Koi Fish Information Centre

In a message dated 6/10/2008 9:36:34 A.M. Central Daylight Time, koiquilter@yahoo.com writes:
Greetings. I have a 2,087 gal pond with a three drop water fall. The ph is 8.0, nitrate and nitrite - 0, ammonia 0. I have four 22- inch bekko koi and eight 3-4 inch goldfish. My pond is almost a year old. When I constructed it, I put in just the waterfall and skimmer for aeration - not knowing that having a bottom drain is optimum for koi. There is no rock or gravel on the bottom thanks to this forum. When using potassium permanganate for the mouth ulcer and another sore on her side, i noticed that there is a dead water spot near one side of the pond. I would like to get more water movement via an airstone or pump of some sort. Any ideas?
I believe when the koi came to me, the one was already damaged and the ulcers got larger before I noticed them. I used proformC/prazi last year. I actually had someone come to my house and sedate the fish and use debride directly on the ulcers.
They do seem better this year but decided to do the pp treatment for 3 weekends in a row. The ulcer on her side appears to have healed somewhat and has spots of green algae, which I believe reflects healing. Her mouth is what I am concerned about. It doesn’t actually enter the mouth, but there is a hole through her lip that is reddish/pink and looks sore. She still comes out of the water to take food from my hand so I get a close look. Otherwise she is acting normally. Green Algae from a sore? Sounds like SAP to me. This can be very aggressive so I suggest that you catch the fish, prepare a table salt paste, use a small soft bristled paint brush and swap the area until the algae is gone. For her mouth, I would get some Tricide Neo and dip her as per the directions. The mouth is a tough area to treat because most topical treatments need to be kept away from the gills, mouth and eyes. I have done salt treatments before and maybe that is my best bet now, or should I just let nature take its course and not worry so much, or does someone out there have a suggestion? I would love to get her lip fully healed this summer. I wouldn’t suggest salting the pond just yet. Salt can interfere with other treatments if they become necessary…plus it’s not all the effective anyway. Sue

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Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society