Fungus?

[annmar414]

This is one of two koi that I adopted about 2 weeks ago. For the first week, they were fine in the pond and then as the temperatures got warm (above 80F) I think spawning started and 4 of the other fish in the pond started really chasing, pushing around and flipping these 2. I brought them in out of the pond because I did not want them to get hurt. Within a day of being in the house, they both had visible cottony fungus on them. I started them on a treatment of Wardley's Ick, which treats ich, fungus and external parasites. The main ingredient in this product is Malachite Green. Within 2 days, the other koi was completely clear. No sign of fungus, illness or acting sick.

This koi, however, kept getting worse. Today, after 2 days in the treatment, I did a salt dip and used a cotton swab to gently remove some of the cottony stuff which had gotten to about a quarter of an inch thick and covering the whole back of her body. Removing the fungus allowed me to see what was underneath, which is what this picture shows. A whitish-yellowish slimy looking covering with a red rim.

Could anyone tell me what this is? I have a book on order that Dave54 recommended, but it has not arrived yet. I'm not very hopefully this girl will survive, as she isn't very active and is sitting with clamped fins, but if anyone has treatment recommendations, I will certainly try.

I'd also like to figure out what it is, so that I can determine if it is something the koi had when I bought them, or if they got something from my pond and if so what I can do to 'fix' it so no more get this. The pond has been up for several years and I have not changed anything about it. (Levels are below). This year we do have a lot more algae than normal, and yesterday, after these 2 showed up with this I did do a 50-60% water change and clean out some of the algae and clean the pump and filters again.

Water quality
* Ammonia Level (pond): 0
* Nitrite Level (pond): 0
* Ammonia Level (tap water): 0
* Nitrite Level (tap water): 0
* Ph Level, pond (If possible, KH, GH and chlorine): 8.2, KH-180, GH-between 150 and 300
* Ph Level, tap water (If possible, KH, GH and chlorine): 7.6
* Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops?: API freshwater test kit drops & Jungle Quick Dip to get the KH and GH

 

[annmar414]

Here are some pictures...they wouldn't attach to the original post. Sorry they aren't the clearest, I tried several times and couldn't get it to focus on just the area.

 

[Mmathis]

How big is your pond?

 

[annmar414]

165 gallons. This poor guy passed away over night but now the other one is starting to show a streak of red, even though they have been in separate Q tanks.

 

[Waterbug]

It's not actually possible to tell what it is from photos, only $$$ testing. My guess is that it's still the fungus, wiping the loose stuff off leaves the attached parts. Or bacteria. Bacteria is always a safe bet because anytime there's any damage there's going to be bacteria. So it could be both fungus and bacteria.

The streak of red is likely something else, an internal issue. I assume this fish didn't have fungus earlier? My knee jerk reaction to reading "red streak" is to test nitrite. After that you'd have to be think bacteria in the blood which might mean intravenous antibiotics or hope the fish can fight it off.

Whether the issue came from the previous pond or was already in your pond can't be reasonably determined. At this point doesn't really matter, it's there now. But I wouldn't worry too much about that, I assume these things are always present. But these things don't normally harm healthy fish. So if you address fish health you have a good chance of reducing future issues.

Spawning is just plain tough on fish, no way around that. Bump off some scales, small bacteria infection and then fungus can gain access. Has to be treated pretty quick.

If you're really concerned you can, in the future, treat fish soon after spawning. Moved to a hospital tank, assume there is skin/scale damage and bacteria is starting, and treat accordingly. Same as us putting Neosporin on a small cut. We probably don't need it, but a little insurance is a good thing. If we wait until an infection gets hold it's harder to treat. If we wait until it's all pussy we could be in real trouble and Neosporin sure isn't going to cut it. To me Malachite Green is like Neosporin, good stuff early. By the time fish are 1/4 covered in cotton the fungus is actually inside the fish in a big way. So more aggressive and $$$ treatments would be needed.

Cheap insurance is to make sure there are lots of spawning mops and/or plants. That gives the females a place to hide from males and protects them from attack before they're ready for attention and after eggs are released. Most of the damage imo happens after eggs are released. The females seem to know they're done, but the males don't. If she has no where to hide she tires and can't protect herself at all.