I Think I Need Advice
Hi Brenda -
I suspect that dirty water is the culprit — and that your fish has become stressed and has taken on some kind of bug and/or virus. When this happens, you usually have to treat the bug/virus with 2 medications, cuz the stress and virus make them weaker to other diseases as well, usually myacin2 and I forget what the other thing is called but I’ll check later… HOWEVER— I try not to medicate my fish because it usually does more harm then good. ( some are allergic to it). I would do a 40% water change and add some non iodized salt before I’d go with medications. The bruise you’re talking about probably starts off looking like a red or irritated area, which will grow and start looking like it’s eating away at the fish. If it gets worse you may have to isolate the fish, treat with salt and medication.
You should also have 2 filters running, so that you can clean one at a time and leave the other one nicely bubbling with bacteria and other yummy things. I always salt my tanks and pond somewhat ( tho it’s hell on plants ) because the fish like the salt and it helps to keep them free of some parasites and other yucky things.
I have 10 indoor tanks running currently, and 1 big mofo rubber indoor pond for the rest. I change anywhere from 25-50 % water a week, clean 1 filter once every 2 weeks and always add salt.
I too have found out the hard way what getting lazy does to the babies. Take care of the water and the fish take care of themselves really has some merit.
‘Course… I might not have a clue what I’m talking about… but this has worked for me.
Good luck xoxKim
you. > > > > How long have you had the fish? > This is Tubby’s second indoor winter, and he (?) will have been with us > three years come May. > > How many gallons are in the tank? > I have calculated approx. 220 Canadian gallons. > > Are there any other fish in the tank? > There are 16 in all. There were 18 but one week I was overbooked and > didn’t do the partial water change and, well, it was all my fault. Two > succumbed to what I suspect was ammonia poisoning. > > I’ve been there myself. :0) > > > How often do you make water changes? > I change from 1/4 to 1/3 every week, especially now that I know the > result of missing a change. > > Do you remove the water from the bottom of the tank? > Yes, the siphon takes the water from the bottom. > > Do you have gravel in the tank? > Yes, large pea gravel. > > How long has the gravel been in this tank? > > > What type of filtration are you using? > It’s the largest Fluval - I forget the number, but it’s more than > sufficient for the tank. > > Can you give me the approximate dimensions in size of the fluval? It’s quite possible that this system is not large enough. I used to have a 25 gallon filter on my 150 gallon tank because it was heavily overstocked and it worked out well to keep the fish healthy and the water clear and free of toxins. > > > How often do you clean this filter? > Malcolm only did this once, at the beginning of the winter season. > > With the filters we use, the mechanical part is at the top where all debris from the tank/pond is removed > by window screening and cleaned any time it becomes dirty. This means that the plastic scrubbies I use for bio-media never get dirty and if I have to remove the scrubbies to get rid of the dirty water, I just pump it out and use it in the garden during the summer. In the winter, the dirty water goes down the drain. If they do get dirty you know that the filter isn’t working properly. We used to use upflow filters but they were so much work to keep clean. That’s another story. 
> > > How long has the tank been running? > This is its second winter. We turned the filter off and drained the > tank in late July, once we had incubated our new acquisitions, but it > really isn’t used for anything from May, when the fish are returned to > the outdoor pond, until October - November, when they are captured and > brought inside (except for the five Houdinis that wouldn’t allow > themselved to be caught and are still in the pond, although under the > ice. > > LOL I know exactly what you mean. Some of those little stinkers find really good hiding places. > > > How often do you feed your fish? > Daily. They’re RAVENOUS. > > If you feed them once a day, don’t feed them any more than they can eat in five minutes. If you feed them twice daily, only what they can eat in five minutes. It’s important to remember that they’re not getting the exercise they normally would in the big pond so feeding less inside the 220 is very important. > > > It’s also important to remember that if the fish is sick and/or has a bruise, it is possible the water conditions might be the culprit and using medications will not help the fish until the water conditions improve. > I’ve had fish with cloudy eyes and sores due to filtration. Once I improved the water conditions with extra filtration and more water changes, the fish tended to heal on their own. > > I have to admit that the bruising stumped me a bit because I don’t know if it’s the starting of an ulcer, but it might be in the early stages and if it is an ulcer the scales will start to fall off and you’ll see the infected area. > I do hope that this helps. > > Hugs, Lorraine > > I hope this helps. We did get some medication from a local pet > emporium and I’ve been using it in the water as directed - 1/4 c a day > for seven days and then a 25% water change - and although Tubby’s > bruised area is still pretty nasty looking, it isn’t any worse, and > Malcolm says that to him it looks somewhat better. But to me he still > looks like someone clubbed him with a mallet. > > I’ll be looking forward to hearing your take on this. > > Sincerely, > Brenda > > > > > Yours Koily, Lorraine > > —– Original Message —– > > From: Brenda Rose > > To: worldwidekoiclub@yahoogroups.com > > Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 8:32 PM > > Subject: [Worldwide Koi Club] I Think I Need Advice > > > > > > Hi all. Happy late winter (insert loud guffaw here) to all of you > > affected by last weekend’s ‘Winter Blowout’, and here’s hoping for a > > speedy end to our endless snowstorms. > > > > It seems a problem has cropped up in our indoor basin, the one where > > my > > finned wonders spend the coldest months of the year dreaming of their > > outdoor pond. I was away last week and Malcolm was left to man the > > school, so to speak, when he noticed a very large reddish welt on the > > white section of Tubby, our precious submarine koi (so named for his > > size). Anyway, I got in late last night so I didn’t go down to see > > the > > guys, but this morning I had a good look and I swear, it looks like > > he’s gone three rounds in the ring with a heavyweight. It’s almost > > like a giant bruise, and if he were a human I’d swear he’d walked > > into > > a swinging door. It’s right over his right eye area too. > > > > I looked on the ‘net and, as luck would have it, there are no koi > > vets > > in the greater Montreal area, so it’s advice I’m seeking here. I’ll > > try to get a picture of his discolouration tomorrow after work, but > > anything you may have to suggest in the meantime will be gratefully > > appreciated. I just can’t bear the thought of losing him, but this > > bruise or whatever it is is really ugly. > > > > Sincerely, > > Brenda > > > > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > ———————————— > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
