I have a 2500 gallon pond with about a dozen koi. One of them is around 5
years old, 15" to 18" long. He is constantly lifting his head above the
water as if grabbing bugs. I thought this was what he was doing, but
someone said that he most likely is going for air. I accepted that for a
minute as I will admit that he does this pretty much all the time, but then
thought "wouldn't that make him a mammal like a whale?" I don't mean to
appear dumb - but who is right? Bugs or air?

"gng" wrote in message
...
I have a 2500 gallon pond with about a dozen koi. One of them is around 5
years old, 15" to 18" long. He is constantly lifting his head above the
water as if grabbing bugs. I thought this was what he was doing, but
someone said that he most likely is going for air. I accepted that for a
minute as I will admit that he does this pretty much all the time, but
then
thought "wouldn't that make him a mammal like a whale?" I don't mean to
appear dumb - but who is right? Bugs or air?
==================================
I would guess it's a lack of oxygen in the water. You can add a foamer,
waterball, fountain head/sprinkler or some other means of getting the water
into motion and exposed to the air. A partial water change may also be in
order.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

That jumping activity could be flukes or other parasites on the gills
irritating the fish. They will jump, get a large mouth full of air, then
express it through the gills as bubbles under water trying to wash the
parasites off. Look at http://www.akca.org/ for a koi club near you and see
if they can provide microscopic evaluation to know what to treat for.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html

"gng" wrote in message
...
I have a 2500 gallon pond with about a dozen koi. One of them is around 5
years old, 15" to 18" long. He is constantly lifting his head above the
water as if grabbing bugs. I thought this was what he was doing, but
someone said that he most likely is going for air. I accepted that for a
minute as I will admit that he does this pretty much all the time, but
then
thought "wouldn't that make him a mammal like a whale?" I don't mean to
appear dumb - but who is right? Bugs or air?

And how much agitation is there in the surface of the water where the pump
returns water back to the pond?? You can have the largest pump available,
but if the return is BELOW the water line and there is no surface agitation,
then you are not getting very much carbon dioxide/oxygen exchange in your
water. Make sure the pump is big enough and the water surface is being
agitated.

--
G.D.Smith
Harpers Ferry, WV

FOR SALE: 2003 Swee****er 22' Pontoon Boat
http://icanhelp56.homestead.com/gs_pontoon01.html

FOR SALE: 1999 Fleetwood Mallard 37' Travel Trailer
http://icanhelp56.homestead.com/Mallard001.html

"Courageous" wrote in message
...

Koi do this when there is not enough dissolved oxygen in the water. It is
a sign you are not moving enough water through your pond.

Your pump should be 2500GPH or more. How big is your pump? What's its
source? What's its destination?

C//

Gasping koi, especially the larger one(s), is usually O2. Did you have the
pet store test your water while you were there? A fish with fried gills or
parasitic invasion of the gills, could be doing the same thing regardless
of dissolved oxygen in the water. ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

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

It's not oxygen. I have a Sequence 7200 with a nice, full waterfall and
none of the other fish are doing this. Tons of water coming off the
waterfall, in fact. What I did not tell you was that this fish has some odd
tumors growing on him that the koi store said were sunburn - and that short
of surgery, there was nothing I could do. Pond is actually very healthy
with crystal clear water and 20% water changes every week. I could toss
some Paraside Green into the pond to clear out any parasites.... good idea?


"~ janj JJsPond.us" wrote in message
...
Gasping koi, especially the larger one(s), is usually O2. Did you have the
pet store test your water while you were there? A fish with fried gills or
parasitic invasion of the gills, could be doing the same thing regardless
of dissolved oxygen in the water. ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

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

Its sure nice to know all the facts before trying to figure out whats
wrong....No telling what the tumors are causing...I do not think
tumnors have any resemblence to a sunburn area though........I think I
would have passed on a fish with sunburn. I donl;t know if they can or
not get sunburn, but why by a pig in a poke when one without the poke
that you can see costs the same.........Does your pond have parasites?
If not, why shotgun treat it and stress fish even more..........Clear
tons of water does stl not mean water parameters are good.........

On Thu, 2 Jun 2005 17:49:08 -0700, "gng"
wrote:

===It's not oxygen. I have a Sequence 7200 with a nice, full waterfall and
===none of the other fish are doing this. Tons of water coming off the
===waterfall, in fact. What I did not tell you was that this fish has some odd
===tumors growing on him that the koi store said were sunburn - and that short
===of surgery, there was nothing I could do. Pond is actually very healthy
===with crystal clear water and 20% water changes every week. I could toss
===some Paraside Green into the pond to clear out any parasites.... good idea?
===
===
==="~ janj JJsPond.us" wrote in message
===news:di6v9153plur41nglvtosq4n9lujvruco8@4ax. com...
=== Gasping koi, especially the larger one(s), is usually O2. Did you have the
=== pet store test your water while you were there? A fish with fried gills or
=== parasitic invasion of the gills, could be doing the same thing regardless
=== of dissolved oxygen in the water. ~ jan
===
===
=== See my ponds and filter design:
=== www.jjspond.us
===
=== ~Keep 'em Wet!~
=== Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
=== To e-mail see website
===


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

"gng" wrote in message
...
It's not oxygen. I have a Sequence 7200 with a nice, full waterfall and
none of the other fish are doing this. Tons of water coming off the
waterfall, in fact. What I did not tell you was that this fish has some
odd
tumors growing on him that the koi store said were sunburn - and that
short
of surgery, there was nothing I could do. Pond is actually very healthy
with crystal clear water and 20% water changes every week. I could toss
some Paraside Green into the pond to clear out any parasites.... good
idea?
============================
There is no magic product that kills every parasite out there. You should
know which parasite is causing the problem (if it is a parasite problem),
then use the recommended product for THAT particular "bug." This one koi
may have something wrong with it that has nothing to do with the water,
oxygen content or parasites.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

"gng" wrote in message
...
I have a 2500 gallon pond with about a dozen koi. One of them is around 5
years old, 15" to 18" long. He is constantly lifting his head above the
water as if grabbing bugs. I thought this was what he was doing, but
someone said that he most likely is going for air. I accepted that for a
minute as I will admit that he does this pretty much all the time, but
then
thought "wouldn't that make him a mammal like a whale?" I don't mean to
appear dumb - but who is right? Bugs or air?


I have a Goldfish that does this when I change the water. He's had a case of
snout fungus in the past and seems to be trying to lift his snout out of the
water.

On Thu, 2 Jun 2005 17:49:08 -0700, "gng" wrote:

It's not oxygen. I have a Sequence 7200 with a nice, full waterfall and
none of the other fish are doing this. Tons of water coming off the
waterfall, in fact. What I did not tell you was that this fish has some odd
tumors growing on him that the koi store said were sunburn - and that short
of surgery, there was nothing I could do. Pond is actually very healthy
with crystal clear water and 20% water changes every week. I could toss
some Paraside Green into the pond to clear out any parasites.... good idea?

IMO, no. Paracide Green is not only a parasite killer it wipes out the
filter, unless you by pass. Both of which affect water quality. If I was
shooting from the hip, I'd direct you to using Prazi for gill flukes.

What I'd really like to see is you fill out a Sick Fish/Pond Form listed
under Subject heading with that name. ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

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

"gng" wrote in message
...
It's not oxygen. I have a Sequence 7200 with a nice, full waterfall and
none of the other fish are doing this. Tons of water coming off the
waterfall, in fact. What I did not tell you was that this fish has some
odd
tumors growing on him that the koi store said were sunburn - and that
short
of surgery, there was nothing I could do. Pond is actually very healthy
with crystal clear water and 20% water changes every week. I could toss
some Paraside Green into the pond to clear out any parasites.... good
idea?

You have a 2500 gallon pond and you do 20% water changes every week? Dude,
that is overkill, to say the least. Unless you have a specific problem
with your water, such as high nutrient levels or toxins in the water, I
fail to see the advantage of 20% water changes weekly. I'd hate to have
your water bill. If your fish has tumours, then obviously there is
something wrong with it. Whether those tumours are causing the problem you
describe is debatable. I would check for gill parasites.

Thank you everyone. Looks like gill parasites are the one to look for.
Appreciate all the help.

Gary
" George" wrote in message
news:QbVne.8623$_o.5075@attbi_s71...

"gng" wrote in message
...
It's not oxygen. I have a Sequence 7200 with a nice, full waterfall and
none of the other fish are doing this. Tons of water coming off the
waterfall, in fact. What I did not tell you was that this fish has some
odd
tumors growing on him that the koi store said were sunburn - and that
short
of surgery, there was nothing I could do. Pond is actually very healthy
with crystal clear water and 20% water changes every week. I could toss
some Paraside Green into the pond to clear out any parasites.... good
idea?

You have a 2500 gallon pond and you do 20% water changes every week?
Dude,
that is overkill, to say the least. Unless you have a specific problem
with your water, such as high nutrient levels or toxins in the water, I
fail to see the advantage of 20% water changes weekly. I'd hate to have
your water bill. If your fish has tumours, then obviously there is
something wrong with it. Whether those tumours are causing the problem
you
describe is debatable. I would check for gill parasites.

someone said that he most likely is going for air. I accepted that for a
minute as I will admit that he does this pretty much all the time, but then
thought "wouldn't that make him a mammal like a whale?" I don't mean to
appear dumb - but who is right? Bugs or air?

Koi do this when there is not enough dissolved oxygen in the water. It is
a sign you are not moving enough water through your pond.

Your pump should be 2500GPH or more. How big is your pump? What's its
source? What's its destination?

C//

"gng" wrote in message
...
Thank you everyone. Looks like gill parasites are the one to look for.
Appreciate all the help.

Gary

It is the place to start. If you still have trouble later, come back and
let us know. We are always here to help.

" George" wrote in message
news:QbVne.8623$_o.5075@attbi_s71...

"gng" wrote in message
...
It's not oxygen. I have a Sequence 7200 with a nice, full waterfall
and
none of the other fish are doing this. Tons of water coming off the
waterfall, in fact. What I did not tell you was that this fish has
some
odd
tumors growing on him that the koi store said were sunburn - and that
short
of surgery, there was nothing I could do. Pond is actually very
healthy
with crystal clear water and 20% water changes every week. I could
toss
some Paraside Green into the pond to clear out any parasites.... good
idea?

You have a 2500 gallon pond and you do 20% water changes every week?
Dude,
that is overkill, to say the least. Unless you have a specific problem
with your water, such as high nutrient levels or toxins in the water, I
fail to see the advantage of 20% water changes weekly. I'd hate to have
your water bill. If your fish has tumours, then obviously there is
something wrong with it. Whether those tumours are causing the problem
you
describe is debatable. I would check for gill parasites.