Koi behavior

[jujuco55]

I have 5 koi all the ages of 8yrs. 4 of the koi are fine and eating well. 1 of my koi starting hangin out at the bottom of the pond with his mouth open all the time. It won't eat. I just put in a new pond lily that came planted in little pebbles. My question is can these pebble get caught in their mouth or could it be stress, pre-spawning behavior?

 

[callingcolleen1]

Does his mouth open and close like he's gasping for air, or is his month just stuck open? Is he the biggest koi, or one of the smaller koi?

 

[sissy]

I never put anything I buy right in the pond I give it what I call a cooling off period .I leave them soak in some thing with water in it to clean them

 

[callingcolleen1]

Good idea sissy, cause lots of plants have strange soil, they use regular potting soil and just put rocks on top.
Water lillys are known to harbor parasites. Thank goodness I can't fit no more lillys in my pond, but if I could, I would just buy the root and plant it myself with a mix of peat and heavy clay soil. The roots are really the best buy, their way way cheaper and grow just as good. Also by getting just the dry root, you will have a much much less chance of getting parasites too. By the middle of the summer you'd be hard pressed to tell if it was pre-potted or potted yourself, the roots will grow just as fast and you will save a ton of money!

 

[Waterbug]

Not spawning behavior. Very unlikely a rock got caught in its throat, but all things are possible.

What are your water test results?

 

[jujuco55]

He is one of the larger ones and his mouth stays open all the time. He does swim from one point to another about every 10 to 15 min.

 

[sissy]

1st do you have that kind or size rock in your pond or could something have fallen in the pond your fish got hold of .Can you catch him and look .

 

[jujuco55]

1st do you have that kind or size rock in your pond or could something have fallen in the pond your fish got hold of .Can you catch him and look .

Most of my rocks are larger than the pebbles that came with the new lily. I didn't like how it was planted and should have taken the time to change the soil. I tested my pond water and all levels are good. So I think that I will have to catch him and look. Thanks

 

[jujuco55]

Not spawning behavior. Very unlikely a rock got caught in its throat, but all things are possible.

What are your water test results?

After testing, water results are good. All the other fish are happy.

 

[jujuco55]

Water results are good. All other koi are doing fine.

 

[Waterbug]

Water results being good is an opinion, not results. Good luck.

 

[jujuco55]

Want to thank all of you who posted on my koi. Turns out it was a hugh pebble the size of a 50 cent piece that lodged in its mouth. We removed it but he's still keeping his mouth open at this point. In some stress from the ordeal. Waiting to see how it progresses. Thanks again

 

[sissy]

well hope he gets better and when he gets hungry he will hopefully get better even faster ,and hoping and wishing for it good luck little fishy .

 

[j.w]

Gosh that is good that you were able to catch him and get that thing outta his mouth! Poor guy, hope he recovers from this ordeal. Now I guess you have to remove those rocks in there so it doesn't happen again.

 

[callingcolleen1]

That's quite unusual, but stranger things have happened! On time I found a robin with his mouth stuck open and he was choking on a red berry, help the poor little robin out and he recovered and flew away.

wishing your fishy a speedy recovery!