damaged fish

[Oldhead]

Looking for some thoughts. My yellow koi has some damage on his nose and bottom of his tail. His nose has a flesh colored bump and histail also has a bump. They aren't getting any worse. I have been debating wether or not to buy a tank and pull him for the winter. Then i tell myself that he is no a piece of glass and should be fine. He is acting normal and eatting normal. Just don't want to lose another fish.

 

[DrDave]

If these are just bumps and not open sores or wounds, then I would leave him where he is. That said, you should have an alternate pond or tank set up to hospitalize any fish that may require it. I keep a single fish in each of mine when they are not used to keep the bio filter in check.

 

[Oldhead]

Its not open like a cut but it looks like he got scratched in the scuffle when Bluebell was prematurely dispatched:banghead3:

 

[DrDave]

I had one damaged in an attack and did not see it until it was too late to treat the injury. When I spotted him he looked like this. There was fungus growing from the injury due to bacteria that infected the lesion.
I started to treat him but he lost the battle 24 hours after I started. It didn't help that it was over 100 degrees here every day that week.

 

[Oldhead]

you can kinda see the nose alittle here i'm gonna see if i can geta better shot.

 

[Oldhead]

Ok here is the best i can do without netting him and causing extra stress.

This photo you can kinda see the tail is a bit red.

 

[DrDave]

It is not possible to determine the extent of damage from these photos. The good part is, it does not look like much has been done. I would just keep an eye on him and be prepared to treat him if it gets worse.

Home Depot has 32 gallon storage bins that will work as an emergency hospital tank and you can use it for storage when done. It comes with a lid so you can keep him from jumping out when not being observed. An airstone at the very least is other equipment required if you have do this.