Koi with the balloon belly

[suncasa]

Hi, I just was reading a post which seems similar to my situation with a koi fish that is about 3 years old. Heartbreaking because it is a beautiful gold and black. I first thought it must be spawning but the belly has just become more swollen. It is very round now. The fish is swimming and seems to have a great appetite. I did buy some antibacterial food that I considered giving it although I'm not sure that will help any at this point. The fish is about 7 inches long.

I'd love to have feedback whether anyone here thinks that separating it out from the others to feed it will traumatize it more than if I just leave it in the pond. I was told not to put the antibacterial food in the whole pond because then the other fish might build up resistance if they eat it and aren't sick. I have about 15 fish in the pond which seems like too much and it is. Babies hatched and grew a few years ago. I am currently in the planning stage of having the pond size increased by another 500-1000 gallons. I have been very lucky to have healthy fish for years and this is the first time I have come across this.

I'm going to try the peas. None of the fish would eat the romaine lettuce I out in today though.

Thanks for feedback.

 

[Dave 54]

It could well be anything from just an overweight fish, to a tumour , it could well be eggbound or even have dropsy could you tell us alittle about your pond and its water perameters to rule that out i;e Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Ph Please .
How many gallons is your pond and how many fish do you have in it, also how many feeds does your fish get daily , what do you feed them an is the food in date ?
Sorry for all the questions , just trying to tick a few boxs thats alll

Dave

 

[suncasa]

Hi Dave, I don't think it's the water quality because all the other fish are fine. I am going to get a test kit though. Don't have one right now. The pond is about 1000 gallons and I have 15 fish in it. It is too may for the size because they have grown. Still range in size from 2 inches to 15 inches- I only have 2 15 in fish. Most are about 6". I am having the water changed out on Tuesday.

I netted off part of the pond to separate out the sick fish but I haven't been able to catch it. Still very fast little gal and I have some lilies etc in the pond. I am pretty sure this is an egg bound case but not positive. It is getting bigger though so tonight I am going to try to catch it again.

 

[topofthehill1]

so what happened?

 

[JohnHuff]

I had a fish with gigantic belly. Never bothered it. Lived a long life until a heron got it.

 

[Dave 54]

Hi Dave, I don't think it's the water quality because all the other fish are fine. I am going to get a test kit though. Don't have one right now. The pond is about 1000 gallons and I have 15 fish in it. It is too may for the size because they have grown. Still range in size from 2 inches to 15 inches- I only have 2 15 in fish. Most are about 6". I am having the water changed out on Tuesday.

I netted off part of the pond to separate out the sick fish but I haven't been able to catch it. Still very fast little gal and I have some lilies etc in the pond. I am pretty sure this is an egg bound case but not positive. It is getting bigger though so tonight I am going to try to catch it again.

Not suggesting you have water quality issues the first responder to any post is supposed to ask you these questions of a person posting for the first time suncasa.
Since we last spoke have there been any differences noted like pineconing indicative of dropsy ?
It may well be that this fish has a tumour feel the belly is the area hard or soft if it is soft to the touch but not too fluid then it is more than possible there are unreleased eggs if hard it may still be eggs but its more than likely to be a tumour or as I found in one koi I autopsied for a friend a large build up of fat
Spawning will usually occur when everything is right in the pond to do so I;e the water temperature is aproximately 20c .
If this still wont work then I suggest you seperate the female off by put her and a number of males in seperate tanks then maintain a temperature of around 18c for a couple of weeks then try re introduce them making sure the temperatures 20c.
This should induce your fish to spawn as normal, however if it still doesnt work then it may still have the effect of conditioning the female to spawn.
Take a look at her vent and f its distended you could try hand stripping the female which I take you already know how to do ?.
If this isnt working you could try adding hormones to the water available from most probably a fish specialist vet , This way is however a rather expensive way forwards and proffesional advice must be sought prior to treating the female.
If this fails its recomended the fish be put in cooler water for a few months at 4c cooler than your main pond and keep a weather eye on her sometimes they will re-absorbe the eggs sometimes not
Sadly however if nothing works for your koi then your last option would be to euthanize the fish using oil of cloves :-

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/anethatizing-you-koi-goldfish-the-various-stages-of.10493/

To Euthanize just leave the koi in the oil of cloves bringing up the strength by adding more in 10 ml amounts to the container your koi is in the koi will pass from deep sedation to death painlessly
I hope this helps you ?

Dave

 

[KamarulZaman]

I have the same problem also, bloated belly koi fish. Afraid to put anything in the water because it belongs to my father, he's currently in overseas and will be back in 20 more days,.. Although now I am trying to isolate the fish into different basin, considering to put green peas in it (according to another forum advice) or leave it or put antibacterial in the water. Really need professional help/advice/doctor for this particular koi fish. I'm really new to care for the fish and I don't know what to do exactly.

Below is the image uploaded for my current fish problem.. Help is needed~~