I have a couple koi that are flashing, which I believe could be fish
lice. My pond is approx. 2000 gals.with waterfall & stream. Could
anybody what would be the best medication? Is there anything that
don't require a big water change?

Thanks for any info

On Fri, 20 Apr 2007 17:22:43 CST, burky
wrote:

I have a couple koi that are flashing, which I believe could be fish
lice. My pond is approx. 2000 gals.with waterfall & stream. Could
anybody what would be the best medication? Is there anything that
don't require a big water change?

Flashing can be many things, lice being one of the rarer problems. Flukes
and any number of parasites, water quality not right, even getting a food
particle lodge wrong can cause flashing. Before nuking the pond and
possibly messing up a cycled pond/filters please fill out the form below:
---
Sick Fish or Sick Pond Form

Please describe your problem, including fish characteristics, like;
whirling, flashing, gasping at surface, wounds, etc.:

Pond Size in Gallons? (litres*.26=US Gallons):

Water Source (Well, Irrigation, City?)
If City how is water treated?: =

Time in Operation?
(How old is the pond/water?):

Liner type? (EPDM,PVC,RUBBER,Cement/Concrete etc):

Fish Population?
Type? Size? QTY, Time in Pond:

Food? Type and Frequency of feedings.:

Pump Type, IN/OUT of pond, GPH etc
(Describe your filtration system as well as possible):

Prefilter media type? Last cleaned?:

Filter is BIO or Mechanical? Last cleaned? How?:

Carbon added? How much? When last changed?:

Aeration? Waterfalls? Bubblers?
Venturies?:

Water Temp?

pH?:

KH?:

Ammonia (ppm or mg/l):

Nitrite (ppm or mg/l):

Nitrate (ppm or mg/l):

Water Color, cloudiness, odor?:

Water changes? (% of pond volume and how often):

Additives used (water conditioners etc):

Tests done by self or another?:

Weather (what's it been like lately?):

Medications used?:

What Zone or Country of residence?:

~ jan

------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

check your water parameters, low pH will make them flash.
this is the time of the year when fish get frisky and spawn so the ammonia
could be sky high.
do a partical water change, like 500 gallons.
the best treatment for lice and anchor worm is "anchors away" that contains
dimilin and it stays in the pond doesnt need to be removed, no water
changes. it is best to eyeball a fish up close and see if they actually
have lice. dimilin has an almost non existant toxicity for fish, but it
will kill all the crustatean type critters in the pond. not a good thing
usually.
if you dont have salt in the pond and dont live on a coast (or Utah), then
add 0.9 lb of plain salt crystals (used for softeners with no additives) per
100 gallons of water. this helps them to shed their slime coat and whatever
might be itching them.
ALTERNATIVELY, do NOT add salt, but use some kind of formalin and malachite
green combo and that also does not need to be removed. It inactivates and
blows off over time.
Ingrid


"burky" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a couple koi that are flashing, which I believe could be fish
lice. My pond is approx. 2000 gals.with waterfall & stream. Could
anybody what would be the best medication? Is there anything that
don't require a big water change?

Thanks for any info

On Apr 21, 4:19 am, ~ jan wrote:
On Fri, 20 Apr 2007 17:22:43 CST, burky
wrote:

I have a couple koi that are flashing, which I believe could be fish
lice. My pond is approx. 2000 gals.with waterfall & stream. Could
anybody what would be the best medication? Is there anything that
don't require a big water change?

Flashing can be many things, lice being one of the rarer problems. Flukes
and any number of parasites, water quality not right, even getting a food
particle lodge wrong can cause flashing. Before nuking the pond and
possibly messing up a cycled pond/filters please fill out the form below:
---
Sick Fish or Sick Pond Form

Please describe your problem, including fish characteristics, like;
whirling, flashing, gasping at surface, wounds, etc.:

Pond Size in Gallons? (litres*.26=US Gallons):

Water Source (Well, Irrigation, City?)
If City how is water treated?: =

Time in Operation?
(How old is the pond/water?):

Liner type? (EPDM,PVC,RUBBER,Cement/Concrete etc):

Fish Population?
Type? Size? QTY, Time in Pond:

Food? Type and Frequency of feedings.:

Pump Type, IN/OUT of pond, GPH etc
(Describe your filtration system as well as possible):

Prefilter media type? Last cleaned?:

Filter is BIO or Mechanical? Last cleaned? How?:

Carbon added? How much? When last changed?:

Aeration? Waterfalls? Bubblers?
Venturies?:

Water Temp?

pH?:

KH?:

Ammonia (ppm or mg/l):

Nitrite (ppm or mg/l):

Nitrate (ppm or mg/l):

Water Color, cloudiness, odor?:

Water changes? (% of pond volume and how often):

Additives used (water conditioners etc):

Tests done by self or another?:

Weather (what's it been like lately?):

Medications used?:

What Zone or Country of residence?:

~ jan

------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds:www.jjspond.us

I have 10 koi in a 2000 gallon pond. Water source is from a well, no
chlorine. The pond water I pump partially out at least once a month.
I have a skimmer with a approx. 3000 gph with bio fall & 2- 2inch
filter pads & lava rock. My pond is rubber lined with river rock on
bottom.. I live in zone 5 in Illinios that had a warm spell early for
about a 2 week period then turrned below freezeing fo couple weeks.
Now its finally warmig up again. I use micro-lift pl bateria in pond
once week & also lymnozyme. Once in a while I put in algae
control,green clean algaecide. I feed them twice a day morning & night
only what they clean up good. I do feed medicated food early in year
when water temp is at least 55 degrees for a week or so which is made
by debride.I have not ever tested fo ammonia or nitrate. ~ Paul

On Sat, 21 Apr 2007 09:47:32 CST, burky
wrote:

I have 10 koi in a 2000 gallon pond. Water source is from a well, no
chlorine. The pond water I pump partially out at least once a month.
I have a skimmer with a approx. 3000 gph with bio fall & 2- 2inch
filter pads & lava rock. My pond is rubber lined with river rock on
bottom.. I live in zone 5 in Illinios that had a warm spell early for
about a 2 week period then turrned below freezeing fo couple weeks.
Now its finally warmig up again. I use micro-lift pl bateria in pond
once week & also lymnozyme. Once in a while I put in algae
control,green clean algaecide. I feed them twice a day morning & night
only what they clean up good. I do feed medicated food early in year
when water temp is at least 55 degrees for a week or so which is made
by debride.I have not ever tested fo ammonia or nitrate. ~ Paul

Unfortunately that doesn't tell me much. Whereas the water tests would tell
me a lot more. I'm assuming if you've never tested for ammonia or nitrate,
you've never tested for nitrite, pH or KH either?

From a KHA (Koi Health Advisor) stand point, we'd recommend removing the
rocks, and stop using algaecide, and do 10% water changes weekly. Since it
is a well with no chlorine, some might even suggest a very slow flow thru
system, but I'd want to see what the (water quality) numbers are from your
well water before suggesting that. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

if the river rock was gone there wouldnt be as heavy an organic load. I
sure wouldnt use the micro-lift, I think that is anaerobic bateria that will
produce toxic gas as a by product.
I have 22 koi and feed 1/4 cup every couple of days. I think there is too
much food going into the system, and the food is probably corn or wheat
based and too much is going right thru the koi into the water.
off a well means high alkalinity in this area. water is nearly filtered
thru limestone.
how are the fish doing now? Ingrid

Now its finally warmig up again. I use micro-lift pl bateria in pond
once week & also lymnozyme. Once in a while I put in algae
control,green clean algaecide. I feed them twice a day morning & night
only what they clean up good. I do feed medicated food early in year
when water temp is at least 55 degrees for a week or so which is made
by debride.I have not ever tested fo ammonia or nitrate. ~ Paul

From a KHA (Koi Health Advisor) stand point, we'd recommend removing the
rocks, and stop using algaecide, and do 10% water changes weekly. Since it
is a well with no chlorine, some might even suggest a very slow flow thru
system, but I'd want to see what the (water quality) numbers are from your
well water before suggesting that. ~