Help me please...koi are dying

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Talk to the pet store and tell them what you need to do.
They will either have something there or know where you could find what you need.
If you can't afford the equipment, I would at least buy the clove oil and put the fish down plus purchase the water test kit so you can improve the water quality for your remaining fish.
Sorry.
 
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Talk to the pet store and tell them what you need to do.
They will either have something there or know where you could find what you need.
If you can't afford the equipment, I would at least buy the clove oil and put the fish down plus purchase the water test kit so you can improve the water quality for your remaining fish.
Sorry.

I don't trust the people at the local pet store...and our options are limited. I don't know if I can afford the equipment until I know what I need to get, and the folks at the pet store don't seem to have any in depth knowledge about fish in general, much less my situation and present circumstances.

Where does one get clove oil? How much do you use for sedation? How much for euthenasia? Would something like a 200W aquarium heater maybe work for the stock tank if I put the tank in the garage where ambient temps are more stable? Is it a hydrometer that is used to measure salinity?
 

Mmathis

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I can only find clove oil at a couple of health food stores. Some folks say their pharmacies carry it, but guessing that depends on where you live (mine look at me like I just got off the spaceship!). You might want to make some phone calls to save driving. Clove oil is what we use for euthanasia, but also as an anesthetic— useful when you need to sedate and examine a fish or treat a fish. You have to keep them in an active aeration set up and monitor them, but it’s great when you don’t handle flapping fish well (like me). For euthanasia, you don’t need the aeration, etc. It just lets them quietly and painlessly (humanely) go to sleep.
 
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Clove oil is available at health food stores and online, my CVS carried it at the pharmacy counter.

I'm sorry you're going through this, but a humane euthanasia is probably best.
 
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So that's the second time that's been said. Is the consensus here that its not worth setting up a hospital tank and trying? That any fish that look like my koi "Orange Crush" in the pictures in my post above are not worth trying to save?
 
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Here is a picture of “Crush” from this morning:

3F019891-D22E-41A7-AC32-C5A633375991.jpeg
 

Mmathis

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So that's the second time that's been said. Is the consensus here that its not worth setting up a hospital tank and trying? That any fish that look like my koi "Orange Crush" in the pictures in my post above are not worth trying to save?
@sweetbeats I don’t think anyone has said that. You asked where to get clove oil. We are simply letting you know where to find it. What I took from what @MitchM told you was that if you can’t afford or can’t get equipment, you want to be able to humanely euthanize the fish rather than allow it to continue sick (we can only assume that the fish is suffering). I think you are trying to make this harder than it is. A QT can be nothing more than a kiddie swimming pool (cheap and available at any “family” store), a pump to move water, and perhaps a small filter. It doesn’t have to be a fancy set up. If you add salt, non-iodized Morton’s table salt is adequate.
 
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I didn't mean to imply Crush isn't worth trying to save. I only meant that if you didn't feel you had the funds to buy a container, pump etc., that a humane euthanasia would be best and where you could buy clove oil. Unfortunately,dropsy is quite serious :(
 

Mmathis

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Unfortunately,dropsy is quite serious :(
True, and rarely survivable — even under the best care! By the time the symptoms are apparent, there has usually already been irreversible damage to the internal organs (mainly kidneys).

No, @sweetbeats, we weren’t in the least implying any such thing. But speaking from experience.....any animal that we truly care about deserves the best life — even when that means at the end of life.
 
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Agreed and understood.

Maybe I wasn’t clear, we already have the tank, salt, and I think a way to aerate...what I lack is a way to measure the salinity and a way to heat the QT.
 
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For 0.8% salt concentration, use 1.5 tsp/ US gallon. That will be close enough for now.
Even if you can't heat the water, if you have the salt, container and a way to aerate the water, give it a try.

I believe all fish are worth saving, minnows to big koi and everything in between, fresh water to marine.
Dropsy could be more serious than bad water quality, everything from organ failure to ulcers that require minor surgery to infections that require injecting antibiotics.
If a person doesn't have the finances though, change your focus to caring for the other fish that will still need good water quality.

tsp = teaspoon

.
 
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Thanks for the clarification.

Orange Crush is gone. :(

So should I only put fish in the quarantine tank that appear sick, or put all 5 of the remaining fish in the quarantine tank?
 
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Let me ask the question a different way...

Should I put all the fish in quarantine under the assumption they are infected even if they appear healthy, or should I only put the fish in that seem unhealthy (i.e. they look like Crush did with the lifted scales, rotted fins and other areas, or appear to be stressed with the way they are swimming, etc.)?

None of the fish seem to be eating.

By the way I’m headed home from the pet store on my way home from work with an API master test kit and hydrometer in the bag.
 
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Ok, no, don't assume they're all infected.
If any other fish are showing signs of "pine coning" (lifted scales) they will need to be treated asap. If any fish are flashing (they make very sudden turns in the water or at the water surface), let us know.
I'm sure you have algae in your pond, so don't add any more chemicals and turn off any filtration for now. Just make sure to provide water circulation and/or aeration. The algae will consume any excess ammonia or nitrates that could be harming your fish. The filter should be completely cleaned before it's turned on again.
Like I said, dropsy could be the result of many things, it may or may not have been anything you did.
I'm glad to hear you got the water test kit. We'll go from there once we have those results.
Very sorry you lost Orange Crush.
I'll be back in the morning, other forum members very knowledgeable will probably be on later tonight.
 

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