Basic How-To's of Salting for Parasites

[angelmandi]

Well, now that the pond has been up and running for a few days with the new Skippy filter (plus the original Tetra filter from the outside pond), we are running into a new problem. We have flashing... lots and lots of flashing...almost every fish, although koi seem to be flashing more than goldfish. I came home on Friday to find that my husband had hooked up some aquarium heaters because he wanted the pond heated. Hmmm.... so over the course of 48 hours he heated the pond from 45 to 65, regardless of the fact that I told him this probably wasn't a good idea considering they just moved and were probably already stressed out... sigh. (not to mention the fact that I told him that koiguy said that it probably wasn't necessary-- especially since the pond sides and bottom were insulated... that they would be plenty-warm in the basement with no problems.) I told him that I thought this is probably what caused the flashing--- that if there were any parasites in the pond water, that this rapid heating just encouraged them to grow quickly. So, we are looking to salt to try to make our babies more comfortable. We don't have any spots or anything visible on fins or scales, and unfortunately, no ability to do any microscope scrapes. So, I think salting is our most economical and most natural thing to try first.

Not sure how to do though. I checked out Dr. Dave's website to read up there, and also read some of the past posts here. I believe our pond inside is 10x3x18. I had some aquarium salt at home. According to the back of the carton, I did not have enough to add to the pond to help with "stress" which was all they suggested, so I knew I wasn't going to do them any harm in adding what I had. I added 26 "rounded Tablespoons" to the pond. I have no plants in the pond to worry about.

Would someone be able to help me step-by-step with this process? I know it's suppposed to be added gradually-- how much more salt do I need to add and when? And how long should it be left in there-- when to do water changes and how often, etc. All of our numbers are great-- and I thought our bacteria would be ok for a start since we were beginning the pond with 50% pond water and 50% new well water. Perhaps I should also consider adding some bacteria cultures as well during this process?

Please advise.

 

[angelmandi]

Sorry-- correction: the dimensions of the pond water is 10feet x3.5feet x1.75feet. So, if I'm figuring correctly: 458.15 gallons

 

[koiguy1969]

i use 2-2&1/2 cups per 100 gals of water without plants,1/2 that with plants....your pond figures at 458 gals at 21" deep of water.... i seperate the salt into a different container that i'll be using and add alittle at a time over the course of a day. for your pond with no plants i would go with 8 cups (added over time). i use Mortons solar salt for water softeners (BLUE BAG) 40lbs is under $5.00 @ Lowes, Home Depot, etc.

 

[angelmandi]

THANK YOU KoiGuy! I will be stopping to get some of the salt you recommended on my way home from work. I'll separate out the 8 cups (minus the 26 T. that I already added) and start adding gradually at dinnertime. I will let you know the results!

Thanks ever so much!

 

[koiguy1969]

salt is also therapuetic for the fish its calming, increases electrlites, adds trace minerals, encourages a healthy slime or stress coat, and blocks the absorbtion of nitrites into the fishes bloodstream, helping to prevent nitrite poisoning also known as brown blood disease.

 

[angelmandi]

Well, I had a dentist appointment go very wrong on Monday afternoon, and promptly forgot to go to Lowes and get the salt! (grr...) So, I purchased the 'Solar Salt' yesterday over lunch break and proceeded to begin gradually salting last night when I arrived home. I have put almost all the salt (the 8 cups that you suggested KoiGuy) in at this point. I still have some flashing going on, but it doesn't appear to be as much this morning in the few minutes that I had to watch them. I will watch some more this afternoon when I have more time and report back tomorrow when I have access to the Internet at work.

Should I be expecting the flashing to decrease gradually or cease altogether quickly?

Checked levels again last night, just to make sure it wasn't water quality-- nitrates, nitrites, at zero. Need to check for ammonia tonight-- I had that kit @ school, so I couldn't do it last night. My ph was 7.2, hardness was 150. So, everything there initially still looks good. I will check ammonia this evening just to be sure.

 

[DrDave]

Do you have a salinity test kit? You might want to check your levels before adding more, just in case. I was surprised when I oversalted due to the existing levels in my pond.

 

[DoDad]

Several things can cause flashing.
Parasites,(gill flukes)
PH swings.(check your pH morning and night and see if there is a difference)
Water temps changing

 

[angelmandi]

Dr. Dave-- no I don't have a salinity test kit. I will check online to see if I can purchase such a thing for a reasonable price. Thank you!

DoDad-- I did not realize that about water temperatures. I will check the ph in the am and pm and see if there is a difference. Either of these could be possible culprites since we just moved these guys inside a week ago-- not sure what the ph was outside since it has been a while since we added fresh water due to cold temps (and there had been quite a bit of fresh rain and snow, which could have changed ph drastically) AND there has definitely been a change in the temperature due to the actual moving, and my husband heating everything quickly against my advice. Unfortunately, the outside pond is now frozen over, so I can't check it to see what the ph level was. I know the temp was 40 degrees when we moved them.

If the flashing is due to one of these things, do I just wait it out and see if it subsides?

 

[DrDave]

When you moved them into 40 degree water, what was the temperature of the water they were in just before? You may have shocked them if they were dumped into cold from warmer water.

 

[angelmandi]

When my husband first moved them, he filled the basement pond with 50% of water from the outside pond, and then filled the rest of the basement pond with well water. He tested the temp and said it was 44 after moving the fish. But then, 24 hours later, he installed these aquarium heaters and started heating up the pond while I was away. (When he gets an idea in his mind... he just does it. Doesn't ask for advice or anything... Sometimes that's good, and sometimes it's not...) So, now the pond is 65.

I will say, that as of this morning, they were still flashing, but not very often. So, I'm still watching to report if it continues to decrease. I am going to the petstore today to see if they have any salinity meters or salinity test kits to purchase.

 

[angelmandi]

After being home all last week, I was able to do some more heavy-duty watching of the koi to see about the flashing. It has all but ceased-- occasionally, I see one or two that flash, usually not unless it's after eating. But, other than that, it seems to be good. They are going back to their good habits of being more calm and coming up close to us to eat almost out of our hands, so that's letting me look more closely at them. I don't see anything strange on their scales or anything. I think we may have the situation licked!~ Any ideas on why I might be seeing a bit of flashing still, after eating, particularly?