partly out of the water and rub the
sal****er-soaked sponge over the fish (in the direction of the scales,
towards the caudal fin). You might need to repeat the process a few
times over a week. This is a non-specific remedy for general problems
like this. Google the archives for 'salt dip' treatments.
--
www.NetMax.tk