Tragedy (Koi-icide)

[C-Note]

I know koi like to jump, and I know they are really good at it. But for the most part, I try to trust that they prefer staying in the water over leaping out to their imminent death. But alas, it seems we experienced our first koi-icide yesterday.

My first thought when I found the big guy or girl nearly 8 feet away from the pond (and good and dead), was that a heron had tried to nab him, and then was scared off before completing the meal. But there was hardly a scratch on its body! One small scratch that could have been from flip-flopping across the lawn? Anyway, we're really sad about it. I lowered the water level a bit last night in hopes of preventing further jump-outs.

Is it possible that activating the air stones yesterday scared our fish?? My one-to-two water tests per week continue to show perfect parameters, and we have had some minor flashing, but no visible diseases. Just searching for a reason why this may have happened. There was some residue coming out from the vent area that could have been poop or eggs. There was creamy white, and textured brown discharge. Possibly an early spawning attempt turned violent, and she tried to escape that?? Or is koi-icide more common than I think?

 

[addy1]

Darn, no clue.

 

[Dave 54]

I have a feeling that your experianing water quality issuse at this time and should look there you may also have a parasite infection going on koi simply do not jump out of the pond like that
Most koi keepers go so far as to learn how to take scrape from their koi to look at under a microscope to check for this as you well know you cannot see them visually so you cannt claim no signs of disease .
What type of test kit is it that your using , if its a strip test kit be very aware that they are more than in-accurate if you have a drop pond test kit hey are the better kits to have

Dave

 

[Meyer Jordan]

What are you using for testing the pond chemistry.....strips or liquid? How old is the test kit? Flashing and jumping combined can indicate an Ammonia, Nitrite or Heavy Metal problem.

 

[Dave 54]

What are you using for testing the pond chemistry.....strips or liquid? How old is the test kit? Flashing and jumping combined can indicate an Ammonia problem.

Just how in accurate are these test strips Meyer have you ever tested them against one another ?
Wonder if it might be an idea we do an experiment at a later date to test them

Dave

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Just how in accurate are these test strips Meyer have you ever tested them against one another ?
Wonder if it might be an idea we do an experiment at a later date to test them

Dave

Test strips may give an approximate level when they are new. Humidity will rapidly degrade the accuracy of test strips. I have already tested this by testing a water sample with both test strips and my Hanna Bench Colorimeter.

 

[Dave 54]

Test strips may give an approximate level when they are new. Humidity will rapidly degrade the accuracy of test strips. I have already tested this by testing a water sample with both test strips and my Hanna Bench Colorimeter.

Ah the Hanna range of electronic meters outstanding cant beat them going back to the test strps , how long did it take for the test strips to degrade ?


Dave

 

[Tula]

One of my koi jumped out of the pond when we were trying to catch fry to rehome. Another time one jumped from a live stock tank, while we were having gravel removed from the pond's bottom. Also, my koi were initially spooked by my large aerator - the Hako 80, but not to the extent they jumped from the pond....they just steered clear of it for awhile.

I agree, if they're flashing, it's a sign of a problem....parasite or something else.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Ah the Hanna range of electronic meters outstanding cant beat them going back to the test strps , how long did it take for the test strips to degrade ?


Dave

A couple of months (Summer) in my area. Always humid, moreso in the Summer.

 

[C-Note]

I use a liquid test kit, never strips. Broad range pH is right at 7.5. No detectable ammonia, nitrite, or phosphate in the water. This has been very consistent all spring. We did just start up the aerator on the day the fish jumped, and all the fish seemed a bit spooked by it. Flashing and jumping certainly indicates that something is wrong. The water seems to be really good, so must be some sort of infection? I may need to buy a microscope and learn to do scrapes...

 

[C-Note]

Okay, all is good now! It was clearly parasites. Water parameters remained great. I added Praziquantel, and by the next day... no more flashing, and a pond full of calm, happy fish. Whew! Seems our spring has been hovering at temps that do not favor the fish's immune systems, but just warm enough for bacteria and parasites to thrive. Before the treatment, we did a massive (50%) water change to rid as much 'bad stuff' as we could. So relieved! I also bought a Dropcam so I can monitor the pond from anywhere. It should be up & running outside by tomorrow.